Imagine my surprise when I came out from the bedroom this morning to the living room and found the temperature outside at 47 degrees! Hey, isn’t this summer time?

Oh, I forgot, summer here is during the month of August and then it’s winter time, September to the next August.  Ah well, it could be worse, it could be snowing.  Perish the thought!

So today was a day I had been looking forward to for several days.  Barbara had finally found a chiropractor who didn’t run the other way when they

found out we lived in an RV.  I guess most of them believe that they will never get paid by someone who is always on the move.  So, first visit was today with two more to come, one this Thursday, and then another next Monday.  How do I feel?  Thankfully much, much better.  I should be good to go by next Tuesday when we move north.

So that was the first part of the day.  Returning home, we walked in the front door and discovered it was a bit chilly inside.  Top is inside, bottom is outside. Time for the heat pump.

It was not only chilly but the rain was coming down.  This was the view out the front solarium window in the afternoon.

But this I know a chilly, rainy day here is better than any day at work.

Let’s turn our attention now to Schoodic Woods Campground.

 

It has, I discovered, quite an interesting history regarding its development and how it came to be a national park.

The land that the campground sits on was once owned by the Modena family of Italy who was interested in developing the land into a large-scale resort.  Many in the area believed that the development would be an enormous economic opportunity for the two Schoodic Peninsula communities that had been distressed since the closing of the former U.S. Navy base at Winter Harbor in 2002.  There were others, though, who were more interested in the conservation of the area.

In the conversation group was Lyme Timber.  Lyme Timber, a private timberland investment management firm from Hanover, New Hampshire, entered into an agreement to buy the land from the Modena family.  However, soon after the announcement was made, a private family foundation approached Lyme Timber and offered to provide the capital for the purchase so it could then donate the land to Acadia National Park.

Lyme and the family foundation formed Schoodic Woods LLC, with the Hanover company remaining as managing member of the partnership so the foundation could remain anonymous. So the campground was built and the total cost of acquiring the property and of building the campground and trail network adding up to $29 million.  To this day no one knows the name of the family foundation.  Imagine having that kind of money!

Here is where it gets interesting.  Many believed that it could not become a national park until and unless Congress gave its approval.  Not so.  Just like that it came under the control of the National Park Service.  How?  They stated that under a 1926 law they only needed approval from Congress for purchase of land, but not donated land.  Deed done.  So today it is part of Acadia National Park.

But why the uproar?  Everyone expected it to happen so what was the problem?  The primary concern for Winter Harbor officials was the loss of property tax revenue that resulted from having the federal government take.

The solution?  The Maine Coast Heritage Trust came up with a solution by offering, thanks to multiple donors, to give the town each year the full amount of what would have been owed in property taxes had the land remained in private hands, according to officials. The land trust will pay $7,821.75 to Winter Harbor annually, which was the tax bill total for having the entire parcel classified as tree growth, as Lyme Timber did.

Now for some facts about the Schoodic peninsula and the campground

• The campground has 33 RV sites with water and power, including 20 pull-through; 50 car tent sites with electric, including 26 listed as for only tents; 9 private hike-in sites with no electric and no open fires allowed; and two group sites.
• The 8.3 miles of well-graded gravel bike paths echo the carriage roads on Mount Desert Island, down to the carved wooden signs. In addition to adding to the 6 miles of the one-way Schoodic Park Loop Road, these new paths provide an important connection between the east and west sides of the peninsula.
• There is a 5.5 mile one-way section of park road that hugs the coast around the peninsula with several turnouts that offer breathtaking views of the Maine coast and its waters
• The 4.7 miles of  hiking trails in the Schoodic Woods section are a nice complement to the existing trails further south on Schoodic Peninsula.
• The campground’s 100-seat amphitheater hosts ranger-led programs, such as talks about monitoring birds, butterflies and bats, and the role that Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt played in preserving national parks.
• There are no shower facilities at the campground, a conscious decision to encourage local business development of camper-focused services
• Schoodic Point, located at the southern tip of Schoodic Peninsula must not be missed as it provides one of the best places to view pounding surf during rough seas as well as stunning views of Cadillac Mountain to the West.

So, time now to call it a day.  Night is upon us as is the rain.  It’s not supposed to let up until sometime Wednesday.  The temperature is also supposed to stay in the 40 to 50 degree range.  Such is life.  We will survive, traveling and cuddling together, hand in hand, under a nice warm blanket.  Hey, hope your weather is better and that your day was as great as ours.  Now a closing thought for all of us:

Live with Intention

Be Bold In The Face of Adversity

Live the Life You Were Destined for

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

An early morning visitor, an afternoon of sightseeing, and adventures in fine dining.  This morning as is usual for me I was up around 5:30 am.  Since there were no TV channels available for the local news, I decided to do some work on the computer which is in the solarium.  Out of the corner of my eye I caught something moving, coming toward Graybeard, and then I saw it, the fellow pictured below.  I later found out from a park ranger what I saw was a snowshoe hare.  We sat and stared at each other for a few minutes and then as quickly as he appeared he was off and gone.

So as the morning began to unfold the big question became, what to do today?  We decided that first we would continue our dominoes game from last evening.  It is still to be completed, probably tonight if I don’t take too long with the blog!

Next, we decided to try to find a couple more of the sculptures on the Maine Sculpture Trail.  So off we went to locate two more that were supposed to be near our home.  Well, we found them, both of them.  The first is called A Glimpse of the Moon (how do they come up with these names) and was sculptured by Jesse Salisbury a local Maine resident.  His explanation of his work is this:  With my work I am demonstrating the movement possible in what is generally seen as a still, solid and permanent medium.  If he says so, I guess that is what it shows.  Right?

The next sculpture we found was called Transitory and was sculptured by Doninaka Griengraber from Poland.  His explanation of his work is this:  The sculpture is intended as a reflection upon the notion of identity, marking it, revealing it, hidden and evasive as it is. . . Again, he said it, not me so I guess it must be so.  I think.

Sculpture hunting over it was now time to find a local spot to eat before continuing our journey of sightseeing.  We had read a lot of good reviews about a place called The Pickled Wrinkle and so we decided to give it a try.

Now you may be asking How did it get its name?  It’s named, yes, for their local specialty which is a pickled wrinkle.  A pickled wrinkle you ask?  Well, here is the explanation

So, Wrinkles, which are pickled whelks, are an old Maine delicacy in the Downeast region.  The pickled sea snails with the funny name have inspired curiosity among the uninitiated and delighted those who have had the courage to try them. Here it is on the plate in front of me.  Yes, I just had to try one.  Sort of chewy, but not bad at all.

Then I went for something a bit more normal which was Fish and Chips The basket was made up of beautifully prepared chunks of fresh haddock and, of course, fries and home-made cole slaw.  Oh wow, so good, so very, very good!  Barbara had a BLT Wrap which she too also declared a home run.

During lunch, we also had the opportunity to talk with two lovely ladies about kids, sightseeing in general, our crazy lifestyle and how they never, ever would eat a pickled wrinkle.  Once lunch was finished it was back to sightseeing.  We now set out for The Schoodic Institue at Acadia National Park.  

 

The Institute is on the site of the former Naval Security Group Activity Winter Harbor.  How did it get here?  In the early 1930s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. got into his mind that he wanted to build a shore road in Acadia National Park for visitors to enjoy the incredible Maine coastline. The creation of this road meant that the Navy had to move a radio listening post that was located on Mount Desert Island. This decision ultimately resulted in an architectural beauty known as Rockefeller Hall.

So the listening post was moved to this location and for the next seven decades, the Navy used Rockefeller Hall as the central building in the Naval compound to monitor encrypted communications. The purposes and uses of the

 

listening station varied over the years, and the technologies evolved.  Over the years, though, the primary mission of the Navy Base was to use their Antenna Array (often called an Elephant Cage because of its ring shape and tall antenna poles) in conjunction with satellites to triangulate the location of foreign warships.  

Not only did this enable the US Navy to track foreign warships, but it provided ships equipped with cruise missiles with a means of over the horizon targeting.  Following is a picture of some of the equipment that was used during those years.

This describes how they actually used to locate a target far out to sea.

In 2002, the Navy decided to shut the base down in the face of a dramatically changing technological climate and turned the 100 acre property back over to the National Park Service.  During its prime, the base consisted of 35 plus buildings and housed over 350 naval employees and their families.

This is a picture of a memorial dedicated to those who used to live and work there.

From 2002 to 2009 Rockefeller Hall sat unused. But the hall was given the opportunity for a new place in Maine’s history by the widow of a Winter Harbor native; her name is Edith Robb Dixon.  In 2009, Mrs. Dixon honored her late husband’s memory, Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr., by awarding the National Park Service a $1 million gift to renovate and repurpose the distinctive Rockefeller Hall into a welcome center for the Schoodic Education and Research Center Institute.

Today, the primary use of Rockefeller Hall – as well as all the other buildings on site – is on-site accommodations for visiting professors, scholars and others who come to the campus. Additional uses include a Conference Center and Welcome Center for the campus on the first floor.

It is also used to host children and young adult programs that attempt to connect today’s youth with their environment.

There are many others who work here monitoring the state of today’s environment and climate.

An added bonus for us was the time we also spent with a couple who currently volunteers here but  has also volunteered at other national parks.  It was fascinating listening to their experiences and they in turn also encouraged us to get involved in the park system as volunteers.

After leaving here we went up to Schoodic Point and just spent some time looking out over the water.  We both agreed with the way the sun was glistening on the water it almost looked like someone had spread hundreds of diamonds across the surface.  It shimmered and glistened with such beauty it was breathtaking.  What a beautiful world God has created.

So our day has finished and we are now in for the night.  It’s dark and the temperature is quickly dropping.  The next week promises to be a rather chilly one with the temperatures during the day not likely to get out of the mid to high 50’s.  Time to bring back out the sweat pants and sweat shirts!  Once again we had a fantastic day, made all the better by the fact that we did it together.  Hope you enjoyed your day as well.  A closing thought for all of us:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

.

 

 

Today we’ll take a Maine trivia quiz and learn some fascinating facts about the State.  So today, again, started out slow, if you haven’t noticed a pattern here already, we usually never rush into any given day.  I mean, why?  We’re on the road of retirement so unless we need to be somewhere early morning, we just start out in slo mo and stay that way throughout the day.

First things first, today was housekeeping day.  Meaning the floor got vacuumed.

The sinks were scrubbed until they shined nice and white and bright.

And all the cabinets top and bottom were wiped down until they too began to shine.

Other things were also attended to so that now our home is all nice and spiffy again.  Momma always said cleanliness is next to Godliness.  Yea momma!

After this we also brought our books up to date, added up our cost for campgrounds and fuel to date and were quite pleased.  Sure amounts to a lot less than what we were paying each month for our mortgage and taxes in total.  This is sure the way to go.  Besides which, the full-time RV life is tons of fun!

Now, let’s test everyone’s knowledge regarding the great state of Maine.

• Maine has 3,478 miles of coastline – more than California and only Florida and Louisiana (mostly bayou) have more miles of coastline.
• Maine is the only American state with a one-syllable name.
• In case you had to be told, it is against the law in Maine to step out from a plane while it is in flight.
• Don’t get too tinsel happy. You can be charged a fine in Maine for leaving your Christmas decorations up after January 14.
• Maine has its own desert, which spans 40 acres outside the town of Freeport. The desert originally developed as a result of over-farming in the area.
• Almost 90 percent of the country’s lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine by the 4,600 licensed lobstermen – that’s nearly 40 million pounds.

• Like any food that’s available in great abundance, lobster once was shunned as a poor man’s food. In Colonial days, only paupers and slaves lowered themselves to eating the plentiful crustacean that piled on the shoreline in heaps. The rest of the unwanted lobsters were tossed to the pigs.
• Maine is the single largest producer of blueberries in the country, responsible for 99 percent of the crops in the United States. The town of Cherryfield is known for being the blueberry capital of the world.
• Maine is the third biggest producer of pure maple syrup in the country, Vermont being the first and falling just marginally behind New York State
• Maine produces 90% of the country’s toothpick supply.

• Acadia National Park is one of the most visited U.S. National Parks, with over 2 million annual visitors. The Park was first established and opened  in 1916.

• John D Rockefeller Jr. funded the majority of Acadia National Park.s carriage roads and trail systems between 1915-1933.
• In the movie “Forrest Gump,” Forrest makes Marshall Point Lighthouse a stop along his cross-country on-foot voyage

So there you have it.  Today was a great day.  Warm, windy and pleasant from start to finish.  Days like this are easy to take.  Night is now here but the clouds, unfortunately, have again moved in so star gazing is out of the question.  Darn.  Not to worry there will be other days in the next couple of weeks.

We also received an email from our friends Hoag and Max with some really fantastic news about Max’s brother, Jeff.  That news just made the day even better in so many ways.  Jeff, we’re with you every step of the way and will always keep you in thought and prayer.

In closing a thought for all of us to take to heart:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

 

Today started out bright and beautiful with us in no rush to go anywhere – at least not yet.  We had no definite plans for the day when we woke up but that soon changed.  We knew we had mail waiting for us back at Pumpkin Patch and we were interested in finding more of the granite sculptures on the Main Sculpture Trail.  Along the way we were to also discover the Hancock Memorial Park and the Prospect Point Lighthouse.

So if you haven’t guessed already before long we were on our way.  The sky was again clear and the temperatures in the mid 70’s.  A perfect day.  The big question again would be what kind of traffic would we encounter on a Friday in a prime tourist area.  Guess what?  Again, no traffic coming or going.

So our first stop was back at Pumpkin Patch where we picked up some mail that came just a day after we left.  They were gracious enough to hold it for us until we were able to pick it up today.

Another stop we made was at McKay’s RV to pick up what I like to call a gray tank cheater.  This is our secret weapon for staying for an extended time in a location with no sewer.  It’s basically a termination cap for the RV’s tanks to which one can hook up a garden hose and trickle gray water out of.  I first tumbled on to it when I discovered someone using it in a COE Park that we stayed at in Virginia.  Mind you, it’s just for the gray water but never ever for the black tank.

On the way back, our mission was now to find some of the granite sculptures that make up the Maine Sculpture Trail.  The Trail consists of 39 stone sculptures that are made up of locally quarried granite and basalt.  The artists who made the sculptures come from 16 different nations including Taiwan and Sweden.  The full Trail covers some 200 miles along the coastal region of Downeast Maine.   Following are the sculptures that we have discovered to date.

This is called the Whispering Stones and is located in Hancock, Maine.

This is called The Gate and is located in Gouldsboro, Maine.

This is called the Cleat and is located in Winter Harbor, Maine.

This is called the Tribute to Life, and is located at The Schoodic Institute in Acadia National Park.

So, by our count we only have another 30 more to locate and take a picture of!

Along the way, we quite by accident, discovered this memorial park along Route 1 in Hancock, Maine.  First up, is a monument that honors those who fought in the Civil War.

 

Then there was this flag pole that was dedicated to those who served in WW II and Korea.

Then this monument which was dedicated to those who served in the World Wars.

And finally this monument honoring those who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War.

Finally, we found another lighthouse of which, of course, there are many up in this area.  This is the Prospect Point Lighthouse.  The Lighthouse was built in 1850 and rebuilt in 1891. This white cylindrical lighthouse with a black lantern top matches the keeper’s house, a classic New England clapboard home with black trim.

The station was automated in 1931.  It remains an active aid to navigation and is owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and licensed to the American Lighthouse Foundation.  Today, it is  a Navy recreational asset known as Gull Cottage and is available for lease by Active, National Guard, Reservists, and Retired military of all branches.

So that brings us to the end of our day.  Remember in the beginning I said that the temperatures were in the mid 70’s?  Actually over by Pumpkin Patch the temperatures were in the mid 80’s and the humidity was oppressive.  That quickly changed by the time we got back to Schoodic Woods and home sweet home.  The temperature had dropped to the mid 60’s and the fog was beginning to roll in.  You could actually stand on the road in front of our site and literally watch the fog, I guess really a cloud, come down the road!  That was a first for me.

Once again we had a great day, traveling along, hand in hand, singing our song.   We had a day of discovery and a day of interesting sights.  Night is now here but no stars tonight since it is completely overcast.  Hey, did you have a great day?  Sure hope that you did.  If not, why not?  Your day is yours to make of it what you wish.  Now a closing thought for all of us:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before