This portion of our trip includes visits to Saint Croix Island IHS on the Maine-Canadian border and Katahdin Woods and Waters NM in central Maine.
Saint Croix Island IHS
The French settled on Saint Croix Island in 1604 in an attempt to establish the first European Colony north of Florida. This first settlement was unsuccessful as the island lacked food and water. A move to the mainland the next year was the starting point for the French settlements in Canada and the U.S.
In less than a year Joe and I have been to two St. Croix Islands!
This is the only International Historic Site in the NPS system (hence the two flags).
Eastport Windjammer Cruise
The little town of Eastport was quaint and colorful.
Deer Island Light Beacon across from our campsite.
We saw several fishing weirs where herring swim through a maze, get to the end and somehow are not able to swim back out.
Houses along the shore.
The “Old Sow” whirlpool, the largest natural whirlpool in the western hemisphere, is quite powerful during rising tides.
Seals basking on the rock and curiously checking out our boat.
The Minke whale is the smallest of the baleen whales in North America at 35 feet long and 20,000 pounds. They do not travel in pods. We saw five over a 45-minute period.
They seldom breach so we primarily saw their dorsal fin. The whale on the right is nicknamed stumpy since he is missing part of his fin.
West Quoddy Head Light
The distinctive red and white striped West Quoddy Head Light (originally in 1808) is the only candy-striped lighthouse in the Northeast. It was among the first to use a fog bell and fog cannon, greatly reducing shipwrecks in this foggy area with dangerous cliffs.
Coming to Canada
The town of Lubec on the easternmost point of land in the U. S. is the gateway town to Campobello.
After crossing the bridge we had to go through customs and show our passports.
Roosevelt Campobella International Site
Although not an official NPS site, this site is located in New Brunswick Canada and operates through a joint foundation with both the U. S. and Canada.
The highlight of the visit was Tea with Eleanor which included an inspiring historical talk about Eleanor’s life and advocacy work. We highly recommend.
Roosevelt Cottage was a gift to the Roosevelts from FDR’s mother Sarah. Eventually expanded to 40 rooms, the Roosevelts summered here for decades until Presidential business precluded extended visits.
We have recently been to FDR’s Little White House where he passed away and the FDR monument in DC. We will go to his NY home on this trip. I love how this NPS journey is like putting together puzzle pieces of our historical knowledge, showing us different facets of President’s lives.
The primary bedroom, where he first suffered from polio and where Eleanor delivered one of their sons.
East Quoddy Light’s (1829) distinctive St. George red cross can be seen at a distance by boat.
Or, the adventurous can access the lighthouse (also known as Head Harbor Light Station) via stairs and rocks during low tide.
Mulholland Point Lighthouse (1884) is just before the bridge back to the U. S.
The little red house beside the lighthouse displayed bones and teeth from various types of whales and other sea creatures.
The three types of whales that frequent the Bay of Fundy are all baleen whales, meaning they don’t have teeth. Instead they filter plankton through baleen plates (or “whalebone”) in their mouths. Very cool display.
Our campsite in Eastport
SeaView RV Resort has undergone extensive renovations under the new owners. Our site at the water’s edge overlooking Canada was primo.
The picturesque dock house featured lobster buoys.
In the mornings the fog horns could be heard in the distance.
We did not tire of photographing this landscape throughout the day with the ever changing fog and clouds.
We have enjoyed visiting campsites with pools to relax at the end of the day. The first-rate new pool at Seaview has an unmatched view!
Our Campsite in Millinocket
For the two day visit to the Katahdin Woods and Waters area we stayed in Pine View Resort near Millinocket in a peaceful water front campsite. We had a close view of an eagle flying upstream right in front of the campsite.
We tubed down the East Branch of the Penobscot River both days and saw another eagle flying over the river.
We were dropped off a couple of miles upstream where they had installed an approach ladder to the river. It was a peaceful hour-long float with just a few rocky sections.
Grindstone Falls was further upstream.
Katahdin Woods and Waters NM
This relatively new National Monument is quite remote. All of the roads are gravel roads created for logging. In fact the area is currently still being logged.
The gravel approach road to the NM is a long ten miles where the speed limit was 15 miles an hour. The 17 mile Katahdin loop road provides access to hiking trails and scenic views in this remote area.
The first turnout at Sandbank Stream Campsite was picturesque.
We did 15 minutes on The Deasey Pond trail and moved on before seeing the pond. Katahdin would be a good place to hunt for Christmas trees.
Lynx Pond was the next spot. We took photos, sat on the bench, listened to the sound of the birds and wind, and wondered if there were moose prints in the mud below.
OMG. There actually was a moose over on the other side of the pond browsing in the grass.
We watched him for 30 minutes and took a jillion pictures until our arms were tired. Eventually he got out of the water and gave us a great view. We were so excited to see our Maine moose!
Views of Penobscot river and Katahdin overlook.
We celebrated with an absolutely fancy fabulous lobster chowder and seafood pappadelle dinner at River Driver on Lake Millinocket.
The flowers and sunset overlooking Katahdin were glorious. Yet again we found ourselves plotting a return to this spot.
Maine Summary
What a state! As the Mainers contend, its the way life should be. Our goal was to see as many lighthouses as possible and eat as much lobster as possible. I am going to declare the trip a success on both fronts.
We saw 14 of Maine’s 65 lighthouses and two in Canada. Not bad considering the large majority can only be viewed from a boat.
We had lobster bisque, lobster stew, lobster rolls, whole lobster, and lobster popovers.
Plus we saw every animal I dreamed of seeing in Maine: bald eagles (3), moose (1), whales (5), and seals (20+). We even saw a mama turkey and her baby chicks for the first time.
Most importantly, we saw all four of the NPS sites in Maine and a bonus visit to Canada.
What would we change next time? Two weeks is just not enough!