Rockland Maine and Wandering South

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We’re already a quarter of the way through October and need to get heading south. We have needed to turn on the heat many of the evenings and the weather forecast is starting to at least mention the word snow in northern Maine. We identify an Elks Lodge in Rockland that sounds nice and is about 150 miles away. So that’s the next destination. Fortunately in the week we have been in Lubec, some of the construction issues we ran into on the way up here are now a little better. There are still one way sections but at least what was a dirt road on the way up is now paved. The Rockland lodge is well off the main road on what seems to have been a very newly paved driveway and parking lot. Glad we didn’t show up during the paving since that would have screwed up our plans. The “camping” area is off to the side in the lawn but includes 50 amp electric. They have a water faucet on the side of the building we use to fill up our fresh water tank before picking an orientation on the lawn that is reasonably level and offers a great view. All this for $10 a night!

Our View from Rig at Rockland Elks

Star Shot

The following day we head back north about 20 miles to Camden Hills State Park with the goal of getting in some hiking. We had scoped out a set of trails that would give us a nice loop hike. Things started out pretty good. Parked at the trailhead to the Megunticook Trail and started up. When we hit the split to see Adam’s Lookout, we headed that direction. In hindsight, this was a poor choice. It was downhill for part of the loop that we just needed to make up for on the other half and there wasn’t really any “lookout” to be had. Just skip that side trail and head straight to Ocean Lookout. There were about ten other people at the lookout and the views were pretty dramatic. The fall colors were in overdrive mode and were quite the sight to see. You can see the town of Camden, the port and the ocean beyond. 

Leaves in a Stream

View Over Ocean

Great View at Ocean Lookout

Intense Fall Colors

Overlooking Camden from Ocean Lookout

From here, we continue up the trail that goes to the peak of Mount Megunticook. We didn’t see others along this portion of the trail. I suspect most people just hike up to the overlook and then head back down. At this point, we are on the Ridge Trail but know we need to find the Jack Williams Trail that will head halfway down the hill and then run parallel to the Ridge Trail just a few hundred feet lower in elevation. Even though the trails up to this point had been pretty well marked, we just couldn’t seem to find the trail down. As we head down the hill, we sometimes think we are on a trail, but then it just disappears. The park should spring for a fresh coat of paint to mark this trail. Eventually, the trail becomes more obvious and we continue along planning to intersect the Megunticook Trail again. We do get to a point where we could see up to the viewpoint above and see people looking out. If they saw us down there, they likely wondered how we got there. We finally made it back to the car after nearly 7 miles of hiking. Our recommendation is to be like the normal people - hike up to the Ocean Lookout and then retrace your steps back. You’ll save some miles and see the best part of the loop we did.

Another Nice View Along Trail

Looking Back Up at Overlook

Our ~7 Mile Loop

Just up the road from our parking spot is an even more popular viewing spot - Mt Battie Overlook. It’s much more crowded here because you can drive to the top and park with only short walks to see the views below. It is about 500 feet lower in elevation then the one we hiked to but the views are nearly as good. Although by then, the storm that was to be coming in had brought in lots of clouds and some pretty strong winds. We headed to three nearby geocaches before calling it a day and heading back home. The rains did come and the next day was a wet one. We decided to extend our stay here a couple more days to get in a few more destinations. 

Panoramic View from Mt Battie Overlook

View Opposite Ocean

Port at Camden Maine

Mt Battie Tower

The weather improved the next day so we headed a little southwest of Rockland to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. It was a surprisingly popular spot for an overcast morning. It cost $3 per person to enter the grounds whether you drive in or walk in. When we first arrived, the lighthouse tower wasn’t open yet but there is a lot to see around the grounds and in the museum in the small house next to the lighthouse. It is a pretty picturesque spot. The rocky shore has very interesting rock formations.

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

Old Warning Bell

Rock Layers Lead the Way

Another Warning Bell

Rocky Coast

After checking out the immediate area around the lighthouse, we headed along the rocky shore over to a geocache 700 feet away. Since this area isn’t part of the lighthouse park, we were the only ones out in this area. All along the shore were rocks that have been tumbled to smooth shapes. Some are small, on the order of fist sized while others were several feet around. What was most fascinating about them is they all seemed to be different colors and patterns. It isn’t clear what phenomena or event has caused this section of the shoreline to be covered by rocks with such a variety of patterns, but it is quite neat. They would have made for an incredible cobblestone house or wall if only we could sneak them out of here without arousing suspicion. 

Cairn Building Area

Beautiful Rocks

More Rocks

When we got back to the lighthouse, it was now open for tours. We ate our lunch to allow time for the initial influx of visitors to subside. A volunteer greets visitors on the way in and gives a brief background of the lighthouse, and then as one group leaves, another is allowed up the stairs. Like most lighthouses, the stairs are a spiral design until you get near the top, then you have a short section of ladder to climb through the small opening to get to the light. Our group of four, dropped down to three when the other wife decided here fear of heights was going to win. Chris persevered and slowly made it up and down the tower. The cloudy weather greatly diminished the views and since we aren’t able to get out on the catwalk around the outside perimeter, pictures through the glass have lots of reflections. It was still worth the visit.

Stained Glass in Museum

Oh Buoy!

Spiral Staircase to Light

Light and Fresnel Lens

View from Tower

Part of our goal for the day was to get a few more geocaches so that we could complete our 12,000 find milestone. We had picked out a highly favorited cache in the area and planned to make it our milestone cache. This one was back in Rockland at the breakwater pier. The 4300 foot long breakwater was started in 1881 and took 18 years to complete! Being Maine, the whole thing was built using granite. The top surface is about 16 feet wide but the whole thing is at least double that width. At the tip of the breakwater is a lighthouse and a geocache. We started our journey out and from the looks of things, it was a good thing the tide was a couple hours past high tide. I suspect if you attempt the walk at high tide on a windy day, you’ll be getting wet. 

Rockland Breakwater - Lighthouse Barely Visible at Far Right

Chris Starts Walk Out

Lighthouse In Distance

Getting Closer

Plaque on Lighthouse

Top of Lighthouse Almost Visible

The amazing thing about the top surface of the granite is just how level the thing is. Yes, there are some gaps between the split blocks and if you’re not careful, you could easily twist an ankle or worse. But since the blocks were all split, not cut, the top walkway is quite flat and level. Roughly midway along the walk, there is a single 16 foot stone that spans the width of the walkway. Based on the size of these stones, each block is likely on the order of 2 or 3 tons which may explain why it took so long to construct it. Once at the lighthouse end, it is difficult to actually see the light tower since it doesn’t stick up much higher than the surrounding house. A boat ride would have given a much better view. We managed to find our cache without drawing suspicion from others out for a walk.

Heading Back to Shore

Full Width Granite Block

Looking at Breakwater as Clouds Break

The next day was to be another rainy one but we had saved an indoor activity in town for just an occasion. The Maine Lighthouse Museum is in the downtown area. It isn’t a huge place but it does house quite the collection of fresnel lenses, fog horns and other lighthouse related memorabilia. We spent an hour or more just wandering around the place learning all about Maine’s lighthouses. We have seen quite a few of them during our 8 weeks in the state. Many of the ones we haven’t seen can only be reached by boat, so seeing them all would take a fair amount of planning. After the museum, we went just a few blocks away to Bixby and Company - a small chocolate maker. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as the Theo Chocolate in Seattle, but we did sample a few types that were sitting out and watched some activity going on in the production area. It looks like this is a 2 or 3 person operation but the samples were good.

Entrance Sign

Picture of 70 Maine Lighthouses

Second Order Fresnel Lens

Fog Horns

Interesting Boat Planter

With cold weather on the way, we decide we need to continue our trek south. Our 55 nights in Maine were definitely fun but it feels like we barely scratched the surface. The next stop is on the northern end of the Massachusetts coast. On our drive, we stop in Yarmouth Maine at what is now a Garmin facility. We had previously stopped here several years ago when it was owned by DeLorme. There is a three story tall globe that spins around. Being a Sunday, the place was closed but the parking lot was nice and big and made for a good lunch stop. 

Salisbury Beach State Reservation is just a few miles south of the New Hampshire border. It wasn’t too busy this time of year, but from the looks of the beach area, I suspect this place is quite busy during the summer months. We only book our site for two nights to give us a chance to check out the area. We walk along the beach after getting camp setup. It is a fairly peaceful location this time of year. The following day, we drive across the Merrimack River into Newburyport. This is obviously the tourist town associated with the camping area. We had a dreary morning to walk along the river and check out some of the shops in town. When the rain finally did come in, we found a pizza place for lunch then off to the library we went. 

Salisbury Beach State Reservation

Late Afternoon Along Beach

Dune Area

Lots of Boats at Newburyport MA

Unique Art in Newburyport

Old Rail Bridge Over Merrimack River

Seahorse Framed by Arch

Large Buoy

Needs His Raincoat

Our next goal had been to drive west through Massachusetts and camp just inside New York, but I mentioned to Chris that we have never found geocaches in either Rhode Island or Connecticut so we come up with a side trip to remedy that. There is an Elks Lodge in Putnam Connecticut which is very close to Rhode Island. If we get in there early enough, we could go out for our geocaches and only need to spend one night in the process. The lodge was easy to get to but is at the end of a dead end residential street - never a great feeling when driving the motorhome with Jeep in tow. Right in front of the lodge was a huge tent like you would rent for a wedding reception. Of course we were supposed to park on the opposite side of the thing. Fortunately the lodge was already open and we went in to check with the bartender. They have another gravel area off the lower parking lot and we are welcome to setup there. They don’t have utilities but for one night we will be fine. 

We figure out which geocaches we wanted to go for in both states and first drive over to Buck Hill wildlife management area in northwestern Rhode Island. As we parked and started on the trail, we saw the warning sign about needing to wear blaze orange whether you are hunting deer or not. We have the vests and hats, but they are back in the motorhome so we just do the couple caches by the parking lot instead of the better sounding ones along the trail. Note to self, keep our blaze orange gear in the car! From here we drove back to Connecticut and parked at the trailhead to a rail trail. There are a series of caches places along here and we go until just before sunset before heading back to the rig. The work crew was just finishing up the tent removal but we had no need to move to the other parking area.

View Along Rail Trail in Connecticut

With our finds in these two states, we are down to just 6 more to go - North and South Dakota, Montana, Kansas, Alaska and Hawaii. Four of those are going to be easy in the motorhome. The next morning we reverse our course and head back to the Massachusetts Turnpike and head west. Having our EZ-Pass transponder works out well for our drives in the northeast. It hadn’t been used in years, so it was good to know it was still active. We just need to remember to shield the one in the Jeep so we don’t get double billed since the one in the motorhome is configured for our towing a vehicle. Our next goal is a KOA in Saugerties NY. The drive went well and the park wasn’t super crowded. The campground is very wooded and navigating the turns around trees required a slow drive - much slower then the woman in the golf cart leading us to our spot. With full hookups and cable, it was a good spot for Chris to get caught up on laundry. 

We really hadn’t done any planning as to what we might do from a sightseeing standpoint while In Saugerties. We got in early enough to head out and check out the Saugerties Lighthouse. There is about 1/3 mile walk out to the lighthouse from the parking lot. Several geocaches along the path warn about checking the tide tables. We have grown accustomed to dealing with the tides while being in coastal Maine, and yes Saugerties is along the Hudson River. But it is over 100 miles from the ocean, we were somewhat flabbergasted that the tide impacted this far upriver. As luck would have it, we were near low tide although high tide was only 3 feet higher. Part way along the trail was a small shack with half dozen muck boots in different sizes. I guess even if we had come during high tide, we could have borrowed the boots and kept dry feet.

A Small Rainbow on Way to Lighthouse

 

Nice Touch - Borrow Some Boots

View Along Hudson River

The lighthouse is pretty and with the late afternoon sun had a nice glow to it. The “residents” were unloading a small boat with plastic bags full of coal. They had a few dozen of them and when we asked them about it, this was the heat source for the home. I can’t say I have ever seen bags of coal for sale but apparently they can be purchased. 

Old Place

But Pretty Place

River Side of Lighthouse

1869

As We Head Back

That evening, I tried to determine what we would do on our “off travel” day. It was then I discovered that where Saugerties is located, we were wishing easy driving distance of four New York State counties that we had yet to find geocaches in. There are only a few bridges across the Hudson, so it was going to take about a 50 mile drive to complete the loop. Upon looking for other things to see or do along this drive, we discovered Olana State Historic Site. Even though we had never heard of it, it sounded like an interesting thing to at least check out.

The next morning we headed south and crossed over the Hudson. Even this far from New York City, there was a toll to cross the bridge! We grabbed a couple caches in a park and ride area before heading north. Olana is just across the Hudson from the town of Catskill. The property consists of 250 acres of rolling wooded landscape. When we arrive, we see if we can purchase tickets for a tour of the home. Tickets were available but we would need to wait 90 minutes or so. We figure this would give us a chance to walk on some of the trails and find a few geocaches on the grounds. The owner of the house and property was Frederic Church - a painter from the mid to late 1800’s. Apparently a fairly well off painter given the appearance of the home and property. Situated on a hill, there seem to be nice views in just about all directions. There are creative bent wood benches scattered about the property where there are nice views of the river or the distance Catskill Mountains. 

Beautiful Setting

Unique Bench with a View

House from Trail Below

Olana Perched on Hill

Modern "Artwork?" on Grounds

Overlooking Mountains

Ornate Home

At noon, we show up with 8 other people to get a tour of the inside of the home. Our volunteer guide was a wealth of information about the owners, his artwork and his thoughts on architecture and decorating. It is definitely a unique place. Now owned and run by the NY Park Service, the place is well maintained and was a fun thing to see along the route. The decorations were not to our liking but given the timeframe the home was constructed it probably was a work of art. It was an eclectic and extremely busy decorating style. 

Detailed Entrance

Arches and Stencilling Everywhere

Front Door

Arched View

Detailed Frame

Fancy Fireplace

Reading Room

Staircase

From here, we head back across the Hudson and aren’t charged while heading in the westbound direction. We stop for a quick and late lunch before heading to the RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary for a bit of a walk and to get a couple caches in this next county. It was a nice afternoon for a walk and the first part of the walk was along a road next to some meadow areas before heading into the woods. There is a substantial observation tower that looks to have been built as part of some overzealous Eagle Scout’s project. It was a nice way to end the day and see a pretty part of New York State we haven’t experienced before.

Huge Eagle Scout Project

The route we picked to head south might seem a bit haphazard or at least out of the way. To a great extent, it was chosen mainly to avoid I-95 through the major east cost cities - Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and DC. Since we really don’t want to visit these places right now and we truly hate the traffic that comes with them, we have purposely headed further inland and plan on coming down I-81. We were even going to swing through Greensboro NC to visit friends until we found out they weren’t going to be home and were on a camping trip. 

As we continue to wing it, we stop about halfway between Scranton and Harrisburg Pennsylvania in the town of St Clair. It’s just a simple Walmart stop. One that is far enough off the expressway to hopefully be a little more quiet. This stop gets us nearly halfway to our next reserved spot in Savannah Georgia. Often when we are doing the overnight stops at a Walmart or the like, we will go out for dinner or at least pick up something from nearby. We found a restaurant a few hundred feet from our parking spot and stopped in for a great meal, beer and even some decent live music. If you happen to find yourself in the neighborhood for some reason, we can highly recommend Vito’s Coal Fired Pizza and Restaurant. The best part was we didn’t have far to go to get home.