Penobscot Bay

Thistle has spent almost three months cruising in and around Penobscot Bay and it has been delightful. I feel like we've gotten to know Penobscot Bay pretty well, and we are sad to leave, but the fall color is a little late this year, and the good weather won't last forever, so we are heading south today.

Some of the things I'll never forget about Maine and Penobscot Bay are the wonderful old schooners and wooden boats,

the lighthouses,

the picturesque harbors with huge granite foundations, shingled buildings, and lobster gear piled around,

and the beauty of the rugged coastline.

I especially enjoyed the gardens full of beautiful, healthy flowers,

and the colors of autumn which I hadn't seen in quite a while.

 Here's a map showing our various jaunts around the area. The blue lines are the Captain's trip with Bill. The green lines are his trips with Don, and the yellow and orange lines are the trips we've made since I came back from California.

I might even grow to remember the lobster buoys fondly when enough time passes. Nah, not really, I'm sure I'll never miss them!

Rambling Around on Muscle Ridge Channel

With the weather finally settled, we decided to do some exploring down along the Muscle Ridge Channel. We left Rockland early Sunday morning and rounded Owls Head Light with the rocky point glowing in the morning sun.

Another boat in the harbor had suggested Dix Island as a nice place to hike around. We navigated the narrow channel into the anchorage at high tide, and dropped the anchor in about 18' of water. (The wide blue line shows our route.) After lunch we went ashore and got this view of our boat in the snug anchorage.

On the northeast corner of the island we saw another boat anchored in a fine place that was much closer to Rockland and probably much easier to get into. (The fine blue line on the chart shows that route.) This is what happens when you don't have the "good" Maine cruising guide and you have no local knowledge. Oh well.

On High Island we found remnants of an old quarry including the pit, some rusty old equipment, odd bits of granite, and even an abandoned home.

We also saw lots of fungi in the woods.

We went back to Rockland late Monday morning at high tide and had another nice evening watching boats enjoying some fine fall sailing. Maine is magical right now!

Farnsworth Museum

One of Rockland's big tourist attractions is the Farnsworth Museum with its extensive collection of Wyeth art.

Many people probably recognize N.C. Wyeth's art from his illustrations in Robert Louis Stevenson's books. He was one of America's finest illustrators and had a wonderful grasp of how to convey the gist of a story in an illustration.

His son, Andrew Wyeth, focused more on sketches, watercolors, and tempera paintings. His subject matter was the world around him, but he painted in a moody, monochromatic almost austere style.

The Farnsworth had his old chest displayed next to his painting "Her Room" that you see above.

Andrew was particularly adept at painting white objects and these white pumpkins are a perfect example. Detail from "Albinos".

The grandson, Jamie Wyeth, also paints the natural world around him with a heavy emphasis on animals, but with a more colorful palette than his father. I really liked this cat detail from his "Maine Coon Cats".

If you ever get to Maine, a visit to this museum is highly recommended. You can also visit the Olson House, the subject of his most famous painting, in Cushing, Maine.

Beth's Farm Market

On our way home from Sugarloaf Sunday, we stopped at Beth's Farm Market for an extra dose of Fall and it didn't disappoint.

Mums were massed around the building, the scent of apples filled the air, and pumpkins, gourds, and ornamental corn abounded.

Everything was just so beautiful and fresh that I wanted to buy one of each, but we limited ourselves to one huge bag full of apples, carrots, tomatoes, beets, broccoli, onions, bell peppers, and green beans.

ps: If you're interested in online jigsaw puzzles, this one of mine was selected as a featured puzzle yesterday. Check it out at www.jigsawplanet.com

My username is fortunesafloat

Fall Color in Carrabasset Valley

Thanks to a wonderfully generous couple we met back in St. Augustine, we had a weekend away from the boat in the hills of Maine enjoying the fall colors.

We drove past Flagstaff Lake where they had hiked and camped many times, and marveled at the brilliant red trees reflected in this little pond.

Next we drove up into the Carrabasset Valley where the colors were even more pronounced. Although this area is only around 4000' in elevation, it reminded us of the Sierra Mountains back in California.

On Sunday morning we rode the chairlift to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain where we were able to see the sleeping Indian across the valley. Can you see him? His feet are over to the left,  his hands are resting on his chest, and his headdress is trailing down to the right.

Our friends lived at Sugarloaf for many years and spent lots of time on the mountain skiing. Riding the lift back down, they said this was the first time they had ever ridden it DOWN the mountain. It was a beautiful quiet ride on the lift with views like this along the way. You can see our shadow on the trees.

On the way back we stopped by Mooselookmeguntic Lake and had this view out across the lakes in the watershed that feed the Kennebec River.

Thank you so much Jean and Bill for a beautiful weekend at your beloved Sugarloaf. We love you.