Category Archives: Maine places
A Ride on the Wild Quiet Side: Exploring Acadia’s Schoodic Peninsula
Schoodic Peninsula is one of those out-of-the way Maine destinations that provokes conflicting emotions: I want to share its beauty, but also hope it remains off the well-beaten path. On the warm September day that we visited the Schoodic Peninsula, … Continue reading
Three Hills for Mother’s Day
I have long wanted to hike to Third Hill, the far outpost of York, Maine’s rangy Mount Agamenticus. Third Hill has a reputation for being challenging to find. I’ve known more than one person who has ended up in South … Continue reading
A different kind of Groundhog Day: The Candlemas Massacre
On January 24, on the morning after Candlemas Day, 1692, the town of York, Maine was burned to the ground by a band of 150 Abenaki Indians. Between 40 and 48 people were killed in the massacre, with an estimated … Continue reading
Inventing Nature at Acadia National Park
I love the barren open summits of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. On Memorial Day, we set out from the Jordan Pond House and completed the 6-mile-ish out-and-back hike to Penobscot and Sargent Mountains. We started hiking … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Hiking, Maine places, Mountains
Tagged Acadia National Park, Art, Ernest McMullen, Fitz Henry Lane, Frederic Turner, Hudson River School, importance of art, Maine art, Mount Desert Island Maine, Nature, Penobscot Mountain hike, Philip Koch, Richard Estes, Sargent Mountain hike, Thomas Cole
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Snow babies, seals, and maniacal Arctic travelers: A visit to Eagle Island
Even maniacal travelers need a respite once in a while, if only to plan their next adventures. Eagle Island, in Maine’s Casco Bay, was such a haven for big adventurers Admiral Robert and Josephine Peary. Admiral Peary, as many know, … Continue reading
Globalization, circa 1807, curses the Lady Pepperrell House
Lady Mary Hirst Pepperrell had impeccable taste. So say many sources, but the best indicator is the home she built in 1760 on Route 103 in Kittery Point. The Lady Pepperrell House is one of Maine’s outstanding examples of 18th … Continue reading
Round up: Five great family hikes in Maine
The temperature has risen to a magical 60 degrees, the daffodils are blooming, and the forsythia are primed for an explosion of yellow. The tulips won’t be far behind, and I’m ready to think about hiking adventures to come this … Continue reading
Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Maine places, Mountains
Tagged Acadia family hikes, Acadia National Park, Aziscohos Mountain, best family hikes in Maine, Blueberry Mountain, Dorr Mountain, Evans Notch, family hikes in Maine, family hikes Maine, Mount Agamenticus, Third Hill, Third Hill hike, Tumbledown Mountain, White Mountains
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Time travelling, sea to summit, in the woods of York, Maine
One of my favorite “backyard” walks is the “sea-to-summit” hike from Highland Farm in York to the summit of Mount Agamenticus. The walk doesn’t actually start at the beach, but at the York Land Trust Highland Farm property, located on … Continue reading
White elephant in a green valley
Here at Evergreen Valley, the outside temperature is 12 degrees, but a full 28 degrees warmer, at 40, inside our “villa.” We lost power yesterday (2/17), late in the afternoon after a day of wild snowless winds. Now, this morning, … Continue reading
Why I go to church on Christmas Eve
Growing up in an Irish-Catholic suburb south of Boston, I went to church 60 days out of the year: 52 Saturday or Sunday masses, seven holy days of obligation, and Thanksgiving, which was recommend by the church but not required, … Continue reading
