Today one of my co-workers and friend David, stopped by my place and asked if I wanted to go to the coast; he stated that he wanted show me a few places around Scoodic Point that many people do not know about. We headed out and arrived about an hour later, I have never been to Scoodic Point before so I was curious as to what I was going to see. It’s a National Byway / Park that circles around the peninsular and the road is one-way only which makes the drive much easier to stop and go which is almost always a guarantee when visiting as there are many places to explore along the coast line. One of the areas we stopped at as at first appearance a normal coast trail where the bed of the forest was covered with ledge, loose soil, snake berry shrubs and surfaced roots from the pine trees when suddenly the tree line stopped and the ledge plummeted 50′ down to the Ocean; there’s a section of the ledge that resembles a small peninsula that’s roughly 5′ wide and 30′ long that runs out over the Ocean. This vantage point provides an excellent place to sit and take in the sun and let the scent of the salty Ocean and the cool breeze off the Atlantic wash over you as you listen to the waves crash against the ledge below. I wasn’t able to capture the scene properly as David was in a hurry but I was able to snap a few photos. The trail we took earlier split left and right, we headed down the left trail which brings you to a similar scene but provides a less sheltered view the coast, the water was very bright and green almost like an emerald which is something I’ve always found fascinating.

A little later on we stopped at a rest stop that at one point hosted an active lava tunnel where magma spewed up from the cracks of the ledge and into the Ocean which you can clearly see. The ledge beach provided a good place to sit and watch waves crash literally in front of you while being cooled from its mist. There’s an area that consists mostly of boulders that were once covered by dirt that the Ocean eroded as far as it could reach and at the top of the boulders are pine trees that let in pieces of the setting sun’s rays; scenes like this always remind me of of God’s Glory shinning down on you.

I feel like I’m a real photo journalist now, I have my new Canon Digital Rebel XTi, Lowepro Slingshot 200 AW backpack that carries my camera, battery(ies), USB cables, memory cards, camera filters, lenses, etc wherever I go. In the past week I have been given to take a some decent shots; last Friday morning on my way to the sky was cloudy but the sun’s rays were peering through like reminded me of being beneath an old dock lit by beams of sun shining down through its cracks. When I arrived to work I was able to snap a few shots of this scene overlooking the Penobscot River. This past weekend I was able to photograph a couple of my friends playing football and a curious young Bull Frog and butterflies.

I just returned from the Orono Board Walk, I thought it would be an excellent day for a walk/photo shoot and I was right. One of my “Slices of Heaven” is walking under a canopy of Coniferous trees with a light and cool breeze making its way through the leaves only giving evidence of its presence by its rattling of the leaves and scent of sweet pine wafting over your body as the golden sun’s rays descend through holes of the canopy where the occasional Chickadee, Robin and Sparrow sing amongst the groaning of an old Birch tree as if protesting against the breeze.

The Bible is right, if this is what I perceive as bliss, I cannot imagine what God has in store of us Saved, as stated in 1st Corinthians 2:9 “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”

Mom and Jack came up from Virginia last Friday to move his mother’s belongings from her apartment to storage as she is now in a nursing home. I took Friday off to help them move her things out; it took the majority of the day to pack everything. At the end of the day I went home and got ready of the weekly Campus Crusade for Christ meeting, this week the local band, Modern Day Jeremiah came and sang. They are a contemporary praise and worship band, I had never heard of them until that night but I think they sang very well.

Saturday morning I drove to Pittsfield to pickup mom, from there we headed towards Belfast via a route that I have only driven once. The drive consisted of mostly well paved roads that spanned over rolling hills twisting left and right with sprawling trees on either side and at times the forest would open up into fields and spiraling streams. Most of the foliage had started to brown but there were intermittent areas that were at peak. When we had arrived at Belfast, the weather temperature had dropped considerably due to the coast. We walked along a very small beach while looking for crabs- the search proved to be fruitless. On the way back to Bangor we came across a small waterfall in Monroe. The land is privately owned and the owners live on the land in a camper during the summer, they said we can look around if we’d like. I took a few pictures of the waterfall and mom took a few of me as well. Marsh Stream is probably Class II for about a mile from the falls, which will make an interesting trip in the Spring. After looking around for awhile we headed off towards Rt. 1 and stopped in Winterport where you could see the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge in the far distance. This is our first time seeing the bridge so we were unsure of what it was until we got home. Seeing all of the rivers and streams on our trip home gave me the feeling of regret for storing my kayak away for the winter yesterday.

On Sunday we went to Church and had dinner at “The Anglers” in Newport, afterwards I went home and relaxed for the rest of the day. Monday night mom and Jack spent the night; we had supper, home-made Apple crisp and hung out for the night.

In the morning we went to Denny’s for breakfast, I am still full as I’m typing this entry. They should be out of the State by now and well on their way to VA.

Today I decided to head to Baxter State Park which is a two hour drive from home. The foliage is peaking in that region of Maine which makes an enjoyable day trip if you like foliage and taking photographs, both of which I enjoy very much.

Once I arrived at Millinocket you could begin to see Mt. Katahdin, the largest mountain in Maine and also the last mountain of the Appalachian Trail. I have never climbed it, but would love to some day. The Maine foliage website was correct; the leaves were at peak- everywhere you looked leaves were bright yellow, orange and red with a mixture of green pine. The Golden road is so beautiful, there are many places to pull over and get into the woods to fully experience the foliage. I took a few photos in the woods where the bed of the forest was blanketed with yellow leaves and orange pine needles, the scent is indescribable, I wish I could bring that scent home with me. After walking around for awhile I decided to head on, the skies were starting to cloud over which was very discomforting to me. I found another little path down the road that lead to the State power lines that circles around the park, from there a small vista of Mt. Katahdin formed. I came across yet another interesting rest area that featured a large boulder with a painting of a Black Bear near a stream that was title “Keep Maine Beautiful”. While leaving the rest area you had to actually drive about ½ mile from the Golden Road which places Katahdin behind you, I took this photo while driving down the road… there’s not a lot of places in the US where you can have sights like this.

I arrived at Abol Bridge and found one of the better places up close to take a photo of Mt. Katahdin, unfortunately at the time it was cloudy. I waited for about 20 minutes and the skies started to clear and I was able to take a few decent photos from Abol along with a nice photo stitch (cropped version). After hanging out at the bridge I headed back towards Millinocket, I decided to take a different route home and found this nice little spot. I wish I could travel more often, I love staring in awe of God’s Creation, it’s undeniably perfect.

vYesterday was a nice “almost fall” day with a low breeze, sunshine, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 70’s. I left late in the morning with my kayak to dad’s camp to spend the day kayaking and riding around looking for wildlife. When I arrived we ate and relaxed for awhile; caught up on what has been going on in our lives.

An hour or so later we put our kayaks in the truck and headed for 1st West Roach pond which is west of Roach pond where the camp is. The pond is fairly small, quiet and out in the wilderness surrounded by a few small mountains, a perfect place for Moose to feed. As always, we were in the company of Moose, this time there were only a three. A couple of weeks ago I was able to take a photo of a young bull moose in the same area; you can read more about that in my “Kayaking in Kokadjo” entry. As you can see, a cow and calf are feeding near the shore. Unfortunately we did find the Bull Moose with full sized antlers that has been spotted in the vicinity that has drawn many of hunters’ attention. After taking a few photos we paddled around the rest of the pond enjoying the scenery, fresh air, calmness and the overall relaxation of being in the wilderness, God’s creation.
Later in the evening we sat around the camp fire where you can find me playing with fire, building it up, cutting wood, etc. I took a few photos of the fire, experimenting with different exposures. My uncle had a custom fire place made with the family name engraved into the side which makes an interesting effect at night.

I set off for the two hour journey home down Route 15 South an hour later, to my surprise I did not see one Moose attempting to cross the road.