June 21, 2010 - Camden Hills State Park/Mt. Battie to Birch Point State Park to Owls Head State Park

Oh, it is Monday but I have the day off to myself. What to do, what to do? Of course, I am going to one or more of the state parks today as it was just a gorgeous day. The question is, what area of the state do I need to hit next? Well, I have not been to the Camden area so I need to look into that for today.



After loading my camera with Kodak 200 film, I am on the road around 7:30 a.m. to hit Slates Bakery first so that I can relax outside and peruse my book to figure out exactly where I am going for the day. I know it is going to be really warm and I always like to take photographs early in the morning so that will be my guiding thoughts. As I relax outside the bakery, I look at the options in the Camden area. Camden Hills State Park and Mt. Battie seem to be the closest. Next on the list could very well be Birch Point State Park in Owls Head. Of course, I could veer into Owls Head State Park on the way back. Hitting three state parks in one morning is a big deal for me.



Around 8:00 a.m., I head out to Rt. 17 in Augusta towards Camden Hills State Park. WCLZ on the radio keeps me company. What a lovely, lovely day! However, water is certainly needed to keep hydrated. I hope that I brought enough for this adventure. After entering Camden and heading out of town towards the state park, I marvel at the activity in their downtown. People are everywhere. Oh, lo and behold my gas light has come on. Uh oh. I better get gas soon or I will be stranded on the side of the road.



As I enter the state park and show my park pass, I inquiry as to where I would get my state park passport stamped. I slowly enter the park and head in that direction. It all seemed so new to me but realized as I entered the parking lot that I used to come here to hike the Megunticook Trail with my friends from the Waterville/Winslow area when I was in my 20s. How could I have forgotten?? There was a brief thought to hike up the trail again but realized that I did not have proper attire or even enough water to make the journey. Another setback was the fact that my legs and arms were so tired from boogie boarding the day before that I knew that I would not make it very far at all. This means that I was destined to drive my car to the top of Mt. Battie. My car headed up and hoped that my brakes were in good shape to get back down again.



As I slowly rounded the corner at the mountain, I could see the openness ahead of me and could only speculate as to what I would see ahead. With my car parked, I slung my camera over my shoulder and headed to the vast openness before me to see what I could discover. Oh my! What a spectacular view that lies before me. Photographs 1 through 9 show what my lens found. I even snapped some photos of a couple sitting down below the road and just enjoying the view before them. They looked so comfortable.


After taking photographs near the edge, I wander back towards my car but then hike up near this stone structure that is perched up this small path ahead. Photographs 10 through 13 show the entrance and stairwell in the tower and Photograph 17 shows the full structure. I wonder how they build these structures to withstand the times. I then climb up the stairs to reach the top of the tower. What a gorgeous sight to before me as I stand and gaze into the view before me. Photographs 14 through 16 show the magnicient view!

As I slowly drive back down to the entrance of the state park, I tap my brakes every so often so that I would not pick up too much speed. My car is only a few years old so I should be pretty safe. A hiker is walking down the road as I make my way downward. He must be in pretty good physical shape to do this trek.

As I drive down Rt. 1 to Rockland, my gas light keeps staring me in the eye as a warning as to what mischief it could cause if I did not pay attention to its need to quench its thirst. Realizing that I also need to quench my thirst, I veered into the closest gas station to pump some needed petrol into my automobile!! It would certainly have put a crimp in my plans today if I ran out of gas. My dad would just shake his head if he knew that my car's gas gauge was this low. Phew! It is hot! A huge bottle of water is needed as I continue this adventure down Rt. 1. heading towards Rockland and eventually headed to Owls Head.



Birch Point Beach State Park is next on the list. I follow the signs and use my MapQuest to get me to this destination. However, I drove right by the road to this state park as I was lost in thought and not looking very well for the road that I needed to take on the left. Eventually, I turned around and found the right road. As I entered the parking lot, I could see the water before me! With anticipation, I grabbed my camera and walked to the beach. Oh, what a gorgeous and peaceful place to hang out for the day! As I slowly walk down the beach, I notice people gathered in different places just enjoying this lovely day. What a great find! Photographs 19 through 21 show the magnicient view and also people enjoying the peacefulness before them. I wander back down the beach and over to the rocks on the left perimeter of the beach. As I slowly make my way down towards the rocks, I spy a green beach pail just hanging out on top of one of the rocks as shown in Photographs 22 and 23. My camera finds what unfolds in front of me as I wander down the rocks. The view and a picnic table tucked up in the trees is what is shown in Photographs 24 through 26. Oh, there are two boys playing down in the water and the rocks. Oh what fun! I snap a photograph of just the same green beach pail hanging on the rocks just waiting to be used for its purpose. This is shown in Photograph 27. As it was getting towards late morning, I headed back to the parking lot to get my passport stamped and to leave to locate Owls Head State Park.

As I drive to find Owls Head State Park, I am lost in thought about all the sights that I have allowed my eyes to experience this day. I am amazed that I have lived in Maine all my life and have missed out on all these treasures. I follow the signs to this state park and am filled with anticipation as to what I will find! After I exit my car with my camera over my shoulder, I take in the gorgeous sight before me. Photographs 28 through 33 show the view from the road to the lighthouse and from the picnic area below. I cannot fail to mention that I did not make it very far up the road to the lighthouse. I so wanted to get there but I was so thirsty and tired that I knew that I could not make it there. I decided that I would need to come back here on a different day early in the morning and for this trip to be my only adventure for that particiular day. I was not able to get my passport stamp as there were none left in the box. I bet it is hard to keep up as I know that this is just a really busy place. Yes, I do need to come back here!

Around 12 noon, I head back towards Augusta. As I drive back, I cannot believe that I made it to three state parks in one day! Woo Hoo! My thoughts also go through all the state parks and road traveled on this exciting photographic journey. My next task will be figuring out what photographs that I want to put in my photography show at Hattie's that starts on July 22nd. I know that this will be a big decision and not an easy one! There are so many gorgeous ones to choose out of all of the rolls of film that I have taken on this adventure. I truly want people to see what I have experienced in the past three months.

Well, stay tuned for the next adventure!

June 11, 2010 - Two Lights State Park

Well, this is a Friday but a day of not working so this means that I can do whatever I please even though that could happen on most days anyway. Today's adventure finds me planning to go to Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth. Of course, I have not been to this state park before so everything will be exciting and amazing to my eyes and through the camera lens!



Oh what a gorgeous day! The sun is shining. Oh my. I best not forget my sunglasses. As I pack my bag with necessities, including my camera with Kodak ISO 200 film and my boat shoes for walking on the rocks, I wonder what my eyes will see today as I make my way to Portland then on to Cape Elizabeth. First stop? Boynton's for extra provisions, such as water. As I venture down the road around 8:00 a.m., WCLZ is on the radio so that I will experience new music sounds as I venture forward down to I-295. The traffic is as expected during this time of morning but is doable as I wonder if everyone is going to work or if they are going to play!



The state park is not hard to find as you are traveling down Rt. 77 into Cape Elizabeth. The road is well marked as I go. I mention this fact because I forgot to bring my MapQuest directions with me this morning. Oh well. It happens as I did get up around 5:00 a.m. this morning. Coffee was certainly needed.



Anyway, I pulled into the state park, showed my state park pass and inquired where I would get my state park passport stamped. The parking lot was nearly empty with only two other vehicles in the lot. The lack of cars bodes well for photographs as there would be limited number of people in my view. I believe that this is the best time of day to take photographs anyway.



After I parked my car and put on my boat shoes, I slung my camera over my shoulder and wandered down to the path closest to me. The ocean waves were booming and beckoning me to come closer. Photographs 1 through 3 is what you see as you wander down the path and up to the stairs to view the water. As I climbed the stairs, the sounds became louder and louder. Oh my! What a sight to behold. Gorgeous waves were there to greet me as they pounded on the rocks below.



With my camera tightly at my side, I carefully made my way over these massive uneven rocks that lined the shore. There were so many rocks in general that the ocean waves met with a fierce intensity as the time was coming closer to high tide at each passing minute. A perfect spot was found as soon as I found some level footing. I sat with awe, watched and listened to nature and all its glory. What a perfect day! What a perfect feast before my eyes. During the course of my adventure, I sit down to observe and take in what is before me with my naked eye and through the viewfinder in three different locations in the same area but at various heights. Photographs 4-7, 9 through 21 show what I see as I gaze upon the magnificient ocean. The rocks that you walk on or even sit to observe the ocean is what is shown in Photograph 8.



As I sat here and pondered life, a fisherman was trying hard to sneek up on his catch of the day. Even though he was some distance away, I could tell that he must have loved what he was doing because of the intensity of the throwing of the line on the fishing pole. I wondered how long he had been there and if he had caught anything at all or was it just an elusive dream. Photograph 22 captures the fisherman in a distance.


Lost in thought, I wandered back to the parking lot taking one last photograph to show the way out. This becomes Photograph 23. Along the way, I spotted the same fisherman who must have left his post at the other end of the shore. I inquired if he had any luck at all today. He answered that he had not but had to leave because the ocean waves were getting intense and that his wife would never forgive him if he got caught up in one of those waves. I certainly understand his point in regards to intensity of waves. Mother nature can sneak up on you without any notice and take what is left of your life on this earth.

Before I load everything in my car for the ride homeward, I walk over to make sure that I stamped my state park passport. A combination is needed to unlock the stamp so I turn the pages in this passport to the appropriate page for Two Lights State Park, then I enter the comination on the lock and presto! Or is it "Open Sesame!" Either way, I opened the box and stamped on the correct page. Phew! I am so glad I got the right one.


The parking lot does have a few more cars than when I had arrived so that bodes well for this popular state park. The area is just breathtaking. I think I should come back with a picnic lunch. No seagulls were noticed at this time but they could very well have been around somewhere just waiting for someone to leave food for them to steal.


The trip back home was uneventful except for the one white car that had three state trooper cars behind it on the side of the turnpike just outside of Portland. As I proceeded further north, another state trooper came screaming down the southside of the turnpike in the direction of the other state troopers. I wondered what was going on. No way to tell then but maybe later on the news.


WCLZ was still playing on the radio as I pulled into Slates Bakery Parking Lot so that I could eat lunch outside and to ponder what life held before my eyes today. What a gorgeous, gorgeous day! Phew! This makes me oh so very happy. I wonder about my next adventure. Where? Who knows. I have to look at my list and go from there. The decision could very well be made on the day that I decide to go forth and conquer. Well, not really conquer, but you know what I mean.


So long for now!