100 Ft. Bluffs

Quoddy Head Light

Mon, Jul 23

Had a fire this morning and then we headed out for the Schoodic Peninsula. Stopped and tried to call Laurie again. Called her cell phone this time but got her voice mail. Left a message and went on. After going through Bar Harbor my cell phone rang and it was Jan. Apparently I had just missed Laurie. They are out of town and won’t be back until Tuesday night. So, we decided to go to Quoddy Head today and do Schoodic when we meet Laurie. Stopped and had a late lunch at the Whitehouse Restaurant just south of Machias. Great meal! Quoddy Head State Park is in the town of Lubec—the easternmost town in the US. The first thing you see when you get there is the West Quoddy Head Light. Its light still shines through its original third-order Fresnel lens. It wasn’t automated until 1988! The shore here is lined with impressive , black 80-foot cliffs, and if you’re lucky you may see a whale, seal, or porpoise just offshore. Even though the sea was calm and there was little fog, we didn’t see any. We walked the cliff trail and then went inland to the bog trail. What a beautiful trail this was through a thick forest of fir trees and the forest floor was covered with beautiful, lush moss and lots of ferns. Everything was covered with this beautiful, green moss. Made it look like a forest primeval. The trail to the bog was up on a boardwalk to protect this fragile environment. The bog contains many rare species of plants—like the pitcher plant, black spruce, and cotton grass, and even some sub-artic species. Also in this area is the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere. In fact, the Indians used to portage their canoes in a place called Carrying Place Cove which is at the end of the cliff trail. Would have liked to see that whirlpool. Before leaving we drove through the little town of Lubec. Probably much like it was 100 years ago. Mainly a fishing village. Left at 5:30 to head back. Took 2-1/2 hours. We were back by 8:00. Worthwhile trip though. aHaH