A significant part of the Workamping experience is exploring the area surrounding your temporary home.  Last week on my day’s off, I fulfilled a couple of bucket list items in one short trip.  With Jim over from Vermont for a brief visit,  we decided to head north for a couple of days on a much-needed road trip.

My first mission was to set foot on the eastern most piece of land in the United States – the West Quoddy Head.  According to the Maine Lighthouses guide, the West Quoddy Head Light Station is one of 73 standing and “lost” lighthouses along the New Hampshire, Maine and New Brunswick coastline.  A lighthouse on this point has guided ships through the Quoddy Narrows between Lubec, Maine and Campobello Island, New Brunswick since 1808.  The current brick lighthouse was constructed in 1858 and is still an active navigation aid.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is surrounded by the Quoddy Head State Park.   

Jim and I spent an hour or more exploring the area surrounding the lighthouse and walked down to the cove via one of the paths.  It was a brilliant blue sky day and, while inland it was hot and humid, here at the lighthouse the air was clear, crisp and cool!  A few more pictures of the lighthouse from different perspectives are below.

After leaving West Quoddy Head, we traveled through Lubec, Maine and across the channel onto Campobello Island.  I became familiar with the Roosevelt Campobello International Park last summer through some of our campground visitors who had either stopped in there on their way to Acadia or were planning a trip there after leaving our area.  So, my next bucket list item was to visit this island before the end of the summer and tour the park.  The Herring Cove Provincial Park is adjacent to the Roosevelt Park and that was our destination for the remainder of Tuesday’s tour.  

The campground was surprisingly empty – much to our delight – and we had our pick of campsites settling on one close to the water.  It was a welcome respite from the crowds that descend on Mount Desert Island in the summer.  We pulled out the tent bag and commenced to getting our accommodations in order for the evening and discovered that even seasoned campers forget things!  We realized that the tent stakes had somehow vanished from the tent bag since the last time it had been used.  (or had someone “borrowed” them??)  Improvisation to the rescue!  Jim had any number of screwdrivers in his truck toolbox that fit the bill nicely 🙂

After setting up our tent, we savored an easy dinner of assorted cheese and crackers and fruit washed down with an Italian red wine, and spent the remainder of the evening exploring the coast.  It was a quick walk across the grassy dune to Herring Cove.  I was hoping for a full moon photo but it was overcast AND I failed to realize the time zone difference – so I think I may have been off on my calculations as to exactly when moonrise would be occurring 🙂  We still enjoyed a fantastic stroll along the cove punctuated with sightings of a harbor seal, a loon family, a few cormorants and some eiders along the shore.

Eventually the mosquitoes drove us back to our campsite and we dove into our tent to escape the ravenous beasts!!