Saturday, August 07, 2010

Buckle Harbor, Swans Island, ME Part II

Click here to see our progress map.  Our current location is at the top of the list.

We took lots of pictures of this pretty place known as Buckle Harbor, so we just wanted to share them.  Yesterday we did a little exploring in the dingy.  We went over to one of the small islands.  The rock formations are just amazing.

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We found a path into the forest and decided to see where it led.  We have been on some of the small Maine islands before and wanted to see if we would find any ‘fairy houses’ as we have in the past.  These are ‘houses’ made of whatever is around; wood, shells, seaweed, sticks, and bird feathers.  We aren’t quite sure who makes them, it could be kids or it could be artists, maybe even fairies … but it is fun to see them.  They are all very clever.   We took a picture of Rick near one of them so that you could see the scale.  The smell of the conifer forest was just like the smell of Christmas trees, and occasionally mixed with the musky smell of the kelp and seaweed on the rocks below the tide line … mesmerizing.

  DSC04466aPath into the forest

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Several of the fairy houses

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     A view of Rickshaw and the island from the path

We kept walking and all of a sudden we saw this door!  It had a full frame, hinges and even a lock.  Written on the side in the direction that we were going was ‘Etheria’ and on the returning side it said ‘Reality’.  We were floored.  We came back to Rickshaw to look up the word Etheria and found that it is a fictional planet that was founded by a group of beings known only as The First Ones.  Their living spirits dwell in the Cavern of Fire, located in an underground kingdom.  I guess it is all about staying with the fairy theme!  Sort of amazing … someone actually took the time to haul this old door, complete with frame, over to this island, drag it into the woods, and erect it … just for fun!

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We did turn back and got into the dingy to do some more exploring of the other parts of the harbor.  There were several very small islands some with a house or two on them.  We learned that 91% of the islands in Maine are privately owned. 

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Someone went to a lot of expense to build this rock wall/dock.

DSC04480Our first bald eagle sighting in Maine.  What a great way to end the day!

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   We love the rocky coastline

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           The size of the boulders is amazing               Mt. Desert Island in the background

It was getting time for a cold one so we took the dingy back to Rickshaw and enjoyed the rest of the day.  Yesterday evening was just beautiful.  Rick got a number of pictures of the sunset.  It was quite dramatic!

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Tomorrow we head out to the Cranberry Islands.  There are two of them and we are going to anchor near Little Cranberry Island, which is about 3 miles off the coast of Mt. Desert Island, and has about 75 year-round residents.