Maine Fall Color 2

Baxter State Park

On Tues, we were going to head out to Acadia National Park, but we heard on the news that it was going to be quite windy and we were afraid that if we did we might miss the peak of the fall color with all the leaves having blown off the trees.  So, we decided to go inland, first, where it had been colder, bringing out more color than was on the coast.  We headed north to Baxter State Park and then to the the face of Maine's pate (when looking at the map) and then down the flat side of his forehead back to Bangor.  We would save Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor for Wednesday.  

Photo by:  Cherri

This first photograph is of the color we found just outside the park itself, since there are no paved roads inside the park.  I guess we timed it about right!

West Side of the Park

"After the Fall"

The park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park, located in in north-central Maine. It was a gift to the people of Maine established from donations of land from Governor Percival P. Baxter, creating a Park of over 200,000 acres in size. 

Kidney Pond

 

Duck Lunch - Bottoms Up!

Baxter Park is not part of the Maine State Park system. It is governed by the Baxter State Park Authority, consisting of the Maine Attorney General, the Maine Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Director of the Maine Forest Service. The Park is independently funded through a combination of revenues from trusts, user fees and the sale of forest products from the Park's Scientific Forest Management Area. 

 

The park is home to the state's highest peak, Katahdin which is a cluster of mountains.  It has many bodies of water and streams and is a great place for families to visit.  

Rock Formation within the Park

There are no stores or gas stations inside the park. Access and use are strictly regulated in accordance with Gov. Baxter's expressed desire to keep the Park "forever wild."  He has made the following quote, "Man is born to die, his work short lived; buildings crumble, monuments decay, wealth vanishes, but Katahdin, in all it's glory, shall forever remain the mountain of the people of Maine. Throughout the ages it will stand as an inspiration to the men and women of the state."

Maine Roadsides

Big Indian, US1, Freeport

Bruce and I were driving along US 1 toward Freeport when we came across this Indian statue.  We snapped a picture of it at high speed, but didn't know what it was, since it didn't seem to be a sign for any of the businesses next to where it stands.  It is in front of the Conundrum Wine Bistro.  Just beyond it is a sign for Winter People Image Marketing. 

After searching on the internet I found that the current owners, Winter People Image Marketing specializes in corporate and retail clothing that coinsides with the "Maine Way of Life."  the statue is known as, The Big Indian or BFI by the locals.  We can only assume the "F" stands for Freeport.

The Indian was commissioned in 1969 by the owner of the Casco Bay Trading Company, Julian Leslie, which sold "Native American souvenirs and curios, largely made in Japan. The statue is a large male Indian scultped by Rodman Shutt, Julian Leslie, and Mike Leslie.  The Indian is also known as Chief Passamaquoddy for the tribe that used to reside in the Casco Bay area.  It was built for $5000 and is 40 ft tall and 15 ft wide.  It is painted epoxy resin and fiberglass over welded steel angle irons or steel rods, chicken wire and papier mache, secured with wood braces and guy wires added for support after a hurricane.  Its base is concrete.

When Julian Leslie retired, the buildings and statue were sold to the Badger or Badge-A-Minit Ltd. company, who then sold the building to Levinsky's clothing store.  Phil Levinsky had the sculpture restored.  The facelift included structural reinforcement and a repainting using weatherproof marine paints to bring back the Indian's bright colors.  The restorers even had to pull arrows out of the beleaguered Indian that had been shot by archers.

The Big Indian has seen it all: once standing in front of a Native American goods store, to clothing outlets, to a ski equipment company, and now an image-marketing firm, Winter People.
  

This Indian statue is included in the Art Inventories Catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  As impressive as this statue is, as you are driving along US 1, the Smithsonian reports that the statue has been the subject of some controversy.  Native Americans feel the statue is inappropriate and disrepectful of their heritage.  

In researching who Chief Passamaquoddy was, I find no reference to an actual person, but only to a tribe that are the original natives between Maine and New Brunswick.  There is a great website designed for kids that gives a quick overview of this tribe:  http://www.bigorrin.org/passamaquoddy_kids.htm.

Maine - Fort Gorges in Casco Bay

Fort Gorges from East Promenade Park, Portland, ME

Built on Hog Island Ledge, Fort Gorges was named after Sir Ferdinando Gorges, colonial proprietor of the Province of Maine. The fort's site allowed it to provide supplemental fire to both Fort Preble and Fort Scammel. Its location at the head of the harbor would also serve as a deterrent to vessels entering through the channels on either side of Peaks Island. Attackers coming around behind Great Diamond Island could be repelled by cannon on the top rear of the fort.

Work on Fort Gorges had began in 1858, and the pace of construction was increased with the outbreak of the Civil War. It was designed as a truncated octagon with a long sixth side at the rear, similar to Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Granite walls were four feet thick.

The double-tiered arched gun galleries were to hold 28 cannon on each level. Rifle slits were provided along the rear wall, and the top tier was designed for 39 gun emplacements. The gun ports in the walls had iron shutters that opened and closed automatically in conjunction with the firing of the track-mounted cannon.

Construction was nearly complete by 1865, but no guns had been mounted at the end of the war. The ineffectiveness of cannon against steel-hulled ships, as evidenced in the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack, helped render this fort obsolete.

	By Unknown, undated
	Fort Gorges Photo on Marker

An 1871 order from the Army Corps of Engineers called for earthworks on top of the fort's granite walls. These sodded sand parapets were to provide protection for 14 huge Rodman guns to be mounted on the roof. The modifications were nearly complete when Congressional appropriations ended in 1876.  The top of the walls now appear to be planted with vegetation.

In this century, a storehouse was built on the parade ground. Submarine mines were kept here for use in World Wars I and II. 
 
The fort was last used by the military during World War II when it was used to store submarine mines. It was acquired by the city of Portland in 1960 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now open to the public as a park, and is accessible only by private boat. Visitors are recommended to carry a flashlight to enter the powder magazines.

Accessing the island involves crossing areas with strong tidal currents and should thus be attempted only under the right conditions, by people with sufficient experience, using a proper boat, i.e. don't try it with a canoe.