Maine Interlude

I just spent the last week visiting my 87 year old father in Maine, the Northeastern state that I grew up in. Thought it might be an interesting change of pace to present some images of the place that calls itself "Vacation Land" and "the Pine Tree State".

Maine is one of the areas of the USA with the older settlements of Europeans. Signs that give a settlement date of the early 1700's C.E. are not unusual. There have even been evidence of Viking settlements along the southern coast that date back more than 10 centuries. I understand that for some of you a settlement of 10 centuries ago is a "new" one. For those non-American Indians of North America, both 1,000 and 1700 C.E. are "ancient history". Isn't it interesting how our cultures give us different perspectives about simple things such as "old" and "new"?

Today's Maine is, like any other place, a product of environment and culture. It's long, rocky coast gave settlers access to the sea. The sea was vital for both a supply of food and a livelihood. The pine trees were a source of building materials for the British navy. Both sea and pine still exert a strong presence and act like magnets to attract the tourists who temporarily triple the population of state from May to September. Maine doesn't totally mind the tourist influx as the state is the northern part of Appalachia and, like other places in Appalachia, has a very limited economy.

The photos that I included in this post revolve around two sources. Those of the coast were taken at Reid State Park, a natural resource area that is relatively unchanged by humankind. The others were taken in Hallowell, a town next to the state capitol. Hallowell is located on the Kennebec River. In the 1800's, before the invention of refrigerators, the river ice was cut in blocks, packed in sawdust, and shipped to the far corners of the world. In the 1900's there were a number of shoe manufacturing factories and granite quarries. Today, the town depends on the tourist visiting its antique shops and visiting restaurants before and after walking along the river trail that was fashioned from the old railway tracks.

I hope that you enjoyed your brief visit to a small segment of Maine. Thank you for coming, please feel free to stop by again. In the meantime, may your travels be interesting and enjoyable.

Kerry