Maine is officially The Pine Tree State and its motto is ‘Life the way it should be’.  Maine doesn’t have a high profile outside of the New England area and hasn’t played a major role in US history or politics.  As a distant outsider I would have said Maine is known for its rugged shoreline, quaint fishing villages and its lobsters.  Within the first day we could attest to all three plus much more.

We crossed over into Maine and were again struck by the beautiful mountain lakes that met us around every corner and the lack of people.  Maine has roughly the same number of people as New Hampshire but spread out over a state much much larger.  If you like mountains, forests, lakes and fast flowing rivers without a lot of people then these northern New England states are made for you.

Because of our latitude the day starts early with sunrise at 4:53 AM.  And the days are cold, hovering around 50F (10C), sometimes with a cool breeze to top it off.  Winter clothes were unexpectedly unpacked again (where are you Florida?).  On that first day we repeatedly left the main road to head off down a peninsula or promontory of some sort to explore small villages, around countless bays and inlets, take in the rocky shoreline, see a lighthouse, every curve was an adventure.  Lunch was a lobster roll at a local shop overlooking the ocean.

Our main target in Maine was famous Acadia National Park, the first park established east of the Mississippi River and a showcase for the magnificent rugged Maine coastline.  To get there the plan was to follow Hwy 1 up the Atlantic coast.  The problem with the plan was that there were too many distractions and side roads which drew us away from our destination.  One stop was the town of Freeport, home base for the giant US outdoor company LL Bean and their flagship store.  Amongst the trout ponds, archery range and coffee shop there was an awesome selection of outdoor stuff and of course we (Julie) had to make one modest purchase.

It was Memorial Day weekend and it seemed every home, every business, every lawn, barn or light pole was flying the American flag.  We drove through towns with names like Ducktrap, Bucksport, Friendship and Freedom.  It was a beautiful drive, very All-American Maine-like you could say, with the added feature that thick green forests blanketed everything that wasn’t below sea level.

The end result of all this is that it was slow going and we didn’t make the national park until the third day in Maine.   The park is uniquely set on Desert Island, reachable by causeway, and the island is about half national park and half privately owned.  In fact its origins are based on wealthy landowners of the island such as the Rockefellers donating their land for the creation of the park in the 1910’s.  Their generosity and foresight have helped create one of the gems of the US national park network.

The park’s go-to feature is a 27 mile scenic loop road that takes in some of the most dramatic coastline, beautiful forested mountains, crystal clear lakes and a drive to the top of the highest peak, Cadillac Mountain for spectacular panoramic views (when it’s not foggy!).

For morning tea we also treated ourselves to a local delicacy, a popover, which is fried batter that puffs up like a Yorkshire Pudding, and for dinner we really broke the budget by having pale ales called Black Bear and Moose Breath in a local pub and a beautiful lobster dinner in Bar Harbour, the main town on the island.  When in Maine…

But Acadia National Park is actually divided into three parts and we were determined to see the other two lesser-visited areas.  We moved westward around beautiful Somes Sound, the only glacier-carved fjord in the lower 48 states.  We did short walks along Long Pond with its steep mountain walls hemming it in and Ship Harbour with the 12 foot tide rushing back in through its narrow mouth, drove through little villages that existed in the privately owned pockets of the peninsula and appreciated the coastline beauty of what locals call ‘the quietside’.

The third section of the park is further east on a separate parcel of preserved land called the Schoodic Peninsula. For our final night in the US we camped in their new campground and enjoyed a great late afternoon walk through the forests and along the shoreline of one of the many inlet bays.  Here the only sound was the lapping of the water on the rocky shoreline and an occasional bird as we walked through the forest of spruce and firs in the cooling air.  The warm fire that night finished off another beautiful day in Acadia.

But Canada, O Canada, was calling us and the next day our plan was to cross the border at Calais.  We drove up the far north eastern coast of Maine where the roads deteriorated, the fishing villages showed signs of struggle and the huge tides of up to 28 feet (9 metres) meant that every view of the ocean at this low tide featured long muddy banks and part-time islands connected to the mainland.  The cloud cover was low, the temperature even lower and the mood was perfect for this rugged coastline drive.

We drove out to West Quoddy Head, complete with its beautiful red and white painted lighthouse, the furthest eastern point in the United States.  We endured a cold and windy picnic lunch at the lighthouse’s base while watching the tremendous power of this high tide come rushing back into the bay.  Great stuff.

We followed the St. Croix River northward to the town of Calais and survived the brief formalities to cross into Canada.  I am travelling on my US passport so that was easy but Julie has her Aussie passport which required a stamp.  After 76 glorious days of travel in the United States, visiting 23 states and driving over 12,000 miles we quietly changed countries without fanfare or fuss.  Just another day.

We hit the ATM for some local moolah and followed the Canadian coastline southward through the very seasonal tourist town of St. Andrews (apparently their tourist season is only July and August) and camped at New River Provincial Park, the Canadian equivalent of a US state park.  And with that a new chapter of our adventure began.