Our next stop was in Bar Harbor, Maine. Of course, we had to make a trip to one of our favorite libraries! I n a previous post (several years ago), I referred to this library as a Carnegie Library. It was actually built with funding from Maria DeWitt (widow of Morris K. Jesup) who agreed to cover the cost of the building’s construction and to endow its future maintenance. The building is to memorialize the late New York financier and summer resident Morris Jesup (1830-1908).
The details in the woodworking is amazing. I have not seen this attention to detail in any building so far. The library itself is going to be expanded to the left of the building but I don’t think this level of craftsmanship is currently available or affordable. Spiral staircases were located at each corner to access the second floor. Tall people were not designed to use spiral staircases, trust me.
We stayed in the Mt. Desert Narrows of Mt. Desert Island. The weather did not favor beach combing, so we decided to take a ride about the island. Stopping at a wide spot on the narrow, one-way road, I walked out to a beaver pond. The terrain was very similar to what we walked on in Alaska, tussocks that were difficult to navigate without getting muddy!
On the way back to the car I noticed this older footbridge across the road and took a walk out to it. It was along an old trail, which the island is famous for. You could spend a lot of time here just trail walking.
The were a lot of pull-off viewpoints but we actually walked down to the rocks at sea level.
This is view of the fog shrouded peninsula looking south near Otter Point.
And a view looking north near Otter Cliff. It may not look very far away, but the ocean was about thirty feet below us.
I decided not to attempt to jump across this break in the rocks. I wanted to, but my knees screamed “NO”! It was a pretty healthy fall if you fail.
We walked to edge of this cove. Access was closed off by the local Police Department and some individuals untied the police barricades and crawled through, continuing to the beach below.
Upon leaving Bar Harbor (and its crowds) we headed to St. Johnsbury in Vermont. We spent time in the museum that was built using the collection of Horace Fairbanks. Horace was the nephew of the man who invented the platform scale, known as the Fairbanks Scale. All of the exhibits, including the Native American, Samurai, China, Africa were part of his personal collection. He also collected a lot of fossils, gemstones and other examples of rare rocks, many animals (as the grizzly and polar bears show). He must have had a huge home!
This is the view of the museum from the second floor. Birds of all kinds (100s of hummingbirds alone) line the right side foreground while fossils take up the back half. On the left side are the African, Native American, Samurai and Chinese related artifacts.
A church spire can be seen from the front of the museum.
This church was non-denominational and the only church in the area whose windows did not depict religious themes. It was across the street from the museum.
Leaving the museum, we walked over to the butterfly house. There were butterflies everywhere, even in Cathy’s hair. You had to be very careful not to step on them on the floorboards.
The next day we visited the library, located in the center of town. Attention to detail was evident everywhere in the wood workmanship. All of the original books donated by Horace Fairbanks (over 9,000 volumes) were selected with the advice of noted bibliographer W.F. Poole and has been augmented by over 45,000 additional books, magazines, newspapers, video and audio tapes and e-books. This is still a private corporation and serves the citizens of St. Johnsbury as their library. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996 and is officially known as the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. This Athenaeum is one among only a few libraries in the nation with this prestigious status.
All of the artwork was original and the busts included Abraham Lincoln. It was like walking through history. None of the original artwork or statuary was secured. The busts were all originals as well.
On the way back from a local fruit shop we stopped that this roadside viewpoint, in the distance you can see Mt. Washington and the Presidential mountains. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the northeastern U.S. at 6,288 feet. The highest wind speed recorded there is in excess of 231 MPH and the record low temperature (windchill aided) is -108 degrees F.
I took another picture of my travel cat. She seems to find high spots to rest.
This is a view of the entry to the RV park where we stayed at in St. Johnsbury.
We took an early morning pony-driven wagon ride through the park. These were awfully big ponies!
Travelling with the Schinglers 