Hope you upper graders enjoyed the Amazon and MJ
Imax. I sure did! How about an Internet weekend aboard the TURMOIL with
me. Just like the Amazon trip-I'll send pictures to Mr. Morgan and a letter
to you. Right now we're in the State of Maine. I bet Mr. Cap has a map
on the wall and can show you exactly where Maine is.
It
is the Northern and Easternmost State in the lower 48. Where Illinois is
mostly black dirt, Maine is mostly hard granite rock and forests. In fact
the big paper companies own much of the forestland in Maine. They cut down
and grind up trees to make all kinds of paper.
Our cruise aboard TURMOIL this time is Eastward along the rocky coast of Maine to Canada and the Bay of Fundy. This morning we were in Somes Sound. It is a Fiord, the only Fiord in the lower 48 States. Fiords were carved by glaciers during the ice age 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. At one time there was a layer of ice one mile thick above Somes Sound! The mountains on each side are granite. 100 years and more ago this rock was quarried to make buildings and monuments. The Granite is pink and very beautiful. I took a picture of Hall's Quarry where in the old days sailing ships tied up and loaded heavy chunks of granite quarried at the water's edge. You can see in the picture where they quarried the stone from the hill and made a big hole.
The picture showing the waterfall is where the English Men of War (Fighting Sail Ships) tied up after crossing the Atlantic Ocean from England. They came mostly to beat up on the French who claimed they owned the land here. The English filled their water casks from the fresh, cold spring water that feeds the waterfall.
The big green field in the other photo is called Jesuit Point. It is where the Penobscot Indians attacked and killed a group of Jesuit missionaries back in the 1700's. Bad luck.
After leaving Somes Sound we stopped at Little Duck
Island. I took a picture of a Seal colony there. The Seals eat fish in
the water around the island then sun themselves on the rocks. Seals are
great swimmers but they aren't very handy at walking on land. Their flippers
don't make good legs or feet. Seals also smell bad and make a lot of noise
when you come near them. In the water though, they're beautiful creatures.
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One thing Maine is famous for is Lobsters. They are
caught in traps made of steel wire. The Lobstermen go out in little boats
in all kinds of weather to bait and set the traps. I'd like to meet a Lobsterman
and learn more about it. Maybe tomorrow.
The big thing along this coast though are the tides.
Maybe
Mr. Cap can explain tides to you (and me). The Bay of Fundy has some
of the biggest tides in the World. We have heard that the water level difference
from high water to low water caused by tides can be 60 feet. That's six
stories-or twice the height of the school.
Tonight We're hoping the sky is clear so we can see the Northern Lights. They are supposed to be spectacular this year. Phillip and the crew saw them on the way to Maine last week, great streaks of red and white light across the sky! If we see them I'll tell you about it.
We
are also hoping to find some whales!
Seal Colony on Duck Island |
Buoy marking lobster trap |
Lobsterman hauling traps |
That's all for now. Hope everything is good with you back there.
Your Friend,
Gary
Click here to go to Letter 2: A Visit to Cutler, Maine
