Day 19 East Coast trip. Friday Oct. 6, 2023.

Day 19, East Coast trip, from Scarborough, ME 

A Day to see more light houses and explore what  were long peninsulas that extend into the Atlantic Ocean. So it was another the date to travel, but not so far as yesterday. 

 

Squirrel Point light on the Kennebec River

 

 

 Today was as far as Bath, Maine, which was about 50 miles from our campground. That road takes us north on I-295 with the turn at US 1 going north through Brunswick, where it becomes two lane for a few miles and the traffic backs up. On the GPS it will tell you Bath is 50 miles, but it takes an hour and twenty 20 minutes to get there as it is not all freeway . Another stop at the visitor center was the start of the day, and Sue, the volunteer, again gave us some suggestions. 

 

There were three light houses on the Kennebec River that we might be able to see from the Phippsburg Peninsula, looking across the river to those lighthouses. That was what we tried to do. So the first effort was to find the Kennebec River Range Lights which were just outside the town of Bath. They are small but do their job and we did find them. 

 

It was foggy along the Kennebec River.

One of a series of lights along the Kennebec ...small it is, but important

 

 

Driftwood that looked like a seal at first glance.

The old village of Popham was busy.

 

 

The 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doubling Point Lighthouse was more difficult to kind as we had to find access off Road 209 to the river.  The big ships that are made in Bath, use the Kennebec R. to head out to sea hence the many lights and lighhouses necessary here.

We found a side road to try, but decided that was probably not the one. It was at this time that I saw a lady working in her garden doing some fall cleanup. I stopped to ask her some directions and got engaged in gardening, lighthouses, the town of Phippsburg, and some of its history. Her husband had seen me drive in the driveway while he was pulling out, so he did a turnaround to come back and see what this man was doing in the garden with his wife. I met him and he was reassured and went on his way. I exchanged and shared with Beth a little about ourselves and what we're doing. She helped us find our way where the lights would be.  She works as a bartender in Bath.

The original Building at Phippsburg,Town Meetings here.

The meeting house

The Inn established in 1714

 Interestingly, Phippsburg has been around for a long time being settled for the first time in 1607 by the British. There were many arguments about boundaries, over the years and eventually Phippsburg encompassed a number of islands (7),  is over 10 miles long, and ends up being 74 mi.². There are only 2000 people living here but that stretches out for about 10 miles along this peninsula. It's a pretty amazing place. Very quiet and of course close to the water so fishing is still a large activity although tourism is important on the income side. 

There were mills and shipbuilding as well as the fishing industry for a while. (Bath is still a shipbuilding leader on the coast.) Flour, lumber, and corn meal were large production goods historically.

Here is some info on the General Dymanics Bath Iron Works commonly called BTI. 

The shipyard has two separate facility configurations that support the ship assembly (unit erection) and launching process. Both configurations consist of three shipways that can be used for either military or commercial ship construction. Three level-land shipways are the centerpiece of the Land Level Transfer Facility (LLTF); all three shipways can accommodate ships of 243 meters (700+ feet) in length and a maximum beam of 32 meters (100+ feet). The LLTF building positions are serviced by two, track-mounted, 300-ton level-luffing cranes and one, track-mounted, 100-ton level-luffing crane. Operating on an inter-connected rail system grid, all three cranes can be positioned to service any of the three shipways.

Local color is showing some

Local door in fall

Port Popham unincorporated (actually Phippsburg)

Many local houses are Elizabethan in Style.

 

 

The second lighthouse was easier to find,  but the fog was settling in so Ruth worked quickly to get at least one shot in.  That was Doubling Point lighthouse, a small light but across the Kennebec River so it could be seen facing the ocean about 6 miles away. This lighthouse has a walkway that is wooden, leading to it from the keeper's house. It is small, but effective.

The third light is the one that was being engulfed in fog as it was closer to the sea scroll up to of the one called Squirrel Point Lighthouse. It stands alone and looked quite lonely in the fog.

We continued down the road called Parker Head which led to the end of that peninsula where there was a small town at one time called Port Potham, named for the leader of the first white settlers in Maine. He (George Popham) and his second-in-command, who was a nephew of Walter Raleigh, came from the Jamestown community in Virginia. They were the first Europeans (British) to enter the main area. The descendants of this colony remain until the present-day.  (1607-8)

All four of these are Fort Popham

At High tide these walls are under water.

Very well built but never completed Used in WW1 and WW2

Solid stair way.

 

Our journey continued as we ended at road's end by the Ocean, where the Fort named Potham is located. It is huge and built during the Civil War, but never really finished. It did serve in its  time until World War II as a protection for the shipbuilding in Bath, up the Kennebec RThese peninsulas are very quiet, uncluttered, and peaceful, and as they are surrounded on three sides by water, are very beautiful to behold. One can certainly relax and enjoy the outdoors here. I am sure at times the winds and 'noreasters' can change the land and sea in a hurry.

History of Ft. Popham

 

 Right next door is Fort Popham. It was emptid in 1926 after WW1 . Also kept guard on the shipworks in Bath.

 

 Even though the fog had obscured the other two lighthouses that were on islands in the Bay, we had accomplished what we came to set out for. It was a good day.  On the way home we stopped for the first time (ever), at a "Dunkin'" to try their donuts and  for Jim a Latte. Jim thought the Latte was one of the best he has tasted. (Dunkin'  has it all now, even sandwiches and 'roll ups'.) NO, we have not been to a  'Chick fil-a' yet either. (Ever!)

No plans for tomorrow but I'm sure we will come up with something!.! (It rained off and on!)

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow. ––Jim