Penobscott Bay Archives – One for the Money Two for the Road

Featured East tower of the Penobscott Narrows Bridge and the Penobscott River

If you like bridges, add this one to your bucket list! The Penobscott Narrows Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Penobscott River on US 1 in Maine, connecting Verona Island to the town of Prospect. The bridge boasts the highest bridge observatory in the world in its west tower. All 2,120 feet of this span are stunning, and of course, the surrounding scenery is gorgeous, too.

The Penobscott Narrows Bridge and Observatory

The bridge opened on December 30, 2006 and was a replacement for an earlier bridge that had been built in 1931. The observatory, which officially opened in May of 2007, afforded us wonderful views of the river, Penobscott Bay, the quaint town of Bucksport, Maine, Fort Knox, and even Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Combo tickets for the observatory and Fort Knox were a bargain at only $8.00 per person.

West tower and observatory The Penobscott River emptying into Penobscott Bay as viewed from the observatory. A view of Fort Knox from the observatory

Fort Knox was built between 1844 and 1869 as a guardian of the Penobscott River. Fortunately, Fort Knox never had to face a battle. It was also the first Maine fort to have ever been built entirely of granite. Perhaps that is why it is still in such good condition today. Fort Knox State Historic Site is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

Front and entrance (sally port) to Fort Knox. Note the embrasures for the cannons.

Note: because we are not experts on military jargon or architecture, we refer to those holes in the walls “gun holes” simply because it’s easier to remember than “embrasure”. Though it never saw battle, this fort had the means to be heavily armed if needed.

More “gun holes”. This type is called an arrow slit or loophole. Inside the fort, these arched “rooms” are called casemates, and each one could hold a cannon. Men’s quarters, storage vaults (in the parade ground), and storerooms (arched areas with doors and windows on the far right). A bakery was located at the top of the stairs next to the storerooms. “D” Battery overlooking the river

This was an important stop on our road trip up the Maine coast. Although we were anxious to get to Bar Harbor, we were glad we got to spend a couple of hours here. We highly recommend adding these landmarks to your itinerary if you’re going to be in Maine.

Thank you for joining us as we travel along the coast of Maine. Come back to our site for more exciting posts from New England, as well as other destinations, and tips and tricks. We appreciate your support, your comments, and your input. We do this for you!

We are closing this post with a look at the pretty riverside town of Bucksport, Maine, which is located across the river from Fort Knox.

Oh, how we love those New England church steeples!

Until the next trip…

Travel safe, travel smart, and we will see you down the road!

Mike and Kellye

As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) We aren’t paid for our recommendations, and we only recommend our own tried and true vendors and venues. Our suggestions are for places that we’ve heard good things about but haven’t visited personally, and our opinions are our own.

Featured Camden Harbor on Penobscott Bay

Quintessential Maine. Camden is often referred to as the “jewel” of the coast, and now we know why. Could we live here? You bet. In a heartbeat.

This place is beautiful, and it is home to Camden Hills State Park, as well as the Camden Snow Bowl. How many towns can boast having a seaside harbor and a ski area? We doubt there are very many.

Camden street view

First settled in 1772, Camden is clean, pretty, and adorned with quaint, well-kept buildings and residential areas. Honestly, there is something pretty to see here, no matter where you look.

Private homes in a residential area. Note the pink and white hydrangeas. In our opinion, nothing epitomizes New England better than a tall white church steeple. Hydrangeas are abundant in Maine. These were in Camden’s Harbor Park.

Harbor Park is a natural space along the harbor, complete with sidewalks for strolling and benches for relaxing. We could have sat on those benches and stared out at the harbor all day (or set up an easel and spent the day painting scenes from the waterfront), but the road was calling and we had to get back to our trip up the coast.

We also found these busy bees on bottlebrush flowers in Harbor Park

Everywhere we went, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, had beautiful flora. Whether it was trees (not too many of those where we come from), or shrubs, or the abundant flowers, we were captivated, as you will see as you follow our posts.

The Camden Public Library The amphitheater on the grounds of the public library is designed to host a variety of events and overlooks the harbor. Imagine a wedding taking place in this gorgeous setting! Another harbor view with the bay in the distance.

From the Native American Indians who once called this area home, to the colonists who settled the area after America’s independence, Camden holds a treasure trove of history. By 1858, Camden had become a thriving harbor town, and during that time of abundant growth six shipyards had been built!

Sailboats. There’s just something special about those tall masts.

Over the last century, Camden has become the summer home to many who live in large cities along the Eastern Seaboard. In 1892, a fire destroyed most of the town, but amid the devastation, the wealthy summer residents got together and invested in its rebuilding, resulting in the town we see today. Trivia: the Camden Yacht Club was established in 1912.

Final destination of the three-mile-long Megunticook River. The water from these falls dumps right into Camden Harbor.

We almost bypassed Camden, as it wasn’t on our original itinerary. On a whim, we decided to make the jaunt from Maine’s capital city of Augusta to see what all the fuss was about. That decision was probably the best one of our entire trip. We were so glad to have gotten to spend a couple of hours in beautiful Camden, and now we’re able to share it with you.

That’s going to wrap up our visit to Camden, Maine. Stop back by for more posts from our New England road trip, as well as other trips, RV trips, tips and tricks, and perhaps just some pretty pictures. We welcome your input and comments. After all, we post for you!

We are going to close this post with the Maine State House.

The Maine State House in Augusta

Built of Maine granite, the State House was completed in 1832, just twelve years after Maine became an independent state from Massachusetts. Minerva, the Roman goddess of Wisdom stands atop the dome.

Until the next trip…

Travel safe, travel smart, and we will see you down the road!

Mike and Kellye

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