Winter Day Trips

In the winter, it's hard to plan even an overnight trip. When the weather suddenly turns bad, what should be an enjoyable getaway can turn into a small or large nightmare. I like rental homes but the required advance deposit doesn't always cover refunds in case of weather. Often in winter, I look closer to home and for a day trip rather than an overnight. Usually, these are trips of about two hours each way, sometimes three hours but that is a lot of driving in these short days.

The most recent of these was a grey but pleasant day when I wentDowneast. The main reason was to go to a sale at Tide Mill Farm in Edmunds. This wonderful organic farm is over 200 years old and sits on more than a thousand acres on beautiful Cobscook Bay. The eighth generation of the farm family is currently working the land with a ninth generation on the way. Their farm stand is open on Saturdays. Their products are widely available but I highly recommend visiting them there. Such a beautiful spot!

After stocking up on chicken livers and smoked ham hocks for the freezer, I continued on to Lubec, one of my favorite places in Maine. Things are pretty slow in the winter but I don't mind that. It's peaceful and lovely. For birders, winter is a great time to go to West Quoddy Head light to look for winter visitors. On the way out, I spotted an immature bald eagle sitting in a tree very close to the road. Cobscook Bay has a wonderful population of bald eagles all year long.

The picnic area is closed in the winter, but you can walk - carefully! - around the lighthouse. Do NOT go on the rocks which are very icy and will dump you into the freezing waters of the bay. The very large island you can see from here is Grand Manan in New Brunswick. The smaller, closer island is Campobello which you can reach from the bridge in Lubec. Don't forget your passport. West Quoddy is the easternmost point in the US. It's a very handsome light.

I saw what may have been a razorbill sitting on Ship Rock offshore, but it was too far to be sure. Razorbills are a very large member of the alcids or auk family. Puffins, black guillemots and dovekies are smaller members. I have seen a couple here before in September. Razorbills visit this area quite often in late fall and winter and are probably a life-list bird for birders.

I drove into Lubec to look for seals in the channels, but there weren't any on that day. There were, however, several large but maybe immature loons.

I don’t know why there’s a blue octopus gate in Lubec. I’m just glad it’s there.

On the way back home, I stopped for a late lunch at the excellent Swamp Yankee BBQ in Jonesboro. You might wonder what a BBQ joint is doing way Downeast. Don't wonder, just eat there. Wonderful BBQ - it's all delicious and I most highly recommend the brisket. Check their Facebook page for hours and for special events.

After lunch, it was beginning to get late, so I headed home. I didn't spend as much time as I would otherwise in Machias, a very interesting small town and well worth exploring. I'll talk about that another time.

LINKS:

Tide Mill Farm

https://www.tidemillorganicfarm.com/

Swamp Yankee BBQ

https://www.facebook.com/swampyankeebbq/

Please leave a comment if you’ve got winter day trips that you enjoy. Thanks!