Bass Harbor Head Light with its Fixed Red light and 4th Order Fresnel Lens.

You can’t fault us.  After all, we had discovered a lovely photo of Bass Harbor Lighthouse on Mount Desert Island, Maine, on a site geared for our granddaughter:  kids.nationalgeographic.com.  It was a lovely scene — classic Maine lighthouse perched atop rocky land facing the ruggedness you come to see when you visit Down East.  But getting that shot?  Well, that’s another story.

The shot we’d love to have: Bass Harbor Light as seen on National Geographic Kids: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/nature/acadia/#Acadia-lighthouse.jpg

You see, if you head to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse site you find on a map, you land at a nicely paved parking lot.  “Piece of cake,” you say to yourself as you wonder which path to take:  left path or right.

Left Path

If you go left, be prepared to walk downward — way downward — on multiple steep wooden steps and uneven rock ledges.  And sometimes you’ll be body to body with other tourists lumbering just as you are with cameras dangling around their necks.

It’s a long climb down the steps to view the Bass Harbor Light above.

But oh, there’s more. You need to prepare yourself for rocks. Sharp rocks.  Precariously perched rocks that barely make room for a good toehold.  And it’s at the base of those granite rocks that you may want to pause and pay your respects to all who are struggling as they wonder if perching themselves on the one flat rock they can find will enable them to hoist a leg over a nearby sharp-pointed boulder, steady themselves, and take a photo.  But climb as you must, you still may not get that shot you saw on the internet.

People climbing — cautiously — among the rocks, trying to get that perfect shot of Bass Harbor Light.

Perched on flat rocks, tourists try to capture Bass Harbor Light without falling!

Our best shot from the left path?  This sideways glimpse.  Not bad for old people unaccustomed to rock maneuvering, but still not the crisp view of the lighthouse with dawn’s early light behind it.

From the left side: Bass Harbor Lighthouse, Mount Desert Island.

Right Path

Now, if you take the right path out of the parking lot, you’re in for much easier walking.  Stop at the sign that gives you all the goods on this light:

• Established in 1858
• Cost of land: $80
• Cost of buildings $4,983.35
• Completed in 1876 with fog bell and tower (since removed).

Today, you’ll see the lighthouse with a 4th order Fresnel Lens and Fixed Red light as well as a private residence for a Coast Guard member and his/her family.

It’s from here that you can stand on the level path and have your picture made or take another shot or two of what you came to see:  Bass Harbor Head Light.  

View from the right: Bass Harbor Light with original bell in foreground.

No matter which way you choose to go — left or right — know that the best photo-ops are probably way beyond the two pathways out of the parking lot.  You may now have the same visions we had:  hale and hearty photographers climbing outward from the wooden steps, looking upward to catch the lighthouse in its entirety surrounded by heaven above and rocky shoreline below.  But we never saw that view.

The best news we have is this:  Bass Harbor Light is one pretty sight to see from any angle.  So, even if you don’t get a view of the whole and even if you’re not Ansel Adams, you can enjoy one of Maine’s storied lighthouses — all for free.

From the rocks: View of Bass Harbor Lighthouse on Mount Desert Island

For more beautiful images of Bass Harbor Light, go to:

• National Geographic Kids
• Flickr/bassharborlighthouse
• Google Images

One pretty place: Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Bristol, Maine.

Approachable and easily accessible, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is a treasure both for the state of Maine and for those of us looking for the quintessential charming white lighthouse.

Established in 1827, the light sits on a unique rock promontory in Bristol, Maine, near New Harbor and the town of Newcastle.  After a bout with crumbling plaster (salt water had been mixed with the original plaster), the lighthouse had to be rebuilt using only freshwater in the construction.  It opened in 1835.

Pemaquid Light with flag at half staff to honor those massacred in Las Vegas, October 20, 2017.

A striking painted-white 38-foot tower stands tall , and the day we visited, the whole structure including the Fisherman’s Museum located in the original wood-framed lighthouse keeper’s home, positively glowed with the effects of the afternoon sun.

Glowing in the sun: Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

In 1856, a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in the tower, one of only eight such lenses still in use in Maine today, and you can visit the tower Memorial Day to Columbus Day.

Lighting the way: tower at Pemaquid Point

We walked the grounds, noting the raw beauty of the craggy shore and small, but private picnic area. If you’re looking for a postcard-picture of Maine’s coast, this is one place you’ll want to see.

Rocky promontory at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse remains a favorite for its quiet countenance and visitor-friendly grounds planted with spectacular perennials. Go for the view.  Go for the simplicity.  Go for the museum.  Whatever you hoped for in a Maine lighthouse is probably there — at Pemaquid Point.

Rocky shore at Pemaquid Point

For more information:

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, 3115 Bristol Rd, Bristol, ME 04558

Visit Maine website with information on location, entry fee, and hours for visitors.

Facebook:  Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

For more posts on Maine, check out our Travel Series:  Autumn Down East.  We’d love to show you Maine through our eyes!

Portland Head Light standing firmly on rocky Maine shore

Although we’d seen Portland Head Light once before, we looked forward to visiting what we think of as the granddaddy of lighthouses along the Maine coast.  Of course, that’s not accurate — just our impression.  After purchasing a book called The Islandport Guide to Lighthouses in Maine by Ted Panayotoff (sold in the Portland Museum of Art gift shop), we read accounts of 64 lighthouses and found that most aren’t visible from shore.  So, to us, Portland Head is not only stately, but, with its commanding presence and height, is also the grandest in Acadia.

View from the walkway: Portland Head Light, Portland, ME

Just so you’ll know:

• Location:  in Fort Williams State Park on Shore Road just a couple of miles from Portland
• Completed:  1790
• First lighthouse keeper: Joseph Greenleaf, appointed by President George Washington
• Tower:  about 80 feet tall
• Automation:  1989 — the end of an era when the last of the third generation Strout lighthouse keepers who had served for 59 years left the lighthouse
• Museum:  The town of Cape Elizabeth leased light station from Coast Guard and opened a museum in the keeper’s quarters in 1990.
• Open — grounds and museum are open in season; lighthouse is accessible only for Maine Open Lighthouse Day in September

The simple, elegant tower is appealing to all . . .

Simply white: Portland Head Light

as are the green signature color and red roofs on the museum.

Shopkeeper’s quarters turned museum at Portland Head Light

And the view from the side is the best introduction you’ll get of the rocky Maine coast.

Classic view of the Maine coast from Portland Head Light

Definitely worth a visit:  Portland Head Light.

We’re leaving soon for several days in Maine — a Down East autumn adventure that will take us up Route 1 along the coast and into the interior.  We’re ready for leaf peeping, a little hiking, and a lot of sightseeing from Mount Battie to the Fryeburg Fair.  Our goal?  Post pics of clapboard houses, boats in harbors, and trees decked out in glorious fall attire.  Here’s hoping you want to go along with us, too.  See you in Maine!

–Bert and Rusha Sams

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rushasams

Twitter:  @rushasams

Hilton Head harbor under repair after Hurricane Matthew

As the week wore on though, we found ourselves taking coffee outside just so we could “sit a spell” and watch the transformation of the harbor.  Workers arrived each morning.  And we watched them with great interest as they hauled, hammered, and handled equipment, all without falling into the brink.

By week’s end, they were gone.  No more barges piled high with machinery.  No cranes lifting beams.  No men wielding heavy drills and hammers.  They were done.  Leaving us with a clear shot of Harbor Town lighthouse, reflected in unobstructed waters.

Harbor Town light reflected in uncluttered waters

Sundown at Harbor Town, Hilton Head Island

For more reflecting, check out the other entries in this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.

Tybee Island lighthouse — Georgia coast

For more entries in Ailsa’s Travel theme: Minimalist on her blog Where’s My Backpack, click here.

For more on the Tybee Island Lighthouse, click on their website or Facebook page.