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E-mail contact: randonneur8@yahoo.com | Facebook: facebook.com/1HappyHikerNH

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16 June 2012

A Visit to Peyton Place (Camden, Maine)


The 1956 novel named "Peyton Place" was written by Grace Metalious. It is an exposé of the love-lives of the residents of a small New England  town where scandal and moral hypocrisy hide behind a tranquil façade in the years immediately preceding and following World War II.  The movie version was filmed primarily in the quintessential New England village of Camden, Maine.

I swear to you that the recent visit which my wife and I made to Camden had nothing  to do with scandal or moral hypocrisy!  It was all about sight-seeing and hiking in this lovely coastal region of Maine.

Much thought has been given as to how to best present our multi-day stay in the Camden area.  In the end, it was decided that it might be best to simply let the photos tell the story.  However, the downside to that approach is that nearly two-hundred photos were taken.  And so, I've decided to just present what I consider to be the "best of the best", and to categorize this handpicked selection of snapshots into six (6) groups as follows:

_ Downtown Camden and nearby shoreline
_ Views from Bald Rock Mountain, Camden Hills, ME
_ Rockland Breakwater, Rockland, ME
_ Mt. Battie and Mt. Megunticook, Camden Hills, ME
_ Views from Maiden Cliff, Camden Hills, ME
_ Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, ME

(PLEASE NOTE: Clicking on photos will provide an enhanced view.)


Downtown Camden and nearby shoreline
Upon arrival, it was an overcast day, with rain threatening to happen almost at any moment.

Harbor in Downtown Camden:

Another Harbor Scene:

Camden Public Library Building:

Shoreline Near Camden, Maine:

Views from Bald Rock Mountain, Camden Hills, ME
Although it was overcast, a quick scamper was done up to Bald Rock Mountain located in the Camden Hills State Park where there are over 30 miles of hiking trails.  There were no blue-sky views, but the vistas overlooking Penobscot Bay were still very nice (see next 2 photos).



Rockland Breakwater, Rockland, ME (Click HERE for more details.)
On the second day of our visit, it rained all day.  Nonetheless, we still managed to do some sightseeing, including a short drive to the Rockland Breakwater.  We were not the only people trying to make the best of a damp situation.  Other folks were also out and about with their umbrellas.

Rockland Breakwater on a Rainy Day:

On the following day, we made a return visit to the Breakwater, and conditions were 100% better than the day before!

Rockland Breakwater on a Bright Sunny Day:

 Snorkeling for Star Fish at Edge of Rockland Breakwater:

 Star Fish Catch from Snorkeling at Rockland Breakwater:

Mt. Battie and Mt. Megunticook, Camden Hills, ME
From Mt. Battie, there are excellent views overlooking the village of Camden and Penobscot Bay.  And, it is a relatively easy hike to the neighboring Mt. Megunticook from Mt. Battie.  From the Ocean Outlook viewpoint on Mt. Megunticook, there are vistas overlooking Mt. Battie and the Auto Road leading up to it.  Plus, there are views of Camden and Penobscot Bay which are similar to those from Mt. Battie, only further away!

Camden Viewed from Mt. Battie:

Zoomed View of Camden from Mt. Battie:

Penobscot Bay from Mt. Battie:

View from Mt. Megunticook overlooking Mt. Battie, Camden, Penobscot Bay:

Views from Maiden Cliff, Camden Hills, ME
Maiden Cliff rises abruptly above Megunticook Lake.  On top of the cliff is a huge metal cross located near the spot where a 12-year old girl fell to her death way back in 1864.

Metal Cross Atop Maiden Cliff overlooking Lake Megunticook:

Lake Megunticook viewed from Maiden Cliff:

Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, ME (Click HERE for more information.)
The final stop of our multi-day visit was at the Beech Hill Preserve.  At the top of this hill, there is a stone hut with a thatched roof.  It is known as "Beech Nut", and it was built in the winters of 1913 -1915 as a place for picnics and afternoon tea.  From this location, there are awesome views overlooking Rockport Harbor and Penobscot Bay.

Thatched Roof Building atop Beech Hill:



View from Beech Hill:

Another View from Beech Hill:

To sum it up,  our mini-vacation in the Camden area was terrific!  There is still much to explore in this picturesque area.  My strong suspicion is that we will make a return visit at some point!

12 comments:

Marty said...

Gorgeous pictures- very impressive weather except for the rainy day- Good seafood?

A close friend's former wife grew up in Owls Head (not the one in the Pemi), so I 'm familiar with the area

Marty

Summerset said...

What a wonderful trip and the photos are exactly as I remember that area. My husband's great aunt and uncle lived on Spruce Head Island, an island with a causeway just to the east of Rockland. My husband's parents used to vacation out on the property for the month of July for about 15 years until the aunt and uncle passed away and we'd go and visit for a week or so every year. We made several outings to Camden Hills, Camden and other places up and down the coast. There is certainly much to explore, you should also go see Owl's Head Lighthouse, too, if you go back to the area.

1HappyHiker said...

Thanks Marty for your comments. Yes, the seafood was wonderful. As you know, visiting coastal Maine has it’s culinary delights, as well as delightful scenery! :-)

John

1HappyHiker said...

Wow Summerset! I’d say you certainly are very familiar with the Camden area! And yes, I completely agree that there is much to explore there. We fully intend to make a return visit at some point. At that time, we’ll visit the Owl’s Head Lighthouse, plus many other attractions that we omitted on this trip.

Thank you for your insightful comments.

John

Steve Smith said...

Beautiful photos, John! Looks like a fine place to spend a few days, and you made the most of it!

Steve

1HappyHiker said...

Thanks Steve!

Sometime in the not too distant future, Cheri and I hope to follow in the footsteps of you and Carol by visiting Bar Harbor, ME and doing some of the hiking and sightseeing that you two have enjoyed over the years.

John

One Day in America said...

From the looks of it, this was a wonderful trip, John. I passed through Camden 20 years ago and thought the harbor scene was one of the prettiest I'd ever seen. Your pictures certainly prove that.
The snorkeling looks like it was lots of fun too. And the views from Beech Hill and Maiden Cliff are spectacular as well.
I know you mentioned this before, but what kind of camera do you have? I think I want one! (Of course, the photographer also has a hand in delivering such gorgeous photos.)
Thanks for including this wonderful part of Maine in your blog!

Rita

1HappyHiker said...

Hi Rita,

There is constancy to the beauty of coastal Maine. I’d venture to say that the magnificence you experienced 20 years ago is undiminished and remains much the same as what we experienced on our recent trip.

Regarding the snorkeling, it did look like the folks doing it were having a terrific time. All we did was ask if we could take photos, and they willingly obliged!

And as for my camera, there is quite a story there. Several months ago, my “Panasonic companion” of many years passed away. I tried replacing it with a variety of cameras, but ended up returning each of them since I was unsatisfied with the pictures they took. Out of frustration, I bought the cheapest camera I could find to hold me over until I could find a suitable replacement. Well, that cheap camera has now remained as my loyal companion for several months. It’s a Casio EX-H5, and it cost a whopping $97 brand new!

John

One Day in America said...

Thanks for including the information about your camera, John. I know you had written about your new camera before, but I couldn't remember which post it was. I think I'm going to go looking for a Casio EX-H5 to add to my camera collection!

About the coast of Maine -- it's nice to know there are coastal areas that haven't changed in 20 years when so many of our coastlines (think Florida) have been horribly overdeveloped over the past few decades.

Summerset said...

You're welcome! There certainly is lots to see and do in coastal Maine. Another not-to-be-missed treat is Dorman's Ice Cream on Rt. 1 in Thomaston. Great homemade ice cream and a tradition in our family when we go to Maine.

Unknown said...

Great to see that you had a good trip up the coast! I just arrived nearby to visit my parents, and I saw this blog post in my backlog of things I missed over the past few months. It seems I'm always in the Camden area during stick season, so it's nice to see it with greenery :-)

Camden is really an amazing place for hiking. Not only are there the thirty miles or so of trail within the park, but there's the George's Highland Trail, which takes in three or four other really nice peaks just on the other side of Lake Megunticook. Next time you're there... And I certainly hope you make it back sometime!

1HappyHiker said...

Hi Ryan,

Man, you are so right about Camden being a “really amazing place for hiking”.
Thank you for confirming my suspicion that the George’s Highland Trail provides yet another venue for some great hikes. It was on my list, but time ran out before I had time to set foot on this trail system. I definitely plan to make a return trip over there sometime, especially now that I know for certain that I have some unfinished business to tend to! :-)

John