More of Maine

Making our way west towards home, we stopped just outside of Bucksport to visit a gem we hadn’t read or heard about until we came across it (quite literally) on Route 1 on our way to Acadia on Thursday afternoon – too late in the day to stop. 

The Penobscot River Bridge and Observatory near Bucksport opened in 2006 to replace the previous aging structure.   The bridge consists of cables held up by two towers; the western tower has an observatory at the top, accessible by elevator, and providing 360 degree views of the surrounding area.  The height of the tower is over 447 feet – taller than the Statue of Liberty, but about 100 feet shy of the Washington Monument.

Out towards the Atlantic Ocean

That's our RV from 45 stories up!

At the base of the tower is Fort Knox State Historic Site.  Not to be confused with Fort Knox in Kentucky – the one with all that gold --- this one was built in the 1850’s to protect the strategic Penobscot River from British attack.  It was a delayed response to the American Revolution and the War of 1812 when British ships made their way up the river and gained control of the surrounding towns.  Fortunately, the fort never saw live action nor any enemy ships, but it did serve as an encampment for short periods of time during the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.  Both the fort and the observation towers on the bridge are built of Maine granite. 

My last picture of the day speaks for itself!