I forgot to mention that the first stop on our return trip was just a few miles from Calais - the International Historic Site, Saint Croix Island. This is where Pierre Dugua was commissioned by King Henri IV to establish a French settlement. Arriving in April 1604 the 79 settlers began building but after 35 deaths in the harsh winter the remaining men, after the supply ships returned, moved back to Port Royal on Nova Scotia. There is a wonderful trail down to the banks of the river with some interpretive panels and several bronze statues to tell the story. Unfortunately, my iPhone/camera was back in the RV.
Right after driving through Bucksport our next stop was at Fort Knox State Historic Site, America's first Fort Knox. This was the first and largest granite fort built in Maine. It was built to protect the Penobscot River valley from navel attack with construction started in 1844. Similar to Fort Clinch the construction finally stopped in 1869, the fort was still not completely finished. This picture is from the upper level of the interior. This is a massive structure with batteries both inside and outside of the fort.
This is the entrance in the front of the fort facing the Penobscot River.
This is the new bridge across the river which is similar the the Dames Point Bridge except that the supporting cables are in the center and the traffic lanes are on either side of the cables. Another difference is that the tower to the right is the home of the Tallest Public Bridge Observatory in the World - 420 feet tall. Susan and I rode the elevator up and I enjoyed the view especially looking down at our teeny, weeny RV. I'm not sure if Susan opened her eyes at all.
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