September 21, 2011

During our trip to Canada in 2008 we learned to keep a watch on the weather, be flexible and make changes as needed. With rain in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, we made a call to Captain Ed Rice, owner/operator (pictured below) of River Run Tours. We were scheduled to “run” the rivers on one of those two days but were able to change it to today. Ed met us at the docks in Bath at 10:45 a.m. and by 11:00, with clear skies and 70 degree temperatures, we were under way. Ed has been doing this for six years and he will tailor the day to your wishes. We requested old villages, seals, wildlife, lighthouses and beautiful scenery. He was able to deliver everything on our wish list plus one thing that even he had never seen.




The first thing on our journey was a trip by the Bath Iron Works of Bath. BIW has a contract with the Navy for three new ships that are totally enclosed (no exposed deck). The first one is in production and the end on one of the sections is visible in the photo. Security is very tight in the area and two boats patrol the river at all times.

Below is a view of one of the sections of the new ship.

The main river that we traveled on was the Kennebec. One thing about the area is the fact that all the rivers connect with each other upstream from where they dump into the ocean. The entire coast in this area is composed of lots of islands and at high tide there is enough water running around these islands to connect the rivers. It is sort of like having canals cut between the rivers. One of the places is called “Hell’s Gate”. At low tide it is difficult to get through because the water gets too low. But when the tide starts raising the rivers (up to eight feet at high tide) you can get through the gate. Try to come back the other way and you have to fight the current. If the boat does not have enough power, it will be pushed back through the gate. (Photo shows the current running the gate).

There are several river lighthouses along the Kennebec. These lights are all short and mark the curves in the river. This old lighthouse is still used but the house is not occupied. Note the building on the left. This is the old boat house and is not falling down. It was constructed like this with the building on the incline so they could pull the boat out of the water.


Several old fishing villages are along the river. This one was the most picturesque with some of the older docks still intact.

We saw several seals but getting photos of them is almost impossible. During the summer there are thousands in the area covering the rocks. Now only a few still remain, and they were fishing today.

There was a pair of adult bald eagles watching over their young family. The juvenile birds are still black and brown. They do not get their white feathers until the turn four years old.

The Kennebec has a set of range lights which are used for navigation. The one in the back is 12 feet higher than the one in the front. When ships are coming up the channel of the river, they line up the lights, one behind the other, and head straight for them. As they head towards the lights the river curves to the left. When they are able to see the next lighthouse around the curve, they make a quick left turn. This gets them around the curve.


The rivers were beautiful today. We traveled on six of them and saw everything we had requested, plus more.

And, that one thing that Captain Ed saw and made a quick turnaround to check out was a squirrel swimming in the middle of the river which, at that point, was about 100 yards wide. The little guy was swimming for all he was worth. It makes you wonder what happened to induce such a Herculean task!

We asked Captain Ed where the best lobster roll could be found. He directed us to a place that you would never think to stop. It was Libby’s Market in Brunswick, a convenience store with a kitchen. They trap their own lobster, steam them and put a pound of lobster on a large roll. It will feed two people and is soooooooo good. Always ask the locals; they know about the “hole in the wall” places. He also told us where to get Italian and Mexican…reviews to come!

Tomorrow we will see what the weather does and go with the flow.