Acadia National Park
Page 7
Ann was still at the dock when Morgan, James, and Dad ran up. “I just tried to call Karen, but there was no answer,” Ann reported. “I have to go, but I’ll keep trying to check in with Karen to keep up with what’s going on.” Ann handed Dad a business card with Karen’s number written on the back. “You can call me if you don’t get any more information.” She wished the family, and the whale, good luck.
Dad hurried the twins back to the ticket window for the mail boat and said, “Excuse me. Can I ask you a question?”
Dad told the woman at the ticket office that his wife and friend were the ones on the island with the whale. Then he asked, “Is there any way my kids and I can get out there?”
The woman pointed to a man off to the side. “Randy is heading out to watch and try to assist. You might see if there’s room on his boat.”
•••
While Karen pumped water from the ocean to spray the whale, Mom filled buckets to douse it. They both worked furiously.
At one point Mom paused to wipe sweat off her forehead. She was not more than a few feet from the whale’s eye. Something drew her in, and she paused and stared at the massive mammal. The whale’s sides heaved in and out with each long, drawn-out, labored breath.
Mom was led to speak to the whale. “Hold on,” she said. “We’re doing the best we can, and help is coming soon.”
Mom spontaneously reached over and stroked the whale, just above its eye. She knew it was dangerous to get so close, but her compassion for the whale and its plight made her forget for a second her own safety.
The whale seemed to respond by closing the eye and opening it again.
Mom smiled. “Am I imaging things, or did you just blink at me?”
The whale opened and closed its eye again.
“All right, Blinkie,” Mom responded, giving the whale a name.
Right about then, the first boat arrived. It was a lobster boat and the crew on board anchored down in the water and took a small raft to the island. In an instant there were six people keeping Blinkie wet.
Shortly, tiny Wheat Island in the Gulf of Maine became a metropolis of people helping the whale. Some anchored at sea and took smaller craft in. Others observed the goings-on as best they could from their boats.
Then an Allied Whale boat arrived, carrying a marine mammal rescue crew. Once on the island, their leader quickly assessed the situation. She also asked Karen and Mom some questions.
Mom and Karen gave all the information they could. And Mom added, “We’re calling the whale Blinkie, at least for now.”
“Blinkie it is,” the Allied Whale person responded.
The woman in charge introduced herself. “I’m Rosie of Allied Whale and the College of the Atlantic.” Rosie looked around at all the people helping out on the island. “It’s quite a crowd out here.”
Then Rosie said, “I’m really not sure there is much else we should do at this point other than what we are doing, and wait. Being patient is doing something. The tide is returning, and that probably is our best course of action to try and save the whale. If we attempt to hoist and move it, we could hurt it, and we don’t have equipment here for that now anyway.”
Rosie snapped several photos of the whale, paying particular attention to the tail fluke. She explained, “These photos, hopefully, will help us identify the whale later.”
Mom asked, worried, “But it needs to be in the water, right?”
“Absolutely,” Rosie replied. “If it stays out too long, it can get severely sunburned.” Rosie looked at all the people keeping the whale moist. “But it also needs to be in the water because its insides can get crushed being on land.”
Karen grabbed Mom’s arm. “Look!”
Water from a wave was lapping up to and around Blinkie’s fluke. The whale then thrust down its tail, splashing up a spray of water.
“The tide is returning!” Mom exclaimed.
Rosie added, “In a few hours, hopefully, our whale could be back at sea, naturally. And that’s the best thing.”
Right then three familiar faces ran up to Kristen. “Hi, Mom!” Morgan said, hugging her.
“Hey—great to see you!” Mom said to the twins and her husband. “How did you get out here?”
“We hitched a ride with a lobster boat,” Dad replied, pointing to one of the many boats anchored nearby.
“Well, welcome to Wheat Island!” Mom said. She pointed to the reason everyone was there. “Let’s not stand here, let’s help Blinkie stay wet!”
“Blinkie?!” James said as he, Morgan, and Dad also began dumping bottles of water on the whale.
“I’ll tell you later,” Mom said as she ran for more water.
The Parkers and all the others now on the island worked diligently to keep Blinkie wet. And, as the whale was continually showered with water and attention, it seemed to respond. Blinkie thrashed her tail more often and at times tried to move her body around in the moist sand.
Suddenly a larger wave washed up onto the small beach. Water sloshed and swirled around Blinkie and many of the people helping out.
The sudden rush of ocean gave Blinkie a fleeting moment of buoyancy. The whale rolled around before the water sucked back to sea, then she settled again on the sand, still stranded.
More waves rolled in, and the water level rose quickly. Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad, though, continued to pour water onto various dry areas on the whale.
Eventually, after a larger swell circulated all the way around Blinkie, Rosie from Allied Whale stood on a rock, cupped her hands, and shouted, “It’s time for everyone to stand back! The tide’s well on its way and Blinkie . . .” Rosie paused for a second, realizing she just formally introduced everyone to the whale. “Blinkie may be able to free itself with any one of these incoming waves and the higher tide.”
“Please, for the whale’s sake and everyone’s safety,” Rosie continued, “stay back from Blinkie now!”
The Parkers and everyone else on Wheat Island climbed to high ground, a mere five or so feet above sea level. But that kept them away from the whale and the incoming tide.
Waves continued to roll in, some spilling onto the beach higher than others. James said after a fairly large wave flowed again all around the whale, “C’mon, Blinkie, hang in there. The tide is returning and you should be in the ocean soon.”
The largest wave yet poured in and circulated around the whale, lifting it again off the sand. Blinkie responded by thrashing about and moving this time several feet.
Morgan called out, “You can do it, Blinkie! You can free yourself!”
With each passing surge of tide, water now was free-flowing around the whale, remaining there even as the waves sucked back out. The large whale reacted by thrashing around more and more. Then everyone on Wheat Island began cheering on Blinkie.
Finally it happened. A large swell engulfed the beach Blinkie was on, pouring water on, around, and even briefly over parts of the whale.
Blinkie was instantly lifted and this time surged off the beach and into the ocean. The humpback immediately swam out to sea, toward deeper water.
Everyone on the island celebrated with cheers, high fives, and clapping. Morgan called out, “Way to go, Blinkie! You did it—you’re free!”
When Blinkie was a good distance out, the whale thrust itself above the water’s surface with a grand, leaping, twisting breach, then splashed back into the ocean.
The Parkers looked at each other, astonished at what they saw.
Then Blinkie did it again. And again. And again. She breached at least a dozen times, each leap seemingly higher and more graceful than the last and with twists and turns in the whale’s splash back down to sea.
Mom smiled and said, “That is one happy whale.”
Soon, everyone began leaving Wheat Island. Most took craft to their larger boats nearby. But Mom and Karen, despite being offered rides, decided to finish what they started and paddle into Stonington by kayak.
After pumping the remaini
ng water out of her boat, Mom hugged her family good-bye again and she and Karen took off to sea. Morgan, James, and Dad had to wait a while for boat traffic in the area to ease before they got back on their lobster boat and began heading to the mainland.
•••
Mom and Karen crossed a large expanse of water called Merchant Row. Karen plotted a course on her chart, checking the compass on her kayak’s deck to assure safe crossing. They paddled along the shore of McGlathery Island. The beautiful rocky island and calm waters near shore led Mom to say, “You sure have a lot to see here in the Gulf of Maine.”
Karen smiled, “We are very lucky.”
As soon as they passed along Bear Island, Karen pointed out more birds. “Those over there are eiders,” she said. “Their soft feathers are the ones used for down pillows and sleeping bags.”
After passing the Potato Islands, they were nearly to Stonington and could see the harbor straight ahead. Mom broke into song.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother would say
“Have you ever seen a whale with a polka dot tail?”
Down by the bay
Karen joined Mom for the second verse.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother would say
“Have you ever seen an eider eating a spider?”
Down by the bay
And just as Mom and Karen were about to churn up a third stanza of “Down by the Bay,” a boat chugging by caught their attention. Mom looked over and saw the lobster boat. Three very recognizable passengers waved to her. Mom smiled and waved back.
“I wonder what took them so long to get here,” Mom said.
“Traffic getting out of Wheat Island,” Karen responded. “Let’s just say it was an Acadia version of rush hour.”
Then James shouted, “Keep singing!”
Mom and Karen did so, and the Parkers on the boat joined in.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother would say
“Have you ever seen a puffin eating a muffin?”
Down by the bay!
Moments later both the lobster boat and Mom and Karen reached the shore. Morgan, James, and Dad came over to Mom and helped carry the kayaks to Karen’s car and load and tie them to the roof. Then Mom hugged Karen. “Let’s not let another twenty years go by, OK?”
“Absolutely not.”
And with that, the Parkers drove back to Bar Harbor and Black-woods Campground for one more night in Acadia.
14
The First Shall Be the Last
“Bye, Mom, see you at the top!” James said as he, Dad, and Morgan exited the car at the trailhead near Blackwoods Campground.
It was 4:30 a.m. and not even light out.
“We better get going,” Dad said, “or else we’ll miss the show.”
Mom took off driving for the summit of Cadillac Mountain. But Morgan, James, and Dad were hiking up.
The first part of the trail climbed through a rocky, rooty section of the forest. Morgan, James, and Dad had on headlamps but, slowly, daylight began to emerge, and as their eyes adjusted, the lights eventually were no longer needed.
Just past a mile in, Dad and the twins took the short spur trail to Eagles Crag. They left the forest and hiked along rock outcrops. Dad checked the time again. “5:05,” he announced. “This should be our moment.”
Right about then, Mom arrived at the 1,530-foot summit, Acadia’s tallest peak. “It’s crowded,” Mom said to herself, noticing all the cars in the parking lot and people scrambling urgently to the rocks nearby to get a view. “I guess this really is a big deal!”
Mom jumped out of the car and joined the others in and around the short Summit Loop Trail. Everyone gazed east at the steadily but ever-so-slowly brightening sky. It was 5:14 a.m.
THE FIRST TO SEE THE SUN?!
* * *
At 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain is Acadia’s highest peak and the tallest mountain along the North Atlantic Seaboard. Cadillac Mountain is also the first place to see the sunrise in the continental United States from October 7 until March 6. In the summer it is one of the first places, challenged by an island slightly farther east, but that area is often foggy, making Cadillac the best place to see the first of the sun.
“One more minute!” someone called out.
Mom and what seemed like hundreds of others watched where the colors of the sky indicated that the sun was going to appear. Someone in the crowd started counting down, and many others joined in.
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . Sunrise!” everyone shouted. And there it was, the sun slowly peeking over the horizon, beginning a new day.
“The first to see it,” Mom said to herself.
A few seconds later, Morgan, James, and Dad also watched the sun come up and light up Mount Desert Island and Acadia as well as the nearby Atlantic Ocean and coastal islands.
Dad took on the deep voice of a sports announcer. He cupped his hands around his mouth and said, “There it is, everyone. The first place in the continental United States to see the sunrise!”
Morgan and James cheered, “Whoo-hoo!”
“But Mom saw it first,” Morgan said.
“Barely,” James added.
“It probably was pretty much exactly the same,” Dad said while glancing at his watch. It was now 5:18, and the sun was fully above the ocean. “Well, either way, welcome to a new day, kids. It’s a brand-new day!”
Morgan, James, and Dad headed toward the summit, about three miles away. As the trail climbed steadily, every once in a while one of them would turn around. “The views just keep getting better and better,” Dad said while gazing toward the Atlantic and some of Bar Harbor’s nearby offshore islands.
Now that the sunrise was over, the early-morning hikers slowed down noticeably. James said about their more-casual pace, “Why should we hurry? It’s our last hike and summit climb in Acadia.”
“I totally agree,” Dad said.
Morgan noticed along the trail what they had been enjoying all week in the park, and one of Maine’s most famous delicacies. “Blueberries!” she announced. Morgan, James, and Dad picked and ate some, then walked on only to quickly find more, again and again.
Dad saved some of the tasty treats in a baggie for Mom. “I’m going to miss these,” he commented.
Soon they came to a wooden bench overlooking Featherbed Pond. They sat down, pulled out some snacks, and looked over the marshy, calm body of water.
“What a nice little surprise,” Dad said.
Dpppp . . . Dpp . . . Dp.
Morgan, James, and Dad looked at each other. “It’s a green frog!” James said, recalling the ranger’s “Sounds of Acadia” talk the night before.
The Parkers sat quietly, listening and watching the pond.
Dpp.
“There it is again,” Morgan whispered.
“I wonder where the frog is,” James added.
Dpp.
“Boy, that ranger sure nailed what a green frog sounds like,” Dad said.
“Maybe it wasn’t the ranger imitating the frog, but the frog is now imitating the ranger,” James said, then laughed at his joke.
Dad glanced toward the summit, then at his watch. “It’s almost seven o’clock,” he announced. “C’mon, Mom is expecting us.”
The three Parkers hiked on. The trail continued to climb, now mostly over rocky areas, with the distinctive, Bates-style cairns marking the path.
Soon they could make out people on the summit and the sound of cars driving up the road. Near the top there was one iron rung placed on a rock to help hikers over.
“That’s
a little token one for our memory’s sake,” Dad said.
Finally they reached the top of the mountain. Morgan, James, and Dad approached the parking area and crossed over to the Summit Loop Trail.
“Boy, it’s crowded up here,” Dad said, noticing all the people milling about.
“The ranger said that five thousand people a day come up here,” Morgan mentioned. “And that Acadia last year was the ninth most visited national park in the country.”
“There’s one of Acadia’s best visitors over there,” Dad said while waving to Mom.
Mom waved back and walked down to greet her family. “Well, how was it?”
“Phenomenal,” Dad replied. “Couldn’t have been better. And how about up here?”
“The same,” Mom answered. “I made a nice sketch of Cadillac Mountain with the ocean and islands in the distance.”
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad shared their sunrise details, then all four Parkers walked over to the posted displays, noticing landmarks visible from the top of the mountain.
“There’s Blackwoods Campground,” Morgan pointed out.
“And Egg Island,” James said. “Hello crabs, lobsters, and blood stars,” he said to Diver Ed’s sea creatures.
“There’s Little Cranberry Island,” Mom gestured while looking at Morgan.
“And the Bubbles near Jordan Pond,” Dad said, looking the other direction. “You can see just about everything up here!”
While the family gazed at Acadia, missing it already before even leaving, Morgan pulled out her journal and wrote.
Dear Diary:
I am so sad to leave Acadia. This is such a unique place. As Mom says, “It is like no national park we have ever been to before.” I think, maybe next summer, we plan to spend a whole month here. There’s much more kayaking, hiking, and ranger programs to do—that’s for sure. I know we will be on the Precipice and Beehive trails again, too! Here is my top ten list for Acadia:
Peregrine Watch at Echo Lake