Thursday, July 16, 2009

High above and in between

Dear faithful readers, stay tuned during the next few days. I've got a couple of adventures to share with you and they're coming at you rapid fire. Happy reading.

Almost every school age child in central Maine has visited Fort Knox at least once. It is a popular field trip destination and a common stop for family day trips. My family did not go there this week.

But we did venture close. Just down the road from the 165 year old fort a new attraction is stealing the show. The Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory opened in 2007. It is the tallest bridge observatory in the world, but there isn't much competition. There are only three others, one in China, one in Slovakia and one in Thailand.



When you shade your eyes and gaze up from the base of the tower, 420 feet looks fantastically high. There are no lights on at the top, but the sun glances like a spotlight off the polished metal. Steel cables stretch like harp strings from tower to bridge, waiting for a giant to pluck them and destroy the world with the reverberation.

Inside you find an elevator and a shaft. Only 8 people at a time are allowed to ride to the top. But once there you can stay as long as you like. The door opens on a view of the river, a sort of warm up for the main event two stories up.

From the observation deck you can see the town of Bucksport, Cadillac Mountain and of course Fort Knox.

I leave you today with a quote from an anonymous wise man, "A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top."