Cadillac Mountain

We drove up Cadillac twice. Once to watch the sun set and the fog creep in on a cloudy night. The other to see appreciate the view on the one clear day we had.

The trail that runs around the summit is great – the kids love running around and scrambling over the granite. The views are incredible. The fog that rolls in around the islands is rather spectacular. It creeps up quickly and engulf so totally that all you see is fog. The sunset does not stain it pink and it does not pick up color from the sky, the sea, or its surroundings. It is itself. On the summit patches of brilliantly lime green lichen grows on the pink granite and wild roses grow in cracks.

If you look under the first explanatory sign you will find a geocache. It has a great explanation of the geology of the area and it solved a question that had been plaguing us – the etymology of the Porcupine Islands. The islands have rather distinctive names: Porcupine Island, Burnt Porcupine Island, Bald Porcupine Island, and Sheep Porcupine Island. We had spent some time wondering what exactly a Sheep Porcupine was and how the namers knew what a Bald Porcupine looked like (the Burnt Porcupine may have played a role). So now for the answer… the granite is splintered by water creating a porcupiney texture. Hence Porcupine Islands. And Burnt modifies Island not Porcupine. :-)