Herewith three wilderness-related stories occasioned by three weeks I spent during fall, 2011, at Acadia National Park in Maine — examples of some of my own reflections on life close to the wilderness.
1. On the Edge of a “Northeaster” — I was “camped” in my RV (yes, I confess it!) at Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park in Maine on October 30, 2011, just as a Northeaster hit New England. This was late in the year to be camping, even in an RV, and there was only one other occupied site in the entire national park that day — and for that matter, in all of New England, because Acadia had the last open campsites in the region.
Luckily for Acadia, but less lucky for other parts of New England, the worst of the storm swept through about 200 miles south and west of us. You can see in this film how the storm kicked up the sea and the campground. In History 453 we have talked about the ways that climate can effect the wild properties of a particular natural setting. Although I was in an RV and this was a National Park Campground, not a barren wilderness, I hope you will agree that on that particular day the wilderness properties of the Maine seashore and that campground were pretty strong. click below
A Storm by the Seaside
2. Talking to a porcupine — When you camp alone for day after day, as I did during November, 2011, any company is good company. Here is a little film I made based on an encounter one afternoon with a porcupine. I was on my bicycle riding on the road that goes along the seashore. I had a telephoto lens, and so I did not need to go too near to those quills! click below
My Conversation with a Porcupine
3. Part of the fun of teaching (and of taking, I hope) the History of the American Wilderness is the way so many of the lessons in the class resonate with our own experiences. My “conversation” with the porcupine reminds me of John Dunbar’s friendship with Two Shoes. Now I did not actually “Dance with Porcupine” — I’m not crazy! But I’ll bet a lot of you know that time in the wilderness does sometimes “liberate” a person in unexpected ways. A few days after I left Acadia, I was visiting friends in Cape Cod for Thanksgiving. I was alone again soon afterwards while they left me in charge of their seaside house and went elsewhere. The wilderness was still in me, and I felt an urge to dance the wilderness as if I were beside a fire. So here is my little dance. One caveat: the “false teeth” in the video are actually dice. So please, do not call me “Dances Without Teeth.”
Seriously: don’t even think about it! (click below)
My Wilderness Dance