Loons and Electric Cars

Saturday July 29, 2017                                                                        Most Recent Posts:
Acadia National Park                                                                            Bridges and Berries
Mount Desert Island, Maine                                                     A Visit from Roger and Carol and More Pie

 

 

 

Today we’re kayaking on Seal Cove Pond.  There are a couple of put ins but the best one is off the beaten track and down the gravel road in the picture on the left to the foot of Western Mountain on the far side of Mount Desert Island. 

Seal Cove Pond is 238 acres and 44 feet deep.  It’s the 3rd largest “lake” on the island.  Why is it called a pond?  Well, we’ve had this discussion before.  Tradition I’d say.  It’s not as hemmed in by mountains as are the other large lakes on the island and is not as deep so it doesn’t have their fjord like aspect. but its eastern shore bathes the feet of Western Mountain and often reflects the images of both Bernard and Western Mountains.  But not today.  It’s windy!  The water is choppy!

We’re here at 7:15 am and have the entire place to ourselves.  The wind is out, the water is choppy but we launch anyway.  I head over through the reeds to what I hope is a quiet inlet.

 

 

 

 

 

It doesn’t go very far so I have to turn around and decide if  I am staying and fighting the wind to the other end, hoping I can ride it back, or giving it up for the day.

I decide to go for it and head out along the shore line for the other end of the lake.  Hopefull the water will be at least a little calmer  near the shore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Western Mountain side of the lake where we launched is on park land.  The other side is private and I can see the houses.

 

 

 

 

And then I hear that haunting call that everyone recognizes.  They are here today.  So glad I stayed on the water.  He’s a good deal ahead of me along the shore but I manage to get an acceptable picture and paddle on in that direction.

 

 

 

 

 

Next time I see them, there are two and  they are over by the houses near a floating dock. 

 

 

They sure ride low in the water.

 

 

Mostly I spend the rest of the morning just floating around trying to follow them at a distance.  They go this way and I do too.  Then they disappear under water and they are behind me.  So I turn around and then they disappear under the water and they are some distance away in the other direction.   It becomes a game.  But I can’t keep up.   I take tons of pictures.  Many not so hot given the distance they put between me and them as well as the rough water.

I also take a couple of videos which suffer from the rough water, the wind, which you can clearly hear,  and my inability to hold the camera steady when zooming in.  But it will give you a feel for the experience.  You can find one of them here.

 

At one point there are three loons.  It’s almost impossible to get them all in one picture.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally they tire me out and I head back along the far shore near the houses for a free ride back compliments of the wind.  This farmhouse I like particularly. 

 

The house with the dock that once had the loons has a particularly inviting shore line with its chairs and enticing path.

 

 

 

 

While I’m headed back, I scan the shore line for David but don’t see him.   As I get closer, I spy his kayak at the launch.  He’s beaten me back.  I find him taking a nap in the car.  He decided not too long after we put in that the wind was just too much to fight and came back.  I didn’t realize it and stayed out.  I’m sorry he missed the loons.  

 

He’s all rested up now  for his next  plan.  Seems that we will be returning on Route 102  and go right by the Seal Cove Auto Museum, which he visited earlier and wrote a post about.  You can find it here.  The museum is right across from the private side of the lake.   As luck would have it, they have a one day exhibit on electric cars and it is today.  So of course we stop.

There are  new electric cars like this BMW and two Tesslas

 

 

I love the big mapping device front and center in the Tessla. No trouble seeing where you are going here.

 

 

But the stars today are the two 1922 Detroit Electric Town Sedans.  Of the original 143 cars manufactured by the Detroit Motor Company in 1922, only two are known to still exist and they are both here today.  One is owned by the museum and one was driven down by its owners from Connecticut to be here on display.

 

The information board above  tells us that there were a total of 13,000 Detroit Electric Cars produced from 1907 to 1938 with only 94 known to exist today. Electric cars are not a new phenomenon. In 1900, 38% of cars on the road were electric, 40% were steam and 22% were gasoline. 33842 electric cars were registered in the United States in 1900. I found the following information pretty telling.

 

 

 

“Electric cars were used in large part by women and doctors. Doctors needed a car they could get in and go. Gasoline engines were not that easy to start or reliable. Because hand cranking cars was difficult (to say the least) and could be down right dangerous, the electric cars were popular with women. In fact, one of the downfalls of early electric cars is that they were thought of as a woman’s car and men did not want to be seen driving them.” Not macho enough it sounds like. Real men can crank that thing. And get knocked down. <grin> The demise of the electric car began with the invention of the first practical electric starter used in 1912 by Cadillac.

 

Open to view in all directions is the one brought from Connecticut.

 

The original selling price of these cars was $2985 (9 times more than a model T).  It has a top practical speed of 25 to 30 mph on a flat surface and a range of over 90 miles on a single charge.  There were 14 six volt batteries that provided the 84 volts needed to power the 4hp electric motor of the car.   On these, the original batteries have been replaced with modern batteries and charger.

The car is hooked up for charging in the picture below.

 

 

Originally Thomas Edison batteries were a $600 option (about twice what a Model T cost that year).  The cars have 5 forward speeds and 5 reverse speeds.  They are driven from the bench seat with a steering bar.

One of the original Edison batteries is on a table display and when David pushes the button, sure enough, it lights. Next to it is a large book with many great magazine ads for the car during the time period..

 

 

 

The car not in the Seal Cove Museum’s collection is unrestored and has wood spoke wheels with center hubcaps.  It has a split front windshield with red tinted glass on the upper section and unique carved glass in the back.  It also has the original etched glass flower vases on each side of the interior as well as the original silk curtains and roller shades.  No wonder the guys didn’t want one. HA! 

 

The car seats 4.  Two on the bench seat including the driver and two in these forward seats.  The driver has to look around them.

 

 

The owners, Bill and Linda Lillie of Gales Ferry, CT brought it here to the museum for the show.  They have several other antique cars and always dress in clothing of the period when they show them.  What fun!   They put together the scrap book with original magazine advertisements for the car.  They are lots of fun to look at.  Mostly aimed at trying to get men to buy the car.

 

 

I absolutely love the tail lights!

 

 

Before we leave, Liz from the Museum asks us if we’d like to ride in their 1922.  You bet!   David sits beside the driver.  I sit in the seat with the back in front.

 

Off we go looking through the split windshield as we head out over the grass and down the field toward Seal Cove Pond.

 

 

 

We arrive back safely and if you’d like to see a video I took of someone else taking the ride so you can hear the little noise it makes, you can find it at this link.

 

 

 

We topped off a terrific day with home made pizza for dinner. . It was delicious!