Trekking Big Nash Island-Pleasant Bay Maine

Photo by Steve Resotko

Steve Resotko drew this map of Pleasant Bay Island. Looking closely you can see Big Nash Island in the right bottom corner. The jaw bone and vertebrate hold down the map was an attempt to play pirate for a nanosecond-then back to reality.

Photo by Joe Palmer

Big Nash Island is the sister island to little Nash where the light house is located.

After landing on Big Nash I took this storm pool photograph.

Photo by Joe Palmer

The northwest side of Big Nash Island slopes up to 30 to 40 feet in height with a series of sand dunes. One can find interesting things which have been washed ashore. This picture shows part of what may have been part of an old pier.

At this point were walking on the top sand dune of the northwest side of Big Nash Island.

Flower Photos by Joe Palmer

We saw piles of drift wood scatterer here and there along this side of the island.

Nestled into the empty place of the log and branches was this clump of beautiful Maine wild flowers.

How did these flowers get here.

Maybe a bird dropped  seeds here on its migration route.
Steve reminded me that one of the reasons we landed on the Northwest side of the Island was to find Clifford Purington's grave stone.

We began looking for his grave marker. Its location was not far from the patches of flower. More or less we stumbled upon his marker by accident. Who was Clifford M. Purington? Why is Jennies grave next to his? My guess is that Clifford and John

were brothers.

To our surprise we saw another grave stone next to Clifford  Purington's 

Jenny was married to Stanley Cirone of South Addison when she was not quite 21. Keeper Purington retired because of poor health in 1935. Jenny Purington Cirone eventually purchased the non-government-owned land on Nash Island as well as all of Big Nash Island.

 

Steve Resotko photographs the grave stones

Photo by Steve ResotkoSteve also captured this picture of the graves with Little Nash Light House in the distant background.The tide was beginning to change and we need to go to the East end of the Island.

We put ashore. Steve anchors his boat.
Walking to higher ground we see a large wooden pen.

Photo by Steve Resotko

The pen is situated a good distance above high water mark with a larger entrance to accommodate sheep would be my guess.

Photo by Joe Palmer

Looking left and right of the sheep pen, one can see two post with fenced rolled up and tied to the post. These posts and pen are further evidence that sheep were located on this island at some point.

A large boat winch has been retired to a field of weeds on Big Nash Island.

Photo by Steve Resotko

Steve snapped this picture of of a nice looking house facing East.

Photo by Steve Resotko

Beside the house was a white enamel sink with a ole fashion hand pump left and behind the post. 

Photo by Joe Palmer

In front of the house sat a picnic table with a small fire pit made of beach stone near it.

Photo by Joe Palmer

A porch stretched the length of the house's front. Seen here is a decorative post wrapped with rope.

Photo by Joe Palmer

At the base of the post was this  ole wooden weather beaten lobster buoy.

Photo by Joe Palmer

The side of the house had a functional and beautiful four pain window.

Steve and I concluded our exploration of the East side of Big Nash Island.

We would be heading back with the incoming tide to the town pier in Milbridge, Maine.

Picture was taken on the eastern end of Big Nash Island.

We wave from our hearts farewell to this scenic windswept Island.

Nash Island Light House Maine

Steve Resotko and I launched his 14 foot boat from the Milbridge, Maine Town Pier. He  set a course for Nash Island Light House a little more than an hour away.

We passed a large dragger which drags for shell fish and fish too.

View of Nash Light from the West side of the Island.

Who were the last light house keepers?

Nash Island's  closed from April 1 to August 31.
We were landing on the island the first week of September 2012.

Actually going ashore was  more tricky than one would expect.
Here Steve appears to slip and slide over boulders covered with wet rock weed.

View of Nash Island Light House built in 1838.

Walking closer to the light houses entrance, this door caught my attention.

It looks like a early door.
Sometimes these types of four panels doors are referred to as Christian doors.
A Cross in the center and Bible leafs on either side.
Locks however are new.

Unexpected and unfortunately for us, we encountered here and there clumps of beautiful flowers with tiny pin point thorns which easy pricked the skin even through pants.

We would not be deterred by small challenges.
Our purpose was to explore, discover, and photograph what we saw on  Little Nash Island .

 Nash Light House was at one time connected to the living quarters by an annex.
The whole dwelling was a series of building not untypical of earlier Maine farm houses.

To accommodate this family size the house had to be pretty big.  In 1947 however the Coast Guard destroyed all the standing buildings as well as the pier, except for the lighthouse.
Now the 24 ft. light stands in need of restoration. Friends of the Nash Lighthouse were inspired  by Jenny's life.

Here is another view of the old foundation.
My first impression of the  house's foundation was that it was very small.
Not the case, this dwelling was a large house which served a family of seven.

Original Structure

Photo by Steve Resotko

Steve Resotko estimated that the herd of sheep on the island to be around 40.

I wondering if Jenny Purington introduced sheep to the island.
Raising sheep on some of

Maine's Islands is practised today.

Joe Palmer and Steve Resotko sharing in exploration photography of Nash Island Light House.

Rocky Lake - Stream " has a wilderness feeling about it."

With all our gear loaded in Steve Resokto's canoe we set out to do some photography on Rocky Land and Stream. Just after we got underway Steve said, "the lake has a wilderness  feeing about it."

 We had not been motoring the lake very long when a dragon fly landed on my pants leg.
 Itslanding  emed odd  to me.ave tried most of the summer to take a picture of a dragon fly in my garden with no success.