According to the sign by the Desert of Maine parking lot, the Desert is "Maine's most famous natural phenomenon." My roommate and I were informed by Lee, our surly but historically-astute tour guide, who also works the counter at the gift shop, that it was a good thing we came when we did, as that day was the last day of the touring season ("You'll be glad you came!" reads the rest of the sign).
Formed by the inexorable force of an enormous glacier, the material over which we were driven on our "safari tour" was not sand, as it appeared to be, but rather glacial silt. In 1797, the Tuttle family of Portland, Maine bought the land, which spans several hundred acres, using it to farm potatoes and hay for their cows to graze on. However, overgrazing by cattle and the Tuttles' failure to rotate their crops caused massive erosion, exposing the silt under the soil.
A quick addendum before I continue. Be forewarned: Do not argue with Lee, or any other guide, over the composition of the Desert. Almost before we get in the tram attached to her jeep, she tells us firmly, "This is not sand; it is glacial silt. There is a difference."
As inexplicable as her perverse insistence on this point was, it is interesting to note that there are actually only four other places in the world where this type of glacial silt occurs: Washington State, Alaska, and Denmark.
After the Tuttles moved off the land in the 1920s, an entrepreneur named Goldparn bought the land and started giving 10 cent walking tours, a far cry from the $7.75 each we paid for our tour that day. Under the ownership of Goldparn, the Desert even had a real camel back then! The camel's name was Sadie, and it served as a kind of mascot for the spot.
However, the animal was somewhat temperamental, as camels tend to be in captivity, and when it started to bite and spit at people, it was given away to a zoo. Now, at the entrance to the Desert, there are two cast iron statues of camels, which the Desert's staff has affectionately named Sarah and Sadie. Well, they don't spit and bite, but they certainly aren't all that lively, or cool.
There are some interesting things to be found in the Desert of Maine. Besides that lithified wagon axle from the Tuttle-era, there's an old spring house that exists buried eight feet deep under the sand?excuse me?silt.
A freshwater spring was discovered by Goldparn in the twenties which he immediately exploited, turning the Desert into a Coney Island-type tourist trap with swimming, concession stands, and campgrounds that still exist today. There are also beautiful flora and fauna-birds, blueberries, wildflowers, mushrooms, and, interestingly, trees that grow with their trunks buried under the sand.
After the safari tour, while my roommate took a look at the antiques barn, which contained a recreation of the Tuttle family living room, as well as some ancient farm equipment, I talked to our guide about the activities provided for school groups.
The Desert staff directs sand art activities using some of the 14 colors of sand (silt) found in the Desert, but what the kids seem to enjoy most is digging up the polished minerals the staff will hide for them in the dunes (no more than three a piece, please!).
Finally, my roomie and I checked out the quaint Desert Dunes Gift Shop, where camel keychains and $1 vials of sand were mixed in with blueberry-scented candles and rubber lobsters. But of course, compared to what we could buy there, nothing beats Freeport. So after five minutes, we booked it.