Vintage Down East Magazine (August 2015 - Cover: State Parks)

Down East is an identity magazine for Mainers and for anyone whose heart and soul are fed by our state and state of mind. Since 1954, our mission has been simple: to hold a mirror up to Maine, showcasing its landscapes, traditions, flinty character, and unhurried way of life, as well as to confront its complexities intelligently and with heart. We believe rusticity and cool can live side by side — because they do in Maine. Our readers and online communities come to us to learn about out-of-the-way lobster shacks, Maine-made gift ideas, and under-the-radar spots to paddle, hike, and explore, but also for insight into the personalities and issues shaping our state. Simply put, people who love Maine love Down East.

Features
Your Favorite Maine State Parks
We asked our readers, then sent our photographers out to 10 of the state’s most beautiful and beloved public lands, from beaches to mountains to historic forts.

The 10 state parks highlighted in that issue are:

Quoddy Head State Park (Lubec) - Famed for its rugged coastline and the iconic peppermint-striped West Quoddy Head Lighthouse.
Aroostook State Park (Presque Isle) - Maine's first state park, featuring Quaggy Jo Mountain and Echo Lake.
Popham Beach State Park (Phippsburg) - Known for its dynamic, classic Maine sandy coastline and views of offshore islands.
Baxter State Park (Millinocket) - Maine's crown jewel of vast wilderness and home to Mount Katahdin.
Two Lights State Park (Cape Elizabeth) - A rocky, dramatic coastal park sitting just a stone's throw from Portland with sweeping ocean views.
Reid State Park (Georgetown) - Home to some of the finest sandy beaches and salt marshes in the Midcoast.
Camden Hills State Park (Camden) - Offers incredible sweeping vistas of Camden Harbor and Penobscot Bay from Mount Battie.
Fort Knox State Park (Prospect) - One of the best-preserved military fortifications on the New England coast.
Rangeley Lake State Park (Rangeley) - A beautiful lakes-and-mountains getaway famous for its landlocked salmon fishing.
Cobscook Bay State Park (Dennysville) - A peaceful, heavily-wooded tidal bay park renowned for its birdwatching and wilderness.

All Is Well
Ripped from the headlines: a tale of a stranded sailor, an unlikely rescue, and love lost (and found) on the high seas. By John Clarke.

Hard Tellin’ Not Knowin’
What exactly is the Maine dialect? What does it mean to talk like a Mainer in 2015? The answers are wicked complicated. By Michael Erard.

Whose Town Is It Anyway?
A flurry of development in the Kennebunks prompts a philosophical tug-of-war over the towns’ identities. By Rob Sneddon.

Spose: The King of Maine Gets Happy
Maine’s hardest working rapper on success, misery, and fast food. By Brian Kevin.

Departments
Where in Maine?
Can you name this lake and its lighthouse?

Editor’s Note
Maine’s State Parks

Letters to the Editor
What You Said

Your Maine
Where’s your favorite place to paddle a canoe or kayak in Maine?

North by East
Opinions, Advisories, and Musings from the Length and Breadth of Maine
Down East Dispatches
News You May Have Missed

What’s in a Picture
The End of an Era in Lubec

Q&A
Walter Skold, Founder of the Dead Poets Society of America.

Dooryard
Living the Maine Life
Home
A Retro Cumberland Cottage

Making It in Maine
Geoffrey Warner’s Owl Stools

Garden
A Family Affair in Jefferson

My Maine
Blueberries Saved My Life!

Recipe
Tomato and Bread Salad

Room With a View
Seeing Stars