We have prepped and packed the motorhome for another adventure. Bright
and early in the morning, well, still under the cover of darkness, we pulled
out of the driveway and head towards Maine. It is over 1,100 miles to Acadia
National Park, our destination for the next 2 weeks, and we wanted to get an
early start. We travelled without reservations on Labor Day Weekend, and
planned to play it by ear. We hoped to grab an empty spot at a campground or
stay at a Pilot Gas station for the night. We have identified possible locations
to spend the night in New York as we hoped to get half way to Maine before
dark.
The color pink lightened the sky
as the sun peaked above the horizon. It was a beautiful sunrise. Fog hung close
to the ground, seeming to hover above the river. Thankfully the roadways were
clear and the traffic sparse. Our route took us across the entire state of Ohio
as we headed north on I 71 towards Cleveland. We reminisced about traveling
this road with Nathan when he attended college at Case Western and point out
minor changes in the view. We noticed a narrow gravel road curving through the
farmland and glimpsed 9 horse-drawn buggies headed to Sunday services. The lack
of power lines reminded us that we were in Amish country.
I 71 intersected with I 90 and we maneuvered onto the
interstate that sometime tomorrow will lead us to Boston. Our journey to Maine
will take us through 7 states; two of which I have never visited before this
trip. At our first gas stop I noticed the weather radar station inside the
station and a man staring at the screen. I walked toward the screen. A closer
look revealed a lot of green, yellow, and red colors right over the route we
were headed. Thankfully the man said he had just come from the east and we
should miss the storm if we took our time at this stop. A leisurely lunch
seemed like a great plan.
Georgia, the name of our GPS, indicated that at this rate we
will arrive at our half way point around 5 pm. The clouds were darkening, the
roads were wet, but the rain had already stopped. We were so thankful for the
advice from a stranger. We travelled along the coast of Lake Erie and I realized
this is the third Great Lake we have visited so far this year. I know when we
get to Buffalo that Lake Ontario will be about 25 miles north of us, but we won’t
see it this time. New York is a beautiful state with gorgeous horse farms,
vineyards with rows of grapevines, and small towns dotting the landscape. I saw
hints of yellow and red colors in the trees. Fall will be here soon.
A rainbow was slowly disappearing as we continued driving to
Vernon, New York. We were thankful for good travel. I had been recording the
exits with campgrounds for a few miles just in case, but we entered the Turning
Stone Casino RV Park to see if they could add one more to their register. The
woman reminded us that it was Labor Day weekend and promptly said they were
completely booked. We asked if she could point us to another possibility when a
man casually mentioned that the Casino had an overflow parking lot just down
the street with electric hookups. If we had any questions when we got there we
could just ask at the gas station on the corner. We thanked him, asked for
directions again and then inquired “who do we pay?” He just looked at us, shrugged
his shoulders, and indicated there was no charge. Sounded amazing to us. We
found the large empty parking lot, hooked up to power and enjoyed our quiet night
stay.
It was a bit foggy when we began driving again; we could
only see about 80-100 yards in front of the motorhome. I am struck by the
reminder that we cannot always see the path in front of us clearly, but we can keep
on going, trusting God has the plan fully in control. We travelled along the
Erie Canal, a 336 mile canal from the Niagara River near Buffalo to the Hudson
River in Albany. This canal was proposed in the 1780s; it met with resistance
until it was funded and built in the early 1800’s. Shipping items to the middle
of America decreased the cost by 95% with the use of the canal, and created the
expansion of the port of New York City. These early Americans were visionaries.
We arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine two days ahead of our reservation at Blackwoods
Campground. Thankfully, since it was after Labor Day we secured a campsite at
Bar Harbor Campground, just outside of Acadia National Park. The campground was
lovely, with large campsites, clean shower rooms, and was on the shuttle bus
route.
In the morning after a quick stop at the Acadia National
Park Visitor Center to gather information from the ranger, we were ready to go.
The
weather was beautiful- sunny, 76 degrees, with a light breeze. I had studied
the Island Explorer shuttle schedule and the 10 different shuttle bus routes
and was looking forward to discovering the island using this method of
transportation. One of the hikes I definitely wanted to do is called The
Precipice. I believed there was no time like the present so we began with this
hike. We used the Island Explorer to get around the National Park. It is easy
to use, free, and convenient. We asked our bus driver to stop at the
Precipice trail head and began hiking at 9:16 am. A few people had already
finished the hike when we arrived and shared “the hike is more than we think,
but it is worth it.”
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| Three, no four points of contact while climbing! |
The Precipice was a 0.9 mile
strenuous hike to the top of Champlain Mountain that used iron rungs and
ladders to help us stay on the mountain. There were 100 foot drop-offs,
straight up rock scrambling, adrenaline releasing vertical climbing (with the
help of iron rungs), and the most amazing views of the harbor and ocean. I
touched every iron bar that was available and definitely used the “3 points of
contact” rule throughout the hike. And every step was worth it! We are old
enough to know we might never have this opportunity again so we savored every
moment, took our time to enjoy the climb and appreciated the view. I think this
is a good way to live every day. It took us about 2 hours to get to the top
where we see for miles. A few leaves on the trees were beginning to show
their fall colors of red and yellow. They stood out sharply against the deep
green of the pine and fir trees. We paused and relished the moment. After a bit
of rest we needed to find the way down. It was not recommended to go back down
the mountain the same way we climbed up; instead we were to hike down the North
Ridge Trail and then the Orange and Black path. There was a sign post at the
top of the mountain indicating 3 different routes that were marked with cairns.
I may or may not have sent 3 people on the wrong trail by accident. I do hope
they found their way off the mountain. Yikes! After taking many photos and
wandering at the top for a bit we found cairns with a blue trail marker and
followed this route back down the mountain. It was a pretty steep descent, but
we were able to scramble over the rocks without too much difficulty. After we were
half way off the mountain we found the wooden signpost indicating we were on
the right trail. We continued down the mountain, hiked through the deciduous
oak and birch trees, caught glimpses of the ocean and lobster buoys until we
suddenly came to the end of the trail on Park Loop Road. It was a short hike
back to the parking lot where we got back on the Island Explorer. We loved
every minute of our 3 hours on this mountain.
The Loop Road route is a great way
to get oriented to the island. We headed to Jordan Pond next, but got a little
preview peak at Sand Beach along the way. There are a lot of hikes that
originate at this spot so we’ll be back on another day.
There is a famous restaurant at
Jordan Pond that serves lunch and dinner on the lawn. We had packed our lunch
and ate it on the deck overlooking the pond and restaurant. We enjoyed the view,
watching the people and their pets. There were quite a diverse group of people
at Acadia who were all enjoying the gorgeous scenery.
Jordan Pond is the deepest
freshwater body on the island and is used as its water supply so there is no
swimming allowed here. The water was so clear you could see to a depth of 45
feet. We hiked for a few miles around Jordan Pond while enjoying the sights and
sounds surrounding us. A loon swam along the shore searching for fish, birds sang
sweet songs and chipmunks chattered and scurried among the trees. The boardwalk
hike around the lake travelled through the woods and along the shoreline. It was
a lovely 3.5 mile hike. We were ready to call it a day, so we headed back to
the campground and took a quick dip in their pool that had views of the ocean.
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| Gorgeous Rides |
One of the unique features of Acadia National Park is the 57
miles of carriage roads that pass through forests and mountains, and around
lakes and ponds. They were built by J.D. Rockefeller Jr. on his private estate
in the early 1900’s and donated to the Acadia National Park in 1940’s. These gravel
carriage wind through the forest and around lakes and are used by horse drawn
carriages, bicyclists, and hikers since no vehicles are allowed on them. We grabbed
our bikes, entered the carriage road system from the Visitor Center parking lot,
and leisurely rode for over 11 miles. The trails were well marked and the map was
easy to read. This was a lovely way to enjoy the park.
We changed campsites to the Blackwoods Campground located within
the National Park. A trail that led to the craggy cliffs overlooking the ocean
beckoned us. From this vantage point we saw thousands of buoys floating in the
bay. Each uniquely marked buoy identified the owner of the lobster trap which
was sitting on the floor of the ocean. Our exploring led us on a 5+ miles hike
through the woods and along the coast.
We arrived in Acadia at the beginning of the Night Sky Festival.
That evening we sat on large, flat boulders at the edge of the ocean. The
absence of the moon allowed us to see the Milky Way explode across the dark sky.
We searched for satellites, shooting stars, and constellations and sat in awe
of the majesty of our Creator. It was a sight to behold.
Bar Harbor
is the largest town on the island and it caters to visitors offering lots of
shopping, beautiful parks, and amazing restaurants. We saw 4 cruise ships in
the harbor over the last 2 days and they all disembarked in Bar Harbor. The
tide was out so Doug and I walked across the sand bar from Mount Desert Island
to Bar Island. At high tide the water is about 6-10 feet deep, but for 90
minutes on each side of low tide you can walk across to Bar Island. In the
1930’s some residents of Bar Harbor wanted to build a bridge to Bar Island, but
Rockefeller didn’t want a bridge to scar the landscape so he bought half of Bar
Island to prevent the building of the bridge. Now visitors walk over at low
tide. If you don’t pay attention to the tides, you can get stranded on Bar
Island. Your options are to either wait 9 hours to walk back or call for a
water taxi rescue at your expense. We were careful to watch the tides. One of
our highlights was taking a cruise on the Margaret Todd, a 4 mast schooner. For
two hours we sailed around the islands in Frenchman Bay. The crew enlisted our
help, so Doug and I both volunteered to help pull up the sails. Captain Steve was
masterful at taking us out of the harbor under sail while dodging all the
lobster buoys. The ocean was relatively calm and we observed harbor seals and
gray seals staring at us.
We enjoyed three hikes at Sand Beach and each was fantastic
in its own way. Beehive Trail was a strenuous hike up the side of the mountain
on a very narrow path that used iron rungs in a number of places. The view of
the bay and surrounding islands was amazing. The Great Head Trail was a
moderate 1.4 mile hike through the forest and around craggy rock cliffs
surrounded by blue water. We explored tide pools as we walked on large granite
rocks. The Ocean Path led us to Thunder Hole, where the waves crashed into a
narrow sea cave causing the air to rush out. If you are there at the perfect
conditions you can hear the sea roar. But for us the waves were gentle and the
tide was too low to hear the thunder crash.
The most
popular place to see in Acadia is Cadillac Mountain. One can drive to the top
or hike up. We hiked it. It’s a 2.5 mile strenuous climb through hemlock,
spruce, oak, and birch trees trekking on a pink granite mountain. We caught
glimpses of the harbor with white sailboats, a huge cruise ship, and a few
lobster boats hauling in the catch for the day. The view kept getting better the
higher we climbed. As we neared the top, the incline increased along with my
heartbeat. But it was easy to stop to look out at the beautiful island. About ¼
of a mile from the summit we noticed a group of people with binoculars staring
over the edge of the mountain. We remembered our ranger told us there would be
a group of people counting hawks. We paused to watch a few hawks soaring in the
distance before finishing the climb to the summit. At the summit we found a
spot out of the wind to eat lunch. We saw lots of islands scattered along the
coast; Bar Island, the four porcupine islands, cranberry islands, and more. When
it was time to leave I thought we’d go back the same way we came. A ranger said
that the South Ridge trail was a more gradual descent with better views and it
ended right at our campground. It was over 2 miles farther though. We chose
this route. I am so glad that we did. The trail led us along the ridgeline
until it gradually dropped us into the forest. The vistas were outstanding;
hawks soared on thermals, chipmunks chattered along the path, the blue bay stretched
to the sky and evergreen forests covered the mountains. Over and over we
exclaimed, “Wow!”
For most of
the 4.7 miles we hiked alone. Occasionally we encountered another hiker, but
the solitude of the trail refreshed us. The trail ended at Highway 3 and picked
up across the street in the Blackwoods Campground. The last .7 mile twisted
through the forest, over tree roots and rocks. After our 10 plus mile hike,
22,000 steps, and 150+ flights of stairs our puffy camp chairs were a welcomed
site. It was campfire time!
We said
goodbye to Blackwoods Campground and headed about 48 miles to Schoodic Woods on
the Schoodic Peninsula. Thankfully Doug drove because these roads were narrow.
The view was gorgeous as we hugged the coast of Frenchman Bay. Lobster boats,
sailboats, and cabin cruisers anchored in the harbor of quaint fishing towns. We
drove through hemlock lined roads as seagulls circled searching for their next
meal. Only about one in ten people travel to this part of Acadia National Park.
Heavy fog and rain were forecasted for the next day so we took advantage of today’s
beautiful weather. Ranger Bill recommended a bike ride on the gentle undulating
hills of Loop Road towards Schoodic Point. I hoped this meant I could make it
up the hills, but I knew I could always walk my bike (without too much shame). With our hydration packs filled with water
and armed with snacks we grabbed our helmets and jumped on our bikes. Ranger
Bill knew what he was talking about. The Loop Road is not to be missed and
seeing it on a bike is the best! I could not help myself. I kept stopping to
stare at the sea. Several times we stopped to climb on the rocks to marvel at
the view. Cadillac Mountain, the Porcupine Islands, and lots and lots of
lobster buoys stretched across the bay. A Double Crested Cormorant fished for
dinner. Each time he dove under the water a school of fish would jump into the
air trying to escape him. We watched as time, after time, the cormorant would pop
up with a fish in his mouth!
We reached
Schoodic Point without difficulty, although I was a little nervous because it
seemed like we had mostly ridden downhill so far. The road led to the end of
the peninsula with a beautiful view of the sea scattered with islands. Doug and
I sat on the large boulders scanning the sea for wildlife. The gulls were also
scanning the water (and land) for dinner. We had already learned to guard our
snacks from possible attacks!
We continued
on the Loop Road stopping to gaze whenever we wanted. The bike ride was
amazing. We easily found the gravel lined bike trail leading back to the
campground. The paths were well marked with signposts pointing the way. As we
biked to our campsite we remarked, “We definitely want to do this again before
we leave.” So glad Ranger Bill shared this way to explore the area.
The melancholy of our final day was real and bitter sweet. Our time spent in
Acadia National Park is a treasured experience. Our plan for our last day was
to bike the entire 11 mile loop adding a 3.0 mile hike on Blueberry Hill. We
packed our sandwich and chips, filled our hydration packs with water, jumped on
our bikes, and set off for the loop. It was a lovely morning; quiet, except for
the chattering of squirrels and the singing of the songbirds. The rain of
yesterday made the sun of today even more appreciated; the air was cleaner, and
the smells of the evergreen forest were intoxicating. Knowing this was our last
day heightened my desire to take it all in and to not miss a thing. I stared at
the moss on the granite rocks, felt the wind on my face as I pedaled towards
the sea, searched the forest for the elusive moose, and scanned the sky for the
yet to be seen bald eagle.
I led the
way and stopped frequently to walk on the rocks along the shore. Doug and I
watched as an older couple aboard the lobster boat named Phancy, headed out to
check their traps. We were amazed as they circled one of their light green buoys.
They pulled up the trap, saved a few lobsters, threw back the ones that were
not big enough, and then rebaited the trap to send it to the bottom of the sea
again. They were close enough to the shore for us to see everything they were
doing. Typically a lobster fisherman has 700-800 traps in the ocean that they
have to check every 2-3 days. We saw many different colored buoys all along the
shore indicating many different fishermen were trapping in the same area.
We headed to
Schoodic Point; the farthest we could go on the peninsula. The tide was out and
we walked down to stand close to the waves. We quietly sat to watch the
seagulls, the ships, and the surf. It was snack time - for us and the black
flies. The flies chased us back to our bikes. We rode to the Schoodic Institute
and headed to the J.D. Rockefeller Jr. Visitor Center. Until 2002 it was used
by the Navy as a listening station. During WWII and the Cold War it searched
for foreign warships along the coast. We loved learning more about the history
of this great region.
Doug and I
left our bikes on Blueberry Hill and began hiking the Anvil trail to Schoodic
Head. The trail led through the fir trees for about 1.5 miles as we climbed to
the top of the mountain. The climb was easy and we appreciated the panoramic
view of Winter Harbor.
We finished
the hike and rode our bikes the rest of the loop. I did have to walk a little
bit, but it was worth it. It was a great way to see the Schoodic area of Acadia
National Park. We took one last walk around the campground as the sky turned
orange and the sun set on our time in Maine.
