Acadia National Park, Our most eastern and northern point (that we have planned, we will see) that we will go. The oldest and first national park east of the Mississippi. Developed in the 1800’s because wealthy families from New York, Boston and Philadelphia built summer “cottages” here because of its sheer beauty. (Rockefeller, Carnegie, Ford….) We spent a week just outside the park at a private RV park. Acadia was designated a National Park after the island of Mt Desert (yes, desert, like Lance and Lily’s favorite thing to eat) was settled, so it is a patch work of private land interspersed with Park land. You will see magnificent views of lakes or bays then run into a town, Bar Harbor being the most developed for the tourism that the park attracts. There are actually two cruise ships that call in Bar Harbor every day. Day one we arrived and got set up at Timberland RV Park. Columbus Day holiday marks the “end of the summer season” for everywhere northeast, so gone were the crowds and kids in the campgrounds. The weather was definitely cooler influenced by the nearby Gulf of Maine. Fall colors in Maine were high/peak. We cruise around and found a sunset and a beach. Day two we sought out the Park’s visitor center for Jr. Ranger books and general information about Acadia. There is a loop road with an informational brochure, we felt that was a good place to start. We began the driving tour and learned about the park’s history. Natives, French and English all came to this rich coastal area with its abundant hardwood forests. 1913 to 1940, John D. Rockefeller Jr. built over 50 miles of carriage roads throughout the interior of the island so people could visit without seeing cars. The loop road crosses some of these roads. Also built were 16 stone faced bridges that use local granite so they fit right into the landscape. We cruised about half the loop road the first day and the highlight was Sandy Beach, one of the few sandy spots on this island known for its rugged rocky coast. We made it by the end of the day to Jordan Pond which is one of the more scenic lakes on the island. Day three we started the day off with a Ranger led boat tour of the area. We left from Northeast Harbor for a 2.5 hour cruise that visited Little Cranberry Island. It was great as we saw seals, cormorants and endless lobster pot buoys. During the cruise the Ranger pointed out all the history and geology of the area as well. After the cruise, we headed to some tide pools near at Otter Point where we left the loop road the day before. We had lunch on the point and after explored the tide pools. The tide pools here are surprisingly less diverse than what we are used to on the west coast. That said, Lily and Lance did not tire of flipping over rocks to harass the crabs. We finished the loop road tour and fittingly the “high” point was the summit road to Cadillac Mountain. The highest point on the eastern seaboard at 1530 ft. Great views. Day four we took a break from the sights with sleeping in, homeschooling, laundry (by the way I (Dad) smoked Lily and Lance at pinball at the laundromat!!!!!!), more homeschooling and a Walmart run. Day five Mom insisted we explore these carriage roads we have heard so much about. Three cheers for Mom!!! We did a 7 mile loop around Eagle Lake with lots of stops and rests along the way. By now the fall foliage was a neon peak of reds, yellow and orange. The carriage roads are built for horses so they are never too steep, nice and wide, and completely bike-able. After we lunched, we made our way back to the visitor center to complete our Jr. Ranger paperwork to earn badges and HOLY SMOKES the Ranger we met up with was from OREGON!!!! We compared notes on the stuff we have seen and compared the east and west coasts. It is always nice to meet up with someone from “home”. The next morning we were greeted by frost for our second day in Maine and we were on our way south, to Salem, Boston and Cape Cod.
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AuthorKim: I've seen very little of the US and can't wait to see it all with my family. This is a crazy adventure that I never thought I would have the guts to do! Archives
April 2017
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