Acadia National Park

'Blue sky, ocean, granite, spruce trees, a lighthouse - Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park are a spectacular and inviting blend of natural and human history.  Past and present are tightly woven in a complex and colorful tapestry.'

'The rhythms of the ocean are the heartbeat of Acadia.  The waves roll in, inexorably and forever; the tides keep their own time, every 12 hours and 36 minutes, forever ; ocean and granite, irresistible and immovable.'

French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, had this to say in 1604, as he gazed upon Acadia: 'The same day we passed also near an island about four or five leagues long...It is very high, notched in places, so as to appear from the sea like a range of seven or eight mountains close together.  The summits of most of them are bare of trees for they are nothing but rock...I named it Island of the Desert Mountains (Isles des Monts Deserts).'

The summer people were ultimately responsible for the creation of a park in 1916.  Today, we are all the beneficiaries of the magnificent, inspiring scenery, hiking opportunities, canoeing, and sailing.  There are 56 miles of Carriage Roads which are today used by hikers, bikers, crosscountry skiers, and horse drawn carriages.

The Park Loop Road, 20-miles long, gives motorists a spectacular view of the ponds, lakes, and protected coastal waters surrounded by spruce, fir forests and pink granite shelves of sheer cliffs, jagged rocks and fractured blocks and planes of magnificent stone.

The Bass Harbor Head Light was built in 1858 to warn of the Bass Harbor bar, a hazard for steamships.

It all started in the late 1800's, when wealthy summer people took an interest in enhancing the beauty of the island.  They began building trails to allow access to scenic spots.

Since logging and development interests threatened the integrity of the island, in 1901, Harvard prez and summer resident, Charles Eliot, helped others found The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations.  Mrs. Charles Homans, Boston, gave The Beehive and The Bowl to the Trustees, thus Acadia National Park was born!

One of the wealthy cottagers, George Bucknam Dorr, was inspired by Homans generous gift, which spurred him into a lifelong dedication to the improvement and designation as a national park for the island.  On July 3, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Sieur de Monts a National Monument and in 1919, Congress created Lafayette National Park, later to be named Acadia in 1929.

Dorr's plan was to get other wealthy summer residents involved in the park's development.  John D. Rockefeller, Jr., starts spending his summers there in 1908.  His donation of 11,000 acres is his lasting legacy to the park.  He is probably best remembered for his awesome Carriage Roads, the Park Loop and the Cadillac Mountain Road.

We take advantage of the free bus system which picks up at bus stops throughout the park every 30 minutes and on the park road as well.  Since 1999, the system has transported over 4 million visitors, saving the environment and the limited parking spaces.

The Island Queen is a passenger ferry that transports us to Schoodic Point and the village of Winter Harbor, a 50-minute trip.  We meet Peter and Mary, restauranteurs from Dunedin, Florida, and fellow Airstreamers.  They invite us to walk with them for a couple of miles into the village of Winter Harbor.  They have just taken over the concessions at Hillsborough River State Park near Tampa, so we make plans to get together when we camp there during the Christmas Holidays!

At Peter's recommendation, we decide to have lunch of tomato bisque soup and an artichoke and goat cheese pannini with chicken at Gerrison's. Yum-oh!

Lobster buoys are everywhere!   This colorful garage caught our fancy!

The ride back to Bar Harbor is breezy, sunny and scenic.

On several afternoons, we enjoy the free WiFi at Agamont Park in downtown Bar Harbor overlooking the marina.

One evening, we have dinner at the Lighthouse Inn in Seal Harbor, a quaint little village less than four miles from our campsite.

In nearby Somesville we take in a play at the Acadia Repertory Theater, 'Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily'.  Sherlock was soooo campy with his over the top intense eye movements and steel trap logic, while Oscar Wilde kept us in stitches with his quips and effeminate gestures.

We will be spending two weeks in this lovely park next visit!