Acadia National Park and Camden, Maine

The Clear Water of Jordan Pond, Acadia N.P.

Day Four --- Hike Around Jordan Pond...

Roger here...  After a more restful day at Bar Harbor, we left early in the morning so we could catch the first Loop Road bus at Acadia National Park.  

The 3.3 mile trail around the pond looked every bit as inviting as we expected from our visit two days previous.

There were many, many hikers on the trail.  We stepped onto a flat area to let some of them pass us.  We do not move all that quickly with our two dogs.  Dianne loves cairns so we photographed this one during the break.

We approached the half-way point of the hike at this stone bridge.

Dianne and Bandido posed for a picture at the half-way point.  Notice how perky they looked?









It was at the unique footbridge in the picture below that hikers coming the other way warned us of the boulders and mud ahead.  Ugh!  We waited some time for the bridge to clear so I could take this picture.

The view (away from the pond) from the bridge was so green.  It looked like a moose habitat.  Hey was that a moose?  Nah!

Soon after the wooden bridge, we encountered the first phase of boulder scrambling, which involved an extra-long stretch of technical hiking.  The boulders were adjacent to the water.  I love this kind of challenge.  It was fun for a while.

"I am doing okay, Dad!"

Bandido says, "I have had enough of all these rocks!"

We finally cleared the boulders and reached a long stretch of level-log-walking over sensitive areas.  Now this is better....

.... but then, MUD!  

The log trail ended with a sign indicating that the rest of the trail was being restored by volunteers.  We were literally three-fourths of the way around the pond.  It had rained the night before, so the detour away from the pond was essentially a great place to take a mud bath --- which I did.

Dianne here:   I took the photo below at the beginning of the v-e-r-y  l-o-n-g stretch of nothing but mud.   I could not get a better photo, because after this point it was way too complicated to try to walk without slipping into the mire, let alone try to photograph it.   To complicate matters, there were lots of other hikers trying to navigate the mud at the same time we were.   In many of the spots, there was no dry area next to the muck, like there is in this photo:

Roger again:  My foot slipped while I was trying to avoid the mire and slid into it.  My left hand splashed in next to my sinking hiking boot, preventing me from doing a full dive into the muck.  People behind me waited for me to slowly pull myself up.  Embarrassing, but really not a big deal.  In retrospect it was actually kind of funny.

After the hike we waited for the next excursion bus to take us back to our SUV.  We wanted to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain, which we did.  However, by that time in the day we were not able to find a place to park. We were able to snap a picture of the cruise ship in the photo below at a pull out.

Cruise ship stopped at Bar Harbor

When we got back to the RV park, I cleaned my hiking boots.  Ready for the next day's adventures.


Day Five --- the Quiet Side of Acadia N.P....

It was the Fourth of July.  We knew Acadia N.P. would be crowded.  We opted to find hiking in the less-traveled side of the park --- the Quiet Side.

We soon discovered that the quiet side was indeed quieter, but not especially user-friendly.  There were few, if any, signs indicating trailheads and parking was haphazard.  As we wandered around the small town of Bass Harbor, we accidentally found the entrance to the Bass Head Lighthouse. 

There was an unmarked trail on one side of the small parking lot.  There were steps down on the other side.  One of the best views of this active lighthouse was from the parking lot.

The unmarked downward steps led us directly to the side of the lighthouse.  The parking lot view was definitely better.

However, there were some amazing ocean views from that location.

Mommy, why did you stop?   Let's get going!!

We decided to explore the unmarked trail.  Glad we did.  It led to a newly-built deck with several steps down to the rocky coast.  

A scramble across the rocks led to a nice side view of the lighthouse.

As we left the lighthouse, I opted to drive the SUV down an unmarked road.  We had been looking for the Ship Harbor Trail and the Wonderland Trail.  

We found the Ship Harbor Trailhead, and it was actually marked!  However, there was absolutely no parking available --- a recurring theme.

Down the road a bit, we saw parked cars on the side of the road.  I am always nervous about parking this way, but I was able to get the SUV off the paved surface.  It was not marked, but we had found the Wonderland Trail.  

I wonder what "wonders" there are on the Wonderland Trail.

The trail was an out-and-back trek of about a mile. The first portion of the trail highlighted the color green --- moss, ferns, pine trees, rose bushes.
Dianne here:  moss and ferns are still a novelty to us now -- they sure do not have them where we live in south Texas.

I don't know if our timing is good or whether they bloom all summer, but everywhere we go in Maine there is a profusion of blooming rose bushes.   I wish the blog had smell-o-vision so we could share the fragrance!

Don't think I'll stick my nose into this one -- D.

The gigantic rocky ledge that sunk into the sea at trail's end is likely the source of the trail's name, "Wonderland."

We took turns checking things out.  

We found that the rocky ledge hid a series of fascinating elevated tidal pools.  Ah, the "wonder" of it all!

The bright green plant in this picture is actually in a clear pool of water.

I took the picture looking straight down.  This is very different from other tidal pools I have seen.  The pools were scattered throughout the rocky ledge.

Watching the waves slide up the orange-tinged ledge was mesmerizing.  I could have stayed all day, but it was lunch time.

Finding a place to eat lunch in this part of Acadia was an exercise in frustration.  We had a list of dog-friendly places, but the closed businesses, lack of any parking, and busy streets were discouraging.  I remembered seeing a "farm to plate" restaurant in a rural area that was on the way back to our RV park.  It had an outdoor eating area.  We decided to try it.

 The waitress in the outdoor area assured me that our dogs were welcome.  She immediately brought them a dish of ice water.  They settled in under our table.  (They have learned the drill -- D.)

We each ordered a glass of wine, and began enjoying the rural setting.  

Pizza sounds good!  We have not had pizza for months, and the ingredients in this pizza and salad were grown on the property.

On the way back to the RV park, I asked Dianne to snap a picture of the "entering Ellsworth" sign.  We had to pass through Ellsworth every time we went to Acadia N.P.   This would be our eighth and last time to navigate the confusing streets and multiple traffic lights of this busy, stretched-out town.  I always seemed to be in the wrong lane, and our GPS was not very helpful.  Good-bye, Ellsworth!

Day Six --- A Trip to Camden, Maine....

We decided to spend our last exploration day in central Maine driving along the coastal harbor towns.  We drove through Belfast and Vinylhaven.

Our first stop was at Camden Hills State Park.   Our quest was to go to the summit of Mount Battie  to take in the spectacular views.  We talked about hiking up, but after the Gorham Mountain hike, I spent some internet time reading about the Mount Battie hike.  It looked to be quite steep and rocky.  It involved scrambling.  We drove the SUV to the summit :-).

 This tower which housed a spiral staircase to the viewing platform offered amazing views of the seacoast and Camden Harbor below.  

It was a warm and hazy morning.  The pictures were not as bright as I wanted.  However, the views were jaw-dropping, nonetheless.

We ended up eating lunch on this harbor

We walked around the rocky top of the mountain for a while, drinking in the views.  Of course, I climbed up the steps of the tower with all the other little kids.  

We found a plaque next to the tower commemorating a visit from the well-known American poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay.  The poem on the plaque was written about the views that we saw.

Cool!

We debated a walk down the trail for a short jaunt, but after seeing a couple struggling out of the woods exhausted and covered in sweat we opted to climb back into the car and drive to the coastal town of Camden.

We were lucky to find street parking on the slope of a hill that was big enough for our SUV.  It took a while for me to squeeze into the space, but patience paid off.

As we walked into town the sidewalk led us across a river (maybe a canal).  

We wandered the streets for a short while.  Dianne fell in love with these trees that were smothered with white flowers.  (The air smelled like perfume -- D.)


The wharf area was our favorite place.  What views!

It was lunchtime and we could not have found a better setting. It was directly on the harbor.  Bandido and Poquita were welcomed with a bowl of water.  Lots of people wanted to pet them.

Dianne had crab cakes.  I had lobster cakes.  This was to be our last fresh seafood meal in Maine, so Dianne savored a glass of chianti*, and I enjoyed a glass of Ishmael Copper Ale.
*(I know, I know, red wine does not go with seafood, but I know what I like.  If I find a good Chianti or Sangiovese, I go for it. -- D.)

Dianne and I had ice cream on the wharf for dessert.  On the way back to the SUV Bandido stopped for some ice water outside the Sea Dog Brewery Shop.  A sign indicated pets were welcome, so we decided to go inside.  Bandido and Poquita both scored dog biscuits.  The very friendly man behind the counter made some sales.  Kindness pays.

Ice water sure is good!

Days Seven and Eight...

We spent our last two days in Maine at the RV park.  Storms were in the forecast (which did arrive).  We had several mundane chores to wrap up before leaving Maine --- cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, checking tires and batteries,  getting outdoor furniture out of the rain, and writing this post.  So we left yet another state without seeing a moose :-(.

Dianne's Teensy-Weensy Trailer Tip:
Our brand-new Airstream came with deluxe ultra leather cushions for the dinette.   Knowing how dirty and scratched they might become from our dogs' feet (there's no keeping them off the furniture, especially if they are "home alone"), I needed to protect them somehow.   I read a tip that a fitted baby crib mattress sheet would fit over the seat cushions and a zippered body pillow pillowcase would enclose the seat back pillows nicely.  I found gray and dark blue ones to match the interior of the trailer. 

Aren't I a handsome model?

  Every laundry day these get thrown in the wash and our ultra leather cushions still look as good as new.  And on hot, sticky days, the covers feel better than the leather would anyway.

Roger again:  New fun in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is on the horizon.

Pet Picture of the Day...

Bandido did a little exploring of his own on the Wonderland Trail.