Maine's Fabulous Acadia Park & Environs
by Phil Rowe
Prologue : This westerner was surprised, delighted and fascinated
by Maine's Acadia National Park. It may be called Mount Desert
Island, but it ain't like any deserts out in our home state of
New Mexico.
By early afternoon we arrived in the Ellsworth, Maine area.
It's the gateway to Acadia National Park and scenic Bar
Harbor. Our choice of an alternate campground turned out to be
the right one as we are in a spot with full hookups at very
reasonable rates. This is a Good Sam park, all of which
means that Trailer Life magazine's membership club endorses
the campground for meeting certain standards. We find the
park to be very nice and certainly deserving of the three star
rating in our guidebook.
Monday morning we awoke with the birds. It gets light here
before 5:00 A.M., so we were on the road, sans trailer, to
begin our tour of Acadia National Park and environs before
7:00. Breakfast was taken in Bar Harbor at a little
cafe/bakery next to the Post Office. It wasn't all that great,
but the blueberry muffins were just fine.
Jean and I both fell in love with Bar Harbor. It's a
charming small seaport town and fishing village on the
Island's eastern shore. The shops are very interesting and
many feature quality goods with a nautical theme, of course.
Numerous restaurants and pubs offer travelers plenty to eat
and drink, though few are open before lunch.
We walked down along the waterfront, on the pier and in front
of the delightful Bar Harbor Inn. Though it was gray and
overcast the weather wasn't bad at all. A light breeze made
most folks want a sweater or jacket. It was probably in
the 60's. Jean succumbed to a sweatshirt in one of the
many clothing/gift stores. She tried to get me to buy
something too, but nothing really grabbed my attention.
Nothing that is within my price range. A nautical clock and
barometer attracted my eye, but the $500 price tag turned me
away.
The Bar Harbor Inn is a deluxe waterfront hotel that is really
a great place to spend a week or so. But bring money,
especially in the summer prime season. $200-plus per night is
the going rate, though ocean-facing rooms are probably more.
Their dining room is delightful too and prices are not low.
Breakfast for two would run about $25.00. Yet it sure
would be a great honeymoon or anniversary place to stay.
We drove into the Park itself around mid-morning. The
visitors' center is quite modest, compared to the many other
National Parks we've visited. Jean bought a booklet and soon we
were off on the loop drive around the island. It's very green,
scenic and serene here. Many coastal viewpoints urge you to
stop and marvel at the rugged rocks and pines. The surf was
very light and few crashing waves broke onto the shore.
The weather began to clear by 10:30 and the sun came out
to heighten the beauty of the area. This is a magnificent
place, but I must confess that it seemed smaller than I
expected. The perimeter road, paved and one-way in places,
runs about forty miles over a winding, twisting course.
There are several short side roads, the most interesting
being the one up Cadillac Mountain at the center of the
island.
We stopped at Jordan Pond House, an in-the-Park eatery and
gift shop, for our morning coffee break. The outer deck was a
great place to sip coffee and take in the scenery. That
done we continued to the high spot of the day. From atop
1500-foot Cadillac Mountain, reportedly the first place in the
Continental US. to see the sunrise, the view is great in all
directions. The weather was most cooperative too.
More scenic driving along the shores brought us to a small
beach which drew us down onto the sand for a walk. To one side
of the cove we noticed a painter working on a landscape
in oils. He kindly let us look over his shoulder to view
the work in progress. He was an elderly gentleman with a
definite "Down East" accent. We appreciated the colorful
addition to the stop.
Lunchtime brought us to a shorefront picnic area. Jean had
packed our lunch and we enjoyed it at a table under the shade
of a pine tree. In the near distance we could see the
coastline and hear the waves. It was a nice experience. The
weather couldn't have been nicer, bright and sunny with
a gentle breeze and temperatures in the 70's by then.
Perfect.
By 1:30 in the afternoon we were at Bass Harbor, a small
lobster and fishing village on the island's southwestern tip.
A large sheltered cove makes an ideal harbor and an
inviting place to paddle my kayak. I couldn't resist. So
while Jean read a book in the truck parked at the water's
edge, I paddled. My tour around the entire cove and harbor
was a delightful three miles or more in an absolutely
picture-perfect setting. The waters were very clear at high
tide with bottom visible at 30 feet or more in places. I had
a ball.
After replacing my kayak atop the truck, we continued around
the remainder of the island, returning to the mainland bridge
by mid-afternoon. An ice cream store magnetically drew us in
as we completed our wonderful day with delicious creamy
treats. I had a cone with coffee-fudge ice cream and Jean had
something called chocolate mint swirl. Delightfully decadent.