After leaving the White Mountain area we headed toward Bar Harbor, our most northeastern destination, stopping for a night at
Riverbend Campground in Leeds, Maine along the way.
This lovely campground sits right on a clean, meandering river and our campsite was just a few yards from the water. We decided to get out our folding kayaks and check it out. Several miles downriver, the stream met a huge lake as we heard a flock of loons, then saw them in the distance. I have heard their eerie call several times, but have never actually seen these elusive birds other than in pictures or wood carvings.
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Norm and I jumped into our new kayaks to check out this river. We wondered where it led to. We found a lovely lake with flocks of loons calling to one another.
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We were able to get pretty close to the flock as we sat and watched their antics and listened to their wail. After a while I had to laugh as I listened to one call and another answer across the lake which resembled the ever-popular water game "Marco-Polo".
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An internet photo of a Loon.
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Driving into Bar Harbor, especially heading into a long weekend, can be plagued with miles of automobile back-ups due to sheer volume and construction. Other than one construction job (whose
dust buried our coach and car with dirt, thank-you) we were very fortunate.
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Seeing our majestic nation bird is one of my favorite experiences. In Alaska for 6 weeks and I saw very few. Now here in Bar Harbor we stayed 10 days ( Beginning August 31st ) right where they nest, and we missed them! UGHHH!
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Arriving at our campground,
Narrows Too, we set up “camp” and I proceeded to clean the rig with a garden sprayer and microfiber cloths.
We went down to the kayak and canoe launching area, and I was so excited to see the sign about an eagle resting area! We traveled a couple of months ago to Alaska - expecting to see eagles as prolific as Robins in the north. I was so disappointed to have only seen a few.
When Norm pointed out the date on the sign - ( today was August 31st) - we had to laugh! I guess seeing may our national bird is not in our cards.
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Although it was not a sight with nice views, Narrow II Campground had everything we needed, and the staff were fantastic!
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Norm and I were waiting for our friends Kim and Gary from The Villages to arrive in the next couple of days, so we decided to take the opportunity, here in the land of fresh seafood, to go have an upscale meal in an actual restaurant ( aka: expensive.) Consulting TripAdvisor, we choose the Bar Harbor Inn, right on the water. Norm had a boiled lobster and I the lobster casserole. They were both excellent, the service was friendly and efficient, and the views were great.
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We finally had the opportunity to do a little fine dining. The Bar Harbor Inn provided just that!
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Weather in Bar Harbor can be finicky. Rain and fog in particular can sock in for days on end allowing no one to see beyond 10 feet, or it can be as our first week - glorious. Once again, lady luck was on our side.
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Two kayaks in back of Honda CRV
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Norm and I toured around part of the island in order to check out kayak opportunities. When Kim and Gary were here for 4 days we golfed, kayaked, took some short hikes and went downtown for an evening to dine and browse a few shops. Gary knew the area very well so we did a lot of sightseeing along the rugged Maine coastline.
One evening my brother, living in the area (whom I hadn’t seen in two years) came to visit. We all had dinner outside, and his friends who work at this campground joined us for a lovely campfire. I must say it was the most enjoyable time of our trip.
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Choosing a quiet lake on Mt.Desert Island, we kayaked with our friends Kim and Gary, also from The Villages, who met up with us for a few days of "play".
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To get the true experience of Thunder Hole, we were told it is best to be there 2 hours before high tide to catch the "thunder" of the waves inside the cave. We tried three times to catch it, but between the changing tide schedule and often getting lost in the network of roads, we missed it each time. Oh well, it was gorgeous out there anyway.
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Rugged beauty is around every corner on Acadia's Auto Road!
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We all took a nice late afternoon hike along the shore.
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After our friends left, Norm and I decided to stay a few more days and do some more golfing, and now that we have fully recovered from our Mt. Washington hike - punish our bodies a little bit more.
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A portion of Schoodic Peninsula is a part of Acadia National Park on Mt.Desert Island. It took a little over an hour to get there from our campground.
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We had driven around Mt.Desert Island so many times we wanted a little different scenery, so took an hour drive and went to Schoodic Peninsula which is also part of Acadia National Park. Here it is off the beaten path which results in a much more tranquil visit with nature. We didn't see the campground there, but if the Visitor's Center and surrounding building reflect the quality here, I am sure it is top notch. We traveled the 6 mile one-way Auto road, and saw many people enjoying the scenery by bicycle.
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The Schoodic Peninsula part of Acadia National park boasts a stunning visitor's center and campground only 2 years old!
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We found a beautiful rocky point where the waves were crashing into the rocks, and the fog was mysteriously hanging over the water. We walked around soaking up the energy and had our picnic lunch. As we sat, the fog started to back away, and the rugged coast appeared!
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The fog was just lifting, allowing visitors a beautiful, rugged shoreline.
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We found our chosen trail head and headed out with our backpacks and walking sticks. It was very warm and humid as we walked a mile or so along a dirt road, and we both thought that this is not the kind of hiking we like. We want something not so groomed- some rocks, and hopefully a little elevation gain so we can get a nice view. I was hoping to get under some trees as sweat just rolled down my face. Well, before long it turned into all that and more. It was a very tough trail that necessitated grabbing onto trees and rocky outcropping to get up the trail. It was rather fun in a torturous sort of way.
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Wow! This trail is surprisingly challenging!
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At the top of the trail we could see the fog still hanging around Mt Desert Island across the bay.
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At the top we could get glimpses of the coast along with a lovely cooling breeze, which we desperately needed. It was very steep going back down, and Norm could be heard groaning from knee pain. When we finally reached the bottom and out of the deep woods we found the skies still clear and the sun getting lower as we headed back to the campground, stopping to check out a wood carving artist we saw earlier in the day. ( see post “Ray Murphy, Mountain Man”)
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One can't be in Maine without some lobsters! The local supermarket cooked them up for us to take home.
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Acadia National Park is so incredibly beautiful, and although the mornings were foggy the last few days, we loved it! I didn’t want to ever leave, but after 10 days it was time to move on. Each time we travel to the northeastern coast of the US and Canada I feel I was meant to stay. If Norm felt the same way we would be living somewhere along the coast. But for now I just look forward to returning.
