Acadia

Yesterday, which was Tuesday, I think (I really don't know or much care what day it is anymore, now that I don't have one of those, whaddya call 'em...jobs) Toby and I climbed Cadillac Mountain via the North Ridge Trail. Its just 2.2 miles from the trailhead to the 1500' summit, but it's rugged terrain, and the pines and birch give way to scrub pines and low brush, then bare rock with tiny alpine flowers clinging to life in the sun and wind. The view is panoramic: the broad arc of the Atlantic, Camden Hills, the rugged Maine coast and New Brunswick, and back inland, even distant Mount Katahdin is visible. The auto road brings visitors of all shapes and types, but Toby and I were among the most deserving of such a vista, having ascended under our own power. Here is the dog on the trail:


And the two of us at the top:


On the hike back down Toby twisted something in one of his front legs, and I was afraid that we'd have to cut over to the auto road to hitch a ride down, but after a rest and some massaging, he was sound again and made the rest of the descent just fine. He's a tough little dog. We went back to camp, had some lunch, and then Nancy and I (and both varmints) drove back to the park to do the park road loop. It's mostly a two-lane one-way, newly re-surfaced, no shoulder, lined with chunks of native granite, and winds its away around the park to provide visitors with views of all the best features of the park. Along the east coast we stopped at Thunder Hole, which, when the tide is right, is a kind of blow-hole where the water funnels into a rock formation and makes a loud thunderous boom and sprays all over the delighted tourists. The tide was not right, but the coastline was gorgeous and the sun was getting low enough to make for good lighting:


We continued on, finding our way to Jordan Pond, where, the marketing folks say it is tradition to stop for tea and popovers. Well, who are we to argue with tradition? So, we partook in afternoon tea, sitting out on the lawn with Jordan Pond stretching away until the mountian lurchs skywards to frame the view. The tea was excellent and the popovers buttery and perfectly popped. It's a good tradition. Here's Nancy about to enjoy:


The park road continues to form a loop, but we turned onto the spur road to the top of Cadillac Mountain so that Nancy could have a look around. Here we are up top:


Today I took Toby on a paddle on Long Pond while Nancy worked and Kinsey begged for treats. It was a pleasant paddle, although the wind shifted during my trip such that it was against me both ways. C'est la vie. Got this shot of a cooperative loon:


And, this afternoon, to cap off our Acadian experience, we took the bikes out (sans dogs) for a ride on the famous carriage roads. Nancy and I rode a nice loop, seeing several beaver ponds and some of Rockerfeller's bridge designs. Then, I continued on at a less leisurely pace to get the heart-rate going and work up a bit of a sweat.


That's it for Mount Desert Island. Tomorrow we go as far as we can before the coast ceases to be Maine and comes under the jurisdiction of New Brunswick. We'll be camping at Cobscook Bay State Park.