2017-18
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Sea Princess boat tour, North East Harbor |
Bangor Maine (Part II)
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wood carved duck |
Acadia National Park
Bar Harbor
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summers in Maine |
Campground: Shady Acres RV and
campground. A PPA campground $21. Full hookups, 30 amp. Nice grassy
pull-thru sites. Above ground pool, one washer/dryer,
restrooms/bathhouse.
How far north am I? So far north that
the sky turns light by 4:30 am. That's pretty early, at first I
thought the light might be coming from street lights. No, just being
at such a northerly latitude.
Bangor Maine
big statue of Paul Bunyan
Hollywood Casino and raceway (no
lunch buffet) $5+ free play when joining players club
Nice river walk through town
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Bangor Maine |
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Bangor Maine, a few rivers and canals thru town |
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Steven King |
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Bangor downtown shops |
North East Harbor
My first day trip before heading over
to Acadia NP and Bar Harbor, I decided to travel the less crowded
side of Mount Desert Island. Taking route 102 and 3, I headed down
to Northeast Harbor and yes, there is a Southeast harbor as well.
From the NE Harbor I was able to join the three hour Sea Princes boat
tour. A National Park Ranger led the guided tour. After tooling
around the bay, viewing sea otters, we stopped off at one of the
Cranberry Islands where we had the opportunity to walk around the
island and view the small village. It's not a tourist attraction and
we were able to get a bit of a feeling of what life might be like
living on one of these islands. It being a bright Sunday morning,
the church doors were open and I could hear the sounds of singing
coming from the members inside. Bikes are scattered where ever the
rider last used it. Leaning against an old fence, a shrub or laying
on the ground. Walking along the residential homes, one with a tall
three story tower was having an estate sale, as the house was up for
sale. $750,000 and you too could live on Cranberry Island. The
owners are moving to North Carolina. Later we would head into the
Somers Sound Fjord. It's been downgraded to just a ford as it's
technically not deep enough to be considered a Fjord. A very
pleasant way to spend my first day on the island. Well worth the $23
boat ride.
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looking back at Acadia national park |
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harbor seals |
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a visit to one of the Cranberry Islands |
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experiencing what it's like to live on one of the Cranberry Islands |
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a cottage, tucked in between big pine trees
Cranberry Island |
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a three season wrap around porch |
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the church I heard music coming out of the
open front door |
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summers mean sailing in Maine |
Bar Harbor
Of course the main attraction along the
coast of Maine is the Acadia National Park and the seaside town of
Bar Harbor. Back in the Gilded Age, many of the newly rich
industrialists discovered this little piece of New England paradise.
From the Vanderbilt's, Astor's, Rockefeller and Ford families they
all built “cottages” here. Remember back in the late 1800's,
there was no air-conditioning, so the wealthy moved from house to
house, following the seasonal changes in weather.
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Bar Harbor, park overlooking the harbor |
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Bar Harbor |
In 1947 a forest fire, started in a
cranberry bog burned down 67 of those palatial summer homes along
millionaire's row, 5 grand hotels and 147 permanent residences.
Today, Martha Stuart has purchased the
Edsel Ford home, Kirstie
Alley and friend John Travolta
have property on one of the islands and of course Steven King
lives in Bar Harbor. The Rockefeller family twisted the arms of many
of the wealthy to donate land around the peninsula to “preserve”
it's natural beauty. IE to protect their playground from getting
over populated. Rockefeller Jr spent millions of dollars to built the
carriage roads and about 17 stone bridges still in use today so they
would have a way to tour the peninsula they'd all preserved. So
along with the beautiful bays and water ways for sailing, they also
had their own forested preserve to take carriage rides, go for hikes
and have picnics overlooking Bar harbor.
Today it is the playground of we
ordinary folk and the town of Bar Harbor caters to a couple of cruise
ships bringing the population the town to a stand still as cash
registers ring up sale after sale.
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Bar Harbor, lots of tourist shops and restaurants |
On my Birthday, yes, I had another one,
I drove back to the area to check out Acadia National Park and Bar
Harbor. My first impression upon entering the NP visitor center,
which by the way is at the top of a slew of steps just to get there,
yikes, what have I gotten myself into. The place was packed with
tourists milling around. Ten deep waiting to get info from a half
dozen Park Rangers on travel routes, hiking trails etc. Another bank
of Rangers were collecting entry fees into the park. A short, and
not very inspirational film was provided as an introduction to the
park. Back down those stone steps to the parking lot and bus depot,
I got on-board one of the many “free” buses that travel the
various loop roads and other routes around the island peninsula. I
didn't remain on-board very long, as the bus filled up to full
capacity with folks standing in the isles and no a/c on-board.
Instead, I drove the loop road, or what
I thought was the loop road, as it wasn't very well marked once in
the park proper. In any case, this is just a scouting trip as I'll
be coming back later on. What ever route I'd taken, I ended up being
dumped out of the park and back on a route into Bar Harbor. Fine, I
could deal with that as Bar Harbor was on my scouting destination as
well. Parking can be a real challenge (no parking meters) but I was
able to find a spot with a two hour parking limit and yes, they do
have patrols and will ticket you if going over the two hour limit.
It's a nice town with lots and lots of
shops and restaurants. I particularly liked the grassy park on a
hill over looking the harbor and a nice walking path along the hotels
and shore line. Try to get a cruise ship schedule so that you can
avoid the days it is in town.
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one of the stone bridges Rockefeller Jr. had
built for the carriage roads around Acadia |
Kathy S Visits Maine
One of the pleasures in life is meeting
new friends and then being able to reconnect with them especially
during my Rv travels. Kathy is a one of those adventurous spirits
who, along with a new R-Pod camper left her husband, kids and
grand-kids behind to do a bit of traveling this summer. And here she
is after a 1,400+ mile journey on the east coast, having come all the
way from Iowa.
We'll explore Acadia National Park and
Bar Harbor, along with other coastal scenic tours over the next
couple of days before caravaning across Maine into Northern New
Hampshire and Vermont before getting into upstate New York, where way
we may part ways on our journey.
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Bar Harbor |
And just think, you are along for the
ride as well and I sure enjoy having you along for the journey as we
discover new parts of the country together.
Kathy and I attempted to join a light
house boat tour over two days, but fog rolled in and canceled both
days. There's usually a plan B and we actually had a couple of them.
Since we were in Bar Harbor of course we walked around town and
enjoyed a good cup of coffee at a local coffee shop. Bought the
required T-shirts and then headed out to our plan B. It was onto
touring Acadia National Park. We followed a loop road around the
park stopping off at as many of the major attractions as we could,
taking advantage of parking right on the two lane road, as it was
designated a one way road and the right hand side one could park
right on the road at most any point. Fortunate, as many of the small
parking lots were usually full up. Even with the fog, we could enjoy
the rugged coastline, view the “blow hole”, get awesome views of
glacier created lakes and the best of views from Cadillac Mountain.
A bare pink granite mountain top that provides an unobstructed view
of the entire island and National Park. I can see why the free buses
are popular, as the traffic along the loop road and around the island
can be very congested.
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taking the loop tour around Acadia National Park |
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a typical foggy day |
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the tour boat, we didn't get to go on, too much fog |
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my friend Kathy, what fun touring with her |
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there's even a beaver dam... look closely |
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falcons on the mountain |
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like an Andrew Wyeth painting |
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Acadia National Park |
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the Blow Hole |
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low tide along the coast |
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a few steep cliffs |
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on the edge |
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on top of Cadillac Mountain, the center of Acadia national park |
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from Cadillac Mountain, looking at North East Bay |
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North east bay |
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Cadillac Mountain and the pink granite |
South East Harbor
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with heavy fog, we stopped at a small museum
and were treated to a wood carvers
awesome collection on display |
Another try at joining the lighthouse
tour was again canceled, so we drove the South East Harbor side of
Desert Island which is the name of the island that Bar Harbor and
Acadia NP are on. It's a dramatic change from the popular tourist
sides of the island. Many of the homes are middle class, fishing and
working class homes. Some are not in the best of condition and the
small towns and communities have little to offer the tourist except
exceptional harbor views, live lobsters /dining and a great
lighthouse at the end of a narrow dirt road. The coastguard
operates it and it is part of Acadia NP. Again little parking, as we
had to wait in line along the narrow entry road for a place to park.
No access to the lighthouse itself as the coastguard actively used
the building and lighthouse. But views, especially from the rocky
beach coastal side are worth the steep steps leading down to the best
viewing areas. Kathy and I survived the rocky outcropping for a
couple great shots of the lighthouse with a misty backdrop. Totally
worth the extra if somewhat dangerous effort.
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a true fishing/lobster working harbor |
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lobster boats returning with their catch |
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a private home |
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South East Harbor |
So much fun sharing these experiences
with a fellow traveler and gypsy. Thank Kathy, you really made this
journey extra special.
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even foggy days have beauty |
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it really was worth the effort |
More Photos
South East Bay the quiet side
BONUS REPORT ADDENDUM:
Bucksport Maine and the narrows Bridge
Kathy and I had one more day to do a
minor tour, so we headed to Bucksport and the big suspension bridge
that has a 43 story elevator to the top viewing area. It was still
fogged in when we got there, so into town we went for coffee, a walk
around and lunch. By the time we got back across the bridge, the fog
had finally lifted and up we went. Not a big fan of heights, I can
tell you it was not bad at all. The elevator runs very smoothly to
almost the top, where one gets off the elevator and then climbs a few
more flights of stairs to the actual viewing platform. We of course
saw some great views from that height and the viewing area was rock
solid. No swaying thank goodness. Though I talked to the elevator
attendant and she told me that a number of folks get to the top, look
out thru the open elevator doors and don't even get off. Saying,
“we're ready to go back down”.
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Bucksport Maine |
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1st attempt was all fogged in |
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around 10:30, still fogged in |
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from the 43 floor |
1 comment:
You have captured some beautiful pics of the areas where you are in Maine. Acadia is awesome and just by looking at your pics of Bar Harbor I get a feel for the area. Thanks for the share!
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