On To Acadia National Park

July 23, 2012

I’ve only been to this part of Maine once on a dive trip some years ago and to be honest I don’t remember much from that trip except the water was murky and really cold, my thick neoprene wet suit was cumbersome and the seals didn’t want to play with us uncoordinated humans so the drive onto the island, today, was a pleasant surprise. We checked in to the Seawall Campground, had an early supper and then went for a short drive to the Bass Harbor Head Light. We spent about an hour climbing over gargantuan slabs of sea worn rock to get the best angle of the warning beacon still in use today and although we were hours ahead of the sunset, I could see this site had potential. It also had the potential for a sunrise shot but the climbing out onto the cliff side during that predawn light could be a bit tricky if you weren’t careful. You’d also need at least one flashlight.

We weren’t ready to retire just yet so we stopped at one of the many trailheads for a short walk. The one we chose was called Wonder Land and Carl figures it was about a mile through scrubby woodlands and over huge glacier scarred slabs of granite until at the very end the hard pack earth from so many feet gave way to the sea washed gravel. Carl was surprised there has been no sandy beaches on this side of the island. But, oh, the rocky coastline with countless tidal pools was beautiful. I grew up off the coast of Massachusetts on Plum Island where salt air played havoc with my naturally curly hair and I dealt with more than a few painful sunburns during my childhood. I felt comfortable wandering along the shoreline looking for subjects for my camera. Finally as will all good things, we turned for home and our camper. I hope it was a great sunset. I didn’t see it from the campground. Acadia is a National Park and has ranger programs most evening which we enjoyed very much while at Denali last summer. The programs for our campground are at 9:30PM at the amphitheater. That’s way past our bedtime.