Had a very enjoyable day today. Spend the morning sucking up the crisp New England air and just plain enjoying Acadia Park. The park charges $20/car for a week pass, but bikes are only $5! I think we drove about 90% of the park. Photos of Cadillac Mountain Summit,
Thunder Hole,
Rockefeller's Carriage House
For those that don't know Rockefeller was an avid horseman, and created some 50+ miles of carriage trails within the park. He spared no expense on installation which included an 8" crowning, and sub-base, base and top level substrates. He also constructed elaborate bridges and water diverters to ensure go going during the harsh Maine seasons.
I guess it's not an adventure until something notable happens. We'll the off ramp to the Thunder hole lot is a bit off-camber. A car stopped about 50 ft into the lot, and Dorito is a wee-bit height challenged (did i mention the low chassis/low seat?). Meanwhile, Dorito thought it would be best to take a nap while waiting. While the better part of me wanted to get the camera, I wasn't sure the non-ADVers on-lookers would think highly of our "humor".
Some minor scuffs, mostly her ego..hell she's fallen much worse off the horse. As a bonus, I got to use my tool kit to fix the blinker which had popped off the stem.
We had initially thought about staying in the Park at the Blackwoods campground. To do so, you need to book 96-hrs in advance. Around 50% of the sites can be reserved this way. You could also do walk in, but it appeared most weekends were sold out.
We did drive though and initial impressions were: 1) The sites do not have water/electric. 2) There are toilets, but pay showers 3) There is a bus that goes between campgrounds, and all the places you'd actually want to visit 4) the campgrounds are no-where near all the cool park stuff.
There are also quite a few private campgrounds on RT 3 between Ellsworth and Acadia. Some of which are on the water and would probably be a nicer stay.
The afternoon we spend in Bar Harbor proper perusing main street (RT 3). For those that have never been it's worth a few hours as the street. I could sum it up as follows: bar/restaurant, cheap tee shirt shop/tourist gedunk, nice outdoor outfitter (e.g North Face, Padonia, etc), tour guides, repeat. There is a neat place which does wood carving on far end 4+ blocks from the harbor. However, there were some damn funny tee-shirts to be read!
Thinking about re-visiting Cadillac Mountain at 0552 for sunrise, as it the first place rays hit the east coast. The over to Mt. Washington. We've decided to take some back roads, by-ways as we meander home in the next few days.
Thunder Hole,
Rockefeller's Carriage House
For those that don't know Rockefeller was an avid horseman, and created some 50+ miles of carriage trails within the park. He spared no expense on installation which included an 8" crowning, and sub-base, base and top level substrates. He also constructed elaborate bridges and water diverters to ensure go going during the harsh Maine seasons.
I guess it's not an adventure until something notable happens. We'll the off ramp to the Thunder hole lot is a bit off-camber. A car stopped about 50 ft into the lot, and Dorito is a wee-bit height challenged (did i mention the low chassis/low seat?). Meanwhile, Dorito thought it would be best to take a nap while waiting. While the better part of me wanted to get the camera, I wasn't sure the non-ADVers on-lookers would think highly of our "humor".
Some minor scuffs, mostly her ego..hell she's fallen much worse off the horse. As a bonus, I got to use my tool kit to fix the blinker which had popped off the stem.
We had initially thought about staying in the Park at the Blackwoods campground. To do so, you need to book 96-hrs in advance. Around 50% of the sites can be reserved this way. You could also do walk in, but it appeared most weekends were sold out.
We did drive though and initial impressions were: 1) The sites do not have water/electric. 2) There are toilets, but pay showers 3) There is a bus that goes between campgrounds, and all the places you'd actually want to visit 4) the campgrounds are no-where near all the cool park stuff.
There are also quite a few private campgrounds on RT 3 between Ellsworth and Acadia. Some of which are on the water and would probably be a nicer stay.
The afternoon we spend in Bar Harbor proper perusing main street (RT 3). For those that have never been it's worth a few hours as the street. I could sum it up as follows: bar/restaurant, cheap tee shirt shop/tourist gedunk, nice outdoor outfitter (e.g North Face, Padonia, etc), tour guides, repeat. There is a neat place which does wood carving on far end 4+ blocks from the harbor. However, there were some damn funny tee-shirts to be read!
Thinking about re-visiting Cadillac Mountain at 0552 for sunrise, as it the first place rays hit the east coast. The over to Mt. Washington. We've decided to take some back roads, by-ways as we meander home in the next few days.