Day 14 Last day in Acadia

So much for my idyllic vision of Acadia as an isolated wilderness in northern Maine.  In fact, it’s a very busy place, even in the middle of September.  The brochure tells us that it is within one day’s drive of 25% of the population of North America (not just the US), and the traffic is crazy.  

Two miles up and two miles down.   

We had to get to the parking lot of our trail head fairly early in the morning to get a parking spot and saw lots of folks later in the day circling again and again to find a place.  The barber who cut my hair this morning said three million cars drive past her shop on Highway 3 every season. LL Bean funds an extensive seven route shuttle system in the park and on the island - one right to our campground. 
 

Nonetheless, we found isolation and beauty everywhere.  Monday was the day to hike the North Ridge trail to the top of Cadillac Mountain.  It was a trail rated “moderate”, but it was long and steep.  It took us two hours to hike the two miles to the top, and after a lunch break, another two hours back down again.  Beautiful views, pretty conifer forests, and the good feeling of accomplishment at the end made it all worthwhile.  

Trail is marked with blue painted slashes.   

There are many trails rated “strenuous”, but most of them include almost vertical ascents, with steel ladders and handrails driven into the granite cliffs.  Needless to say, it was early to bed that night and a good sleep under the wool blanket with the temperature down into the high forties.

Lunch at the top tasted great.   

Tuesday was the biking day.  In the 1920’s and 30’s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. took the park as his personal mission and  was instrumental in purchasing the land and developing it into what it is today.  His vision was carriage roads throughout the park, where folks could take horse drawn carriage rides almost like Central Park in NYC.

They still offer carriage rides, but the carriage roads are also used by bikers and hikers.  We rode about eight miles before lunch, and another 10 or so in the afternoon.  The roads were designed to take advantage of the natural beauty of the island, and offer great vistas of the forest and the shoreline, as well as beautiful keystone arch bridges all along the way.  We were surprised at all of the hills, so the ride was strenuous but exhilarating, and we topped it off with a stop at Jordan Pond House for tea and popovers with strawberry jam, which has been the tradition for over 100 years.

Today was laundry and grocery shopping, with a quick stop at the LL Bean outlet store in Ellsworth about 15 miles east.  Hardly worth our time with mostly clothing, some boots, and lots of water bottles. Still fun. This afternoon was highlighted by a ranger-led hike along the shoreline.  

Lobster traps were evident everywhere with their distinctive brightly colored buoys.  Apparently the lobster population is thriving - over 125 million pounds harvested last year.  The state manages the fishing with slot limits (like the MN walleye rules), and it has really paid off.  In addition, the cod population is at all-time lows because of over-fishing Baby lobsters are a cod’s favorite food.  The cold water off the Maine coast is ideal for the lobsters as well. There is some concern about a recent report that water temps in the Gulf of Maine are rising much faster than other places in the world.

Just to be sure there were some left, tonight we had a great lobster dinner at a restaurant in Bar Harbor overlooking the ocean, for an early bird special of $15.95 each.  Unfortunately, that price did not include the wine or the blueberry pie and coffee for dessert.  A great meal, and we donned our bibs and did a creditable job of getting the meat from the claws and the tail.  

Lunch and later in the day tea at Jordan Pond Tea House. 

  

Tomorrow, it’s off to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Goal: St. Andrews tomorrow night.

Random thought for the day:  Lobster is $5.95 a pound at a local grocery.   

Day 11 Mile 1805.1 Acadia National Park

For anyone who doesn’t already know, Sue is the newest long distance, cross-country driver in the family.  On the way to Niagara Falls, she drove across three states, including  a marathon crossing of the entire state of Pennsylvania.  A grand total of at least 150 miles.  Look at the map, and I 90 does a neat little maneuver along the southern edge of Lake Erie.  Speaking of which, a plethora of vineyards  line the lakeshore for miles and miles, with fields of grapes as large as some Iowa cornfields.  Apparently, if you can see the lake from the field, the land will grow good wine grapes.  We bought a bottle of a dry white in Geneva on the Lake, and with a grilled Haddock filet, it was very nice.

Niagara Falls was roaring as usual, but early in September the crowds are gone, so we rode the Maid of the Mist, hiked up to the Hurricane Deck at the Cave of the Winds, and gawked at the falls from every angle, all without waiting in line.  Luckily, we talked to the guy at the 4 Mile Creek State Park Campground store, who suggested we drive part of the way to the falls, park for free at the Whirlpool State Park, and ride our bikes the rest of the way.  It worked like a dream.  The last couple of miles were on two lanes of a state parkway which had been closed to traffic, so the cars were on one side of the median, and bikers and hikers were on the other- in a perfect world this would be the norm. 

Biking to Niagara Falls State Park.  

The next day we crossed to the Canadian side in the rain and drove to Niagara on the Lake, a very nice tourist town on Lake Ontario.  Alas, the rain kept us from shopping, but we drove around, bought some peaches from a local orchard, and ended up at the Andrew Peller winery.  Took the tour, had a tasting and bought a bottle of Chardonnay, which should go well with a Maine lobster in the next night or so. 

Andrew Peller Winery.   

Then back to the Canadian parkway and another pretty bike ride to get to the falls. We enjoyed the much better view of the falls from north side of the Niagara River.  It is a beautiful sight, but five or six hours of watching it is probably enough.  We did not go back in the evening for the lights and fireworks. We did look across the lake from the campground at the skyline of Toronto. Very impressive.

Four Mile Creek State Park Campground 10 miles north of Niagara Falls.   

We took two days from Niagara to Maine and are in a very nice campground (Hadley Point Campground) on the shuttle bus route into Acadia National Park.  Last night was in York Beach, Maine.

York Beach Maine next to Wildlife Park.   

We celebrated with dinner in a restaurant on the shore dining on clam chowder and lobster rolls. Delicious. The campground owner told Sue as she checked in that she shouldn’t be alarmed if she heard the lion roaring.  There is a wild game park adjacent to the campground, and apparently, the lion gets very impatient if he doesn’t get fed on time.  It rained last night, and we had the windows closed, so no roars to be heard.

Top of Cadillac Mountain Mountain at Sunset.  

Drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park this evening and walked the trail at the summit as the sun was setting - a magnificent view in all directions. Next are three days of biking and hiking in the park. Maybe a little shopping or at least a beer in Bar Harbor.

A final random thought for the day.  Instead of deer crossing signs, Maine has moose crossing signs.  Thank goodness we didn’t see one up close on I 95.

Day 6 Mile 869.6 Geneva on the Lake, Ohio

Tonight we are camping in what appears to be a beautiful campground  on the south shore of Lake Erie...Geneva on the Lake.We can’t really tell because the rain started as we pulled in.  Hopefully, it will be a short shower, and we can go exploring.

Blogging.   

So far it’s been a convoluted, family oriented trip: we met Katie and family to celebrate Michael’s birthday, spent a day in Davenport with Sue’s mom, and overnight at Sue’s sister Betsy’s, traveling southeast to get to Canada (Sue was always bad at geography).  After three days, we had traveled 168 miles. Left Indianapolis this morning and arrived in fine spirits at about 4. 

Michael's 8th birthday.   

Sugar Bottom Campground in Coralville.   

Since we haven’t driven the new motor home much, I was worried about traffic in Indie, Columbus, and Cleveland.  It turned out to be fine.  We avoided rush hour everywhere and did pretty well.  The real problem was the dreaded orange signs of construction ahead.  They might as well have said, “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!”  Narrow lanes veering left and right, with concrete barriers on one side, and impatient semis on the other are not my idea of fun.  But all’s well that ends well. We are enjoying the breeze from the lake and looking forward to a pretty evening. We biked a two mile asphalt path through the woods and along Lake Erie into town which is mainly closed for the summer.

Geneva on the Lake, Ohio.   
  

Geneva on the Lake State Campground.   

Tomorrow it’s off to Niagara Falls to a state park with lots of hiking and bike trails and visits to all of the typical tourist haunts, including a ride on the Maid of the Mist. We have never been there, so we’ll pretend it’s a second honeymoon - 44 years later.

Random thought for the day: we passed a Porsche, and a lemonade stand passed us. 

Day 1 Mile 0 August 28, 2014

Packed and ready to go...all the way to Coralville (two hours). Dinner with Mark and Marsha Hamer and Dale and Cyndy Crider tonight, Michael's 8th birthday Friday with Crawfords, Iowa game with Mom, Jim, Martha and Kathleen in Davenport on Saturday, Sunday and Monday with Betsy and Joe in Indianapolis.