Before starting off on our Acadia adventure, it was Sunday so we wanted to take care of the first priority for the day. Finding a church in the areas we have been staying has been a challenge but here in Bar Harbor we knew there was a Church of Christ just 4 miles from the RV Park. In fact, we saw it as we drove in. Not a big building, but still a decent size building but that doesn’t really matter, it’s the people who are the church. There was a 10 am Bible Study and 11 am worship and we planned to attend. What we found when we arrived was the Evangelist had pass away suddenly two weeks ago and someone from Bangor was coming over to help out but most people did not realize it. Bible Study consisted of us, one other person and the Teacher. Things picked up for Worship but ended up with only 9 including the Evangelist. Of the 9, there were 4 visitors. We would have to say this was the smallest congregation we have ever visited.
Afterward, we went home, had lunch and headed to Acadia National Park to explore our options for the week. At the Visitor’s Center you have to climb four flights of stairs consisting of 52 steps to get from the parking lot to the building. Not a good sign if this is an indication of the physical ability you must have to enjoy the park. Inside we showed our Senior Pass and got a ticket for the whole week. For anyone who is 65 or over, you can get a lifetime pass to all National Parks for a one-time fee of $10.00 sold at any park. We got our three years ago at Canaveral National Seashore and have used it many times since.
We decided to drive the Park Loop Road today, making all the tourist stops along the way with the crowds. There were some spectacular sights and we pulled off for each of the planned Kodak Photo Spots, but as we came around one turn, we were surprised by a row of trees all decked out in their fall best. Worthy of a picture for sure!
1st trees turning color in Acadia Nat’l Park
On to Thunder Hole where the surf coming in echos like thunder and forces the water through a hole worn away over years causing a spout. It’s more dramatic as the tide comes in so maybe we will be back later in the week.
Thunder Hole – Acadia Nat’l Park
We skipped Jordan’s Pond mostly because there were too many cars and not enough parking spots. We are coming back tomorrow with our bikes and there is a trail that goes right by here. Then on to Cadillac Mountain. What an awesome view!
View of Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain
They have actually put in concrete walks all around the top of the mountain to keep people from walking on the entire top surface and wearing it away. We walked all around it, stopping occasionally to sit on the rocks and just take in the vistas. There is no camera or photographer that can truly capture what the eye sees from this mountain top. You just need to plan to come here some day.
One last stop before we headed back was to the Northeast Harbor.
Northeast Harbor
This is a part of the island that isn’t on the tourist circuit. It is, in fact, not even part of the park. It is more like the harbor towns we saw in Canada and Lubec. The town streets were lined with small shops owned by individuals and not many people. But unlike the towns up north, this was not a working community. Instead of commercial fishing boats we saw lots of privately owned recreational boats and yachts. The town had several large condo buildings looking out into the harbor and we even passed a golf course on our way out of the town. A beautiful community for those who like the lifestyle.
We headed home looking forward to tomorrow’s more leisurely exploration of the carriage trails by bicycle.
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