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Our Ride for the Tour |
This morning, Jane & I took the free bus into Bar Harbor to embark on a four-hour fully-narrated expedition of Acadia National Park with Oli’s Trolley. The tour followed the 27-mile scenic drive built by J. D. Rockefeller and known as the “Park Loop Road”.
The first of four stops was the summit of Cadillac Mountain with spectacular views of the mountainous coastline and the town of Bar Harbor. It is the highest peak along the Atlantic coast at 1530 feet above sea level.
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View from Cadillac Mountain including Bar Harbor and Porcupine Islands
Next, we stopped at Sieur de Monts Springs. This land was purchased and the springs built by George B. Dorr, a private citizen who was instrumental in preserving the natural beauty of Mount Desert Island. He purchased the land in order to prevent development of a water bottling factory. At this site, in addition to the spring house, there are the Wild Gardens of Acadia where native plants from the entire island are on display, a Nature Center, and nice hiking trials.
The next section of the Park Loop Road wound along the coastline and provided stunning views of forests, rocky ledges and the sea.
Our third stop was Thunder Hole which is a narrow inlet where ocean waves carved out a softer basalt intrusion in the granite. When the seas are rough and the tide is right, the waves create a loud thunderous noise and splash as high as 40 feet. Well, the conditions weren’t right for us but we did hear an occasional roar, however, the awesome views made up for the poor audio.
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Thunder Hole |
Our final stop was the Jordan Pond House that we had biked to yesterday. Jane & I spent our allotted time going into the restaurant to sample their popovers. Mount Desert Island is famous for these soufflé-ish rolls invented by Maine settlers. We had ours with jam & butter and hurried back to the trolley just in time.
The drive back to Bar Harbor was through the interior of the island and once in town our guide filled us in on more details of the 1947 fire that had destroyed much of the island, the “cottages” of wealthy owners, and the history of various inns and businesses.
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Jane on the Bar Harbor Bar |
Bar Harbor was named for a sand bar that runs through the harbor. Duh. Most of the time this sand bar is underwater, but as the tide recedes it becomes exposed and it is possible to walk or drive across the harbor to a nearby “island” 1.5 hours before or after low tide. Forgotten cars have been submerged on the bar when the tide came in. If you get stranded, the next low tide is in about 9 hours or a water taxi may be hired for about $150, however, it may take over an hour to arrive. Jane and I walked on the bar, the only free bar in town.
After we took the free bus back to the campground, we did laundry, learned about and prepped for crossing the Canadian border tomorrow, ate supper, blogged and relaxed. We’re hoping to hit the sack early tonight.