Acadia National Park, Maine 10/3/1998

Acadia National Park is mostly located on Mount Desert Island. There are more than 40,000 acres which include islands as well. It includes more than 120 miles of hiking trails and 44 miles of carriage roads. I first went up Cadillac Mountain which was quite a drive around narrow twisting roads on the edge of granite cliffs but the views along the way were spectacular. It was cold and windy on top and it seemed a good time to try out my new down jacket which I continued to wear the rest of the afternoon.




The glacier-carved mountains rise from the sea, cupping deep lakes in their valleys. There are also meadows and marshes and dense evergreen woodlands. When the glaciers melted big blocks of ice left behind formed the lakes and ponds. The sea level rose and flooded the valley that is now the only fjord, Some Sound, on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. I would like to return to the other portions of the park but will probably save Some's Sounds and the seawall area for another time.




Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. I enjoyed views of Frenchman Bay, Cadillac Mountain, and Eagle Lake among others. The French and English battled for possession of North America from 1613 until 1760. Champlain sailed into the bay in 1604 and named Mount Desert Island Isle des Monts Deserts, island of barren mountains, because of the bare top.










Charming were the old carriage roads built throughout the area for John D. Rockefeller's friends to enjoy buggy rides. I merely made a dent in all there was to see at Acadia but it was better than not going at all. The Belgrade Lakes area was on my list of places to go.