44 23.211 N 068 12.326 W
Well after 48 years of trying, Libby and I finally got to Arcadia National Park. Our first day's experiences however were not what we expected. I'll explain.
At the visitor's info center, a large white board displayed the status of all area campgrounds. Most had a big FULL placard. My heart sank. But just then the center's phone rang. It was Quietside Campground phoning in with a cancellation. I snapped it up instantly. When we got there, the site was so appealing that I wanted to just stay there and relax with a good book instead of going to the park. But that would have been stupid, so we went to the park.
Fear of crowds scared us away from Yosemite National Park. Since Arcadia is the only national park in the the populous Northeast, I feared the same. It was worse than I thought. On the way in, we saw cars jockeying for a parking space at a mountain trail head. A park ranger with a Glock on his hip played cop. At the visitors center, everyone must stop to get a park pass. The mob was so big that I almost pivoted on my heel to walk away; but I didn't and I'm glad. We wanted to go to the sand beach. The parking lots were all full and cars were parked illegally along the narrow road. We had to cruise for a mile past the beach to find a vacant illegal spot for us. There were long lines for the public restrooms and they were so rank we could smell them 50 feet away. We tried to go to the Abbe Museum; no admittance for us -- too many people.
The big surprise came when we got to Acadia's most famous sight, Thunder Hole. Instead of looking at the scenery, Libby's eyes were focused on our view of the open sea. It was a lovely day for sailing; scattered clouds, winds S 15-20. Libby really longs to get back to the open sea herself. Me too. (in 2 months we'll be there).
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| This view captured Libby's imagination. |
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| A 100x zoom shot of a huge sailboat with a 150-200 foot mast. |
Whining aside, the scenery really is spectacular. I'm glad we went. But the real lesson is that the next time we'll come with Tarwathie. The seas, bays, and coves around the area are lovely and very much uncrowded; only a few sailboats were visible.
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| Where we belong, between the red and the green. |
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We visited Mount Desert Island in 2000, 2004 and 2005. (left boat at marina in Sommes Sound for winter) Travel by free bus was easy and parking problems were avoided. Took a mooring in Northeast Harbor for a while and also picked up free mooring near Sommesville. (not sure if free would still work) Very different experience than trying to visit by car.
ReplyDeleteLoren
SV Whippoorwill CD27
Since living in Maine, I have found that out of the way places along the coast not as frequented by tourists are the prettiest and have the best food. I do like Camden and Boothbay but go during the week. The other parts of maine in the lakes regions and mountains are as pretty and nice as you will get.Rangely is really nice and not crowded at all. Reminds me a lot of the Adirondacs back home.
ReplyDeleteIf you're stopping at Boothbay, go to East Boothbay and keep going on out to Ocean Point. It is beautiful out there along the ocean with lots of places to pull off and enjoy the views of the ocean. Nice place for a picnic on the rocks!!
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