A Drive Around The Island



     On Friday, we took another drive around the island.  On the way out of the campground, we saw two deer beside the road.  We were planning to rent some bicycles and ride on the Carriage trails in Acadia National Park but it was so cold and windy that we changed our plans.  Instead we decided to drive the rest of the park loop road around Acadia.  Some portions of the road did not open until Friday due to Sequestration.  We seem to be hearing that a lot lately.  Parks are opening later in the season due to funding.  The visitors centers and restrooms were not open yet either, but we did enjoy the drive. 

     We drove back by Thunder Hole so we could see how it was at low tide.  We were able to see and hear the large stones rolling around in the bottom of the cave when the waves would come in.  It was neat for the kids to have the experience of seeing it at both low tide and high tide. 

 

We saw this beaver lodge on one of the ponds in the park. 

 

     When we drove around the portion of the park loop road that overlooks the Bar Harbor village, we saw a cruise ship in the harbor.  If you look closely at the picture below, you will see the sandbar that we walked across the day before.  This picture was taken fairly near low tide.  It's amazing that such a large ship can navigate through a harbor that has so many sandbars.  I sure wouldn't want to be the captain in charge.

 

Later in the day, we drove back down to the entrance to the sandbar when it was high tide. 





 

We left the Bar Harbor village and drove to what the locals call the "quiet side" of the island.  This is mostly a residential area.  We saw several nice harbors and a lighthouse.  Below is a picture of lobster cages stacked on a dock.  You see them everywhere here.  Below that is a lobster boat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view from this lighthouse was so pretty.  The sun was beginning to set and it made a beautiful reflection on the water and the rocky coast. 

 

We saw this rainbow after we left the lighthouse area. 

 

On the way back to the RV, we had planned to drive on a couple of the dirt roads shown on the Acadia National park map.  These roads go deeper into the park and we hoped to catch a glimpse of some wildlife.  Unfortunately, the roads were still closed so we weren't able to go.  Isaiah was so disappointed, but all of our spirits were lifted when Michaela spotted an eagle near the road.  It was sitting on a log in a stream that ran under the road and into a pond.  We quickly turned the Jeep around and went back to take a picture.  It flew off  just as we pulled up, but I was still able to get a picture of it in flight.  We pulled off the side of the road and walked through the woods to the pond in hopes of seeing it again.  To our surprise, we did see it and another eagle as well.  We stayed there and watched them for quite a while.  There was a family of ducks in the pond and fish splashing around everywhere.  The little pond was full of activity.  That experience was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far.  Now, all we need to find is a moose and a bear! 

 

I have another nice picture of the eagle sitting in a tree but I can't get it to upload due to the slow Internet connection. I'll try to include it in a different post.