We camped at a RV Park in Ellsworth, Maine before heading out to sightsee.  We’ve always wanted to visit Acadia National Park by Bar Harbor, Maine.  In fact we thought this would be a great place to bike.  Whoa!  What were we thinking?  Maybe if we were Lance Armstrong.   The park is beautiful, but it is a series of significant mountains and valleys.  Driving was a much better choice.

We took the trail on eastern side of Mount Desert Island, the location of Acadia National Park.  Mount Desert is the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the US.  After acquiring his fortune from petroleum, JD Rockefeller gifted the park to the US and tried to keep the park free from automobiles.  He didn’t succeed, but he left u with great trails for hiking.

Our first stop was up Cadillac Mountain with a great view of Bar Harbor and the Porcupine islands in Frenchman Bay.  The mountain is pink granite with paths everywhere. 

The foliage was bright green with brilliant red Bearberries sprinkled all over.

On the way toward Jordan Pond, we came across the Caretaker’s House.  This was a part of the Vanderbilt Estate in the Park.  I never found the mansion but it must have been quite a place.

Jordan Pond was spectacular with the landmark Bubble Mountains in the background.  

We followed the Carriage Trail along the lake.

From there, we began to head back home and came across a beautiful stone-faced bridge just past the pond. 

Off the trail a bit—Ok, I got lost—I ended up in Northeast Harbor on Somes Sound.  This water is often called the “only fjord on the East Coast.”  Here we saw our first real touches of fall color.

Acadia National Park was the last stop on our travels from Niagara Falls through the Canadian Maritimes, then back to the US through Maine.  Sad to be at the end of our adventure, the trip home was still fun.  Maine and New York treated us to more fall colors.

And the weather socked in as we hit the Hudson River, giving us an eerie view as we crossed.   Not hard to see how Icabod  Crane came to be.

A  great trip ending as we continued through fog in the Hudson River Valley….

Join us on our next big adventure  in 2012 to India via a quick stop in Switzerland.  Our goal, after visiting Lucerne and Zurich, is to see a bit of the real India, see Bengal tigers in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, and the Taj Mahal in Agra.