If there was ever a natural place that I would recommend to families as a vacation destination, Mount Desert Island, Maine would be it. Historically, this area of Maine was originally inhabited by the Wabanaki Indians (loosely translated it means "People of the Dawn" due to the area being one of the first places in North America to seeing the rising sun). Explorers Giovanni de Verrazano and Samuel Champlain were the first to arrive on the rumor that there was a city of gold (not true of course). By the early 1600s the Europeans came and, doing what Europeans did best at that time, they pillaged the resources and brought their diseases in to ultimately cause the Indian population to drop off. In 1688 a young French lawyer named Antoine Laumet was granted 100,000 acres along the Maine coast by the King of France (why he was able to just give that land away-no idea) Upon arriving to his newly acquired domain, Laumet decided to fabricate himself a much more noble sounding name-"Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac". He created a coat of arms to complement his name and arrived, ready to enter the fast track of social mobility. However, after only one summer he headed west (things were a little too desolate for him) and founded Detroit, Michigan. Today his fake coat of arms still graces the cars that bear his fake name. There are only two places in the United States where real estate titles can be traced back to the King of France...Louisiana and Mount Desert Island.
During the 1800s when American cities were facing the growing pains associated with the Industrial Revolution, there was an overwhelming demand for landscape paintings. People wanted to escape their reality for awhile I guess. Some of the paintings that came out of this time period were of Mount Desert Island and soon the rich tourists were flocking out to the wilderness to experience the life in the paintings. By 1896 there were 200 mansions in Bar Harbor, and the area was changed forever. One of the most famous residents was Joseph Pulitzer, whose idiosyncrasies were legendary (he built a tower of silence to combat the noise of nature-and everything else for that matter). By the turn of the century there was a group of private citizens who were dedicated to preserving the island for future generations. Over time, with a lot of help and money, Layfayette National Park was created (the name reflected America's pro-French sentiment at the time). The first superintendent of the park received a salary of $1.00 per year. In 1929 Layfayette National Park became Acadia National Park ( the family that donated a large peninsula did so with the stipulation that the park name be changed to something "less French". Ironically, Acadia is French).
What makes Acadia such a great place is the accessibility of all of its natural aspects. There is a free shuttle system that travels around the island stopping at all of the major sights (it is operated and funded by L.L. Bean), only two campgrounds on the island that are beautifully maintained and surprisingly quiet (we stayed during 04JULY and it was pleasantly peaceful), plenty of places to explore to include 56 miles of carriage roads that are not accessible by car (only on foot, by bike or horseback), and breathtaking natural scenery everywhere you turn. It is also possible, even at the height of the season, to be completely alone. This is the part that Scott & I loved best.
Of course we came to hike. So on the morning of 04JULY we headed out. We planned to hike the Bee Hive trail (guidebook describes it as strenuous, short, steep, and sweet) however once we reached the end of the trail, we got even more ambitious and decided to tackle Champlain Mtn (1,058 ft). The view was very cool because of the fog that had rolled in. We were feeling good and so....we got a little more ambitious. We headed west along the Ladder trail up to Dorr Mtn (1,270 ft). This had required us to descend completely back to road level and then up again. We were toast but we could see Cadillac Mountain (the highest point on the island) across the horizon and stubbornly decided that we would trek it. And so we did. We reached the summit of Cadillac Mtn (1,530 ft) at 3:45pm. This is important to know because the last shuttle was scheduled to leave the mountain at 4pm. We hit the gift shop and bathrooms then looked around for the shuttle. Inconveniently the shuttle stop was at the bottom of the mountain (yes, you could actually drive to the top which is always a little disappointing when you have hiked all that way) almost 2 miles away. Thoroughly exhausted but thankful for a cell signal, we tracked down a taxi service who came all the way up the mountain and took us back to our starting point (Sand Beach). It was cloudy and misty on the 4th of July so we headed back to our campsite, made some food and crashed. Thank goodness for that taxi driver!
We spent one of our other days there riding our bikes around on the carriage roads. We found our way to Jordan Pond, where there is a fantastic restaurant serving world famous popovers. However my favorite part of our dining experience was the lemonade. They served it unsweetened but then brought a mini pitcher of sugar syrup so you could sweeten to your liking. Well done! There were tables spread all over the lawn and it was fun to watch the people coming and going. We also were able to take our time wandering around checking out some of the beautiful architecture. I just love stonework and there was plenty to go around! All in all, our trip to Acadia was fabulous. We also ventured into Bar Harbor one afternoon. And although some of the stores were really cute, I truly felt that this touristy haven was my least favorite part of our trip.
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| At the top of Cadillac Mtn |
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| We have mad camping skills! |
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And Scott has mad grillin' skills!
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Baxter State Park sits in the center of Maine and is the result of the work of Percival Proctor Baxter, the governor of Maine during the early 1920s. Thankfully he had the foresight to protect this land by creating a state park. The placard to the left very clearly demonstrates his feelings about humans and their short-sightedness. 
