We are at Acadia National Park in Maine. And the scenery is amazing!
Acadia covers most of Mount Desert Island and several other islands. It became the playground of the rich in the late 1800’s and there used to be large “cottage” summer homes for the Rockefeller's and the Vanderbilt’s. Several of the wealthy joined with the locals in an effort to protect some of the land. They bought up available land and eventually gave it to the US for a national park. It was established in 1916 and was the first national park in the east. It was mostly made up of land donated by the people.
In terms of national parks, Acadia is not large, but it is diverse. Meadows, marshes, lakes, ponds, a beach and mountains all share this island. Bar Harbor is also on this island, along with summer homes, permanent homes and lots of tourists.
Today there are only a few large “cottages” left and they have mostly been turned into other things. The rest were destroyed by a fire in 1947 that lasted a month. The result of the fire was added diversity of plant life on the island.
We usually travel at non-peak times of the year or in more isolated places, so the crowds in northeast seem large to us. Acadia was crowded; we passed up a stop at the only beach on the island as the roadway and parking lots were packed. We took the suggested loop drive and had to wait at several stops for a parking spot.
But it was worth it. Here are the pictures.
The fog was moving in at a fast pace, but never climbed. We had sunshine above the fog all day.
This gull landed right beside our truck and posed carefully while Steve took several shots.
Mountain laurel in full bloom in the wild garden in Acadia.
One tradition from the gilded age is afternoon tea overlooking Jordan Pond. Today there is a full service restaurant, but afternoon tea on the lawn persists.
It was a beautiful day!
Deb
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