Acadia National Park - wonderful!

WELL! I sure do wish we had at least a week to explore this park in full. There are more than 120 miles of hiking trails, none of which could be as grueling as the Sierra can offer, but still beautiful certainly. And largely interlinked with a park shuttle bus system. There are old carriage roads turned trails (bike trails, too), plus waterways, ponds and, of course, the Atlantic shore. It's very quiet here, even along the shore. I'm sure when a nor'easter comes in you get some booming waves, but sunrise this morning on the rocky shore was serene. The tide was headed out, the sun was rising over the Atlantic, a beautiful start to a wonderful day.

The girls and I rose early (they didn't sunrise with me, but rose shortly afterward) to hit low tide at Bar Harbor, so named because at low tide a large sandbar is exposed. That bar provides access to the first of the Porcupine Islands. We (V) played with dozens of sea snails on the bar, we checked out rocks and shells, and we walked across to the island and explored. We found a ruin that reminded me of Knapp's Castle back in Santa Barbara County. Must have been a spectacular place to live in its hayday.

We drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the Atlantic Seaboard, then hiked around the rounded peaks for awhile before heading down to explore Bar Harbor at high tide.

This park is definitely worth a lengthy visit. Many thanks to the cycling traveler who directed us to Blackwoods Campground.