Wednesday was the day we had reserved back on Monday to go on a Whale Watch. I was super excited the weather was fantastic but then company canceled the boat. It was an enormous let down. Well, the tide was low so we set out to check out the tide pools along the sand bar. My son was excited to see Barnacles first hand. There were snails, some sea glass, one fish some weird green squishy blobs and the exoskeletons of crabs (nothing live). It was quite disappointing the coast was not very lively. After that we drove around, grabbed lunch and finally decided to do some coastal hiking around the Otter Cliffs. The sky was beautiful and the waves crashing in full force. I wish I had thought to put my graduated ND Filter on so I could have played with long exposures but I didn't think of that until I got home! I did hunt waves crashing on the rocks "wildlife" style though. It was nice except for my little puddle jumper not caring who was nearby when he decided to to tap dance in every bit of water on the trail. Once we were done with that trail we returned to the visitor center and hopped on the shuttle to the Oceanarium. The shuttle made lots of stops along the way and then driver asked where were headed and we said the "Oceanarium." He asked if we had an appointment. Puzzled I said "no." He said "Oh, sorry I should have asked when you got on." It was closed! Why have a shuttle running to it if it is not open? Uugh! We headed back to camp after that and had some sandwiches for dinner. Don't buy wood from the grocery store there, it is green and doesn't burn! My hamburgers rotted because I couldn't cook them. After that it was off to the "Wonderland Trail." We had been there before but this time either side of the trail had been roped off. There had been some trees with a bit of character thanks to the wind. It was low tide again so we wandered the beach scouring the tide pools. Our son slipped his shoes off on us and ran off to bury his feet in the "sand." It was more like millions of tiny shell fragments which stained his legs blue. I couldn't for the life of me think of how he could have bruised himself so badly. Thankfully it washed right off in the shower! I used a flash in one some of my tide pool pics to try to get the color to pop through. You'll seem my interesting "faux pas," with that below. Again more snails,barnacles and exoskeletons of crabs. Since it was a clear night my husband and I decided to do some night photography. We needed a spot where our son could sleep in the car and we could set up just a few yards away. The Seawall Picnic Area proved to be the perfect spot. There were lights of two light houses visible and the occasional flashlight of several other stargazing parties. We left the window rolled down in case our son should wake. No one bothered us or tried anything with our vehicle. I did some light painting with my headlamp on the seawall. The Milky Way loomed above us in all of it's glory. I probably should have continued to take a few more shots but at the end I stretched out on the picnic table we parked in front of and stared at the glorious site above while my husband took the last of his photos. We returned Thursday morning just as the sun was rising. The tide was out so I climbed down the seawall to attempt to get a reflection in some of the tide pools. I wasn't very successful but I am happy with some of the photos I shot. Don't forget to click on images to see them larger! Once the sun was up we drove off to Schoodic Point. I had wanted to catch the sunrise from there but we slept in a bit late. The waves were wild and in the distance I could just make out two dolphins. I switched lenses as fast as I could and managed to get two shots of one of them just before they disappeared. This was my only bit of mammalian marine life encountered the whole trip. The dolphins were far away out in the sea so this image is cropped quite a lot. Aside from Seagulls and Cormorants we didn't encounter any other sea birds either. There are lots of places to wander and explore in Acadia. A few things to consider when going to Acadia.
1. Do not expect to find solitude, this park is extremely crowded even in the off season. 2. Use the shuttle system. Sure the hurry up and wait scenario sucks, but trust me it is better than not being able to do what you want to because there is not enough parking!. You will wind up driving around in circles for hours! 3. Do explore the park at night the sky is amazing. 4. The Jordan Pond House does not open until 11 am and parking is impossible again use the shuttle. 5. Shuttle does not go up Cadillac Mt. you will have to drive yourself. (We didn't go up this time my husband said been there done that). 6. Do not forget your camera 7. For more sea life or birds go before Mid-August 8. If you plan on camping Smuggler's Den is excellent! Friday we headed towards home and were going to explore a few more beach areas but when we encountered a 4+ mile traffic jam we opted to get off 95 and head to New Hampshire for a quick night and more adventure. To stay tuned for more photos and adventure ideas like our page on Facebook! Thank-you and have a blessed day! In June of 2010 we visited Acadia National Park where it rained everyday but the day we left. My husband and I agreed we would most likely never return. Well, now we know why they say "Never say never!" Our son was only a dream back then and we want to fill his life with lots of adventure and love of nature so finally finding a week with no appointments we scheduled vacation for the second week of September ("off season"). Some of the photos from our 2010 trip can be found in the "Maine gallery" under landscapes. After setting the dates of vacation I found out that the inside of the Bass Harbor Light house would be open to the public. I didn't think we would make it in time but thanks to my lead footed husband and getting on the road by 3:30 a.m. we arrived with one hour to spare. As you can imagine there was a long line. Our son was super excited until he realized we had to climb the spiral stair case. I carefully carried him up in his panic and Daddy carried him down. I can't blame him while spiral staircase are beautiful they are also very scary for those of us with a fear of heights. He was okay up next to the light which was really neat to see! We set our tent up at Smuggler's Den Campground. The sites were nice, as well as the playground and heated pool. There were even a few trails that connected to the National parks. Bathrooms were clean and easy to find at 3 am. I couldn't resist breaking out the photo gear to snap few shots! Our big adventure for Sunday was to check out the shuttle system and visitor center. Although the shuttle system did service Smuggler's Den Campground we didn't want to waste half the morning waiting for it so we drove to the visitor center. Once there we picked up a few souvenirs and hiking maps, and hopping a shuttle to Thunder Hole. It was really busy there but after a restroom visit we hiked Gorham Mountain! It had beautiful views and you can even make out "human drones," climbing the Bee Hive trail with a long lens. The photo at the very tip top was shot from the top of Gorham Mountain. You can easily see "Sand Beach" from there which is where we hiked down to in order to catch a shuttle back to the visitor center. Our son got to have his first experience touching the Ocean. Unfortunately he tripped and fell twice and the waves tried to swallow him! Thank- god I was close enough to grab him the second time talk about your heart thumping outside of your chest!. If he hadn't been so clumsy only his feet would have gotten wet, good thing I had spare clothes in his pack but he was covered in sand too. He was given a good warm shower when we got back to camp! Monday they were calling for bad weather but turned out only to be rather over cast. This was the day I had hoped to go out on a whale watch. Unfortunately several cruise ships were in town and had booked all seats on the Whale Watch. We made reservations for Wednesday as weather was bad for Tuesday. Of course being the one thing I looked forward to the most, that got canceled. I could try again for Friday but we were headed home that day! Between that and my very obstinate child vacation had been completely ruined for me. We tried to hike to Witch Hole via the carriage roads but someone refused and kept saying his legs hurt. I did manage to photograph a few birds before heading back to camp. Once at camp someone's legs were miraculously better running all around the playground. I went for a swim and left my husband in charge. After swimming we decided to walk to Echo Lake from camp. Once there someone had fun playing in the sand while my husband and I attempted to take some good photos. On the way back my husband and our son had some fun climbing around on rocks and posing for photos but I choose not to share those publicly. Rain moved in over night We were a bit concerned about how well the tent would hold up but with a few adjustments most of our stuff stayed dry. In the morning we ventured to Bar Harbor to do some shopping in the pouring rain. Luckily I was able to find a rain jacket rather quick even if was candy cotton pink I was able to keep dry and warm. When the rain subsided we tracked down some water falls that had been dry. The rain had made everything prettier. We stopped to photograph a roadside stream and then we re-visited Little Hunter's Beach which was a favorite last last time we were at Acadia National Park. Late in the evening we hiked to Ship Harbor pushing daylight. Our son was very interested by the lobster traps washed up on the shore whose stones were quite colorful. Stay tuned for part 2, and be sure to check out and like Naturally Adrift Photo on Facebook!
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Julie MetottNature Photographer, wife, mother, lover of outdoor adventure! Archives
November 2022
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