BAR HARBOR - MAINE

Thursday, July 3 - We got on the road about 8:30 am. We took Route 2 from Bethel Outdoor Adventure & Campground to Timberland Acres RV Park in Trenton (near Bar Harbor), Maine. Beautiful sunny skies after a torrential rain with some pea-sized hail last night that took over an hour to pass over our area. The Androscoggin River seems even higher than before. We passed through many small towns along the way such as Rumford and Dixfield. Our route ran along the beautiful Androscoggin River most of the way. Timberland Acres RV Park is very unusual. They have 180-foot long sites for the big rigs. Everything works here, cell phone, air card, and satellite. They do not have trees on these large sites. Over the 4th of July weekend this park was filled, but now it is only about 50% full. Our park’s address is Trenton. The economics of some towns are closely tied to fishing and related activity such as boat building. Once the site of small farms and shoreline cottages, Trenton has become in recent years involved with clean industry. Boat building firms and bio medical industries are major employers. There is also Hancock County Airport, an 18-hole golf course situated on the eastern shore, along with many tourist related businesses along SR 3, the sole land route to Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park. Ellsworth is the nearest “big” town to our park. Very laid back and their “old” downtown has significant architectural interest. United Church of Christ and its tall steeple can be seen from just about any direction you look since it is on a high hill in town. Also City Hall… Bar Harbor is part of Maine that can truly claim the title of “Downeast”. One is never far from the sea when Downeast Islands, peninsulas, coves, and bays make an irregular coastline that provides the visitor with scenic views ranging from intimate detail to spectacular grandeur. Bar Harbor was settled in 1763 and was once called Eden. A home to lobstermen, shipbuilders, artists, outdoor enthusiasts, and wealthy “summer people”. It survived the Great Fire of 1947 and continues to draw millions of tourists every year. We drove into Bar Harbor to eat dinner. The harbor was as beautiful as we both remembered since taking a vacation here about ten years ago. Therefore, we are back again, this time with our RV. This is the beginning of the tourist season, and naturally, Bar Harbor was enjoying the packed sidewalks, but the parking Gods were looking out for us as we found a parking space on the pier overlooking the bay just steps away from the Fish House Grill restaurant. The view of Frenchman’s Bay was spectacular. The whale watching big Catboats and a very long, sleek looking four-masted schooner among the boats inside the harbor. The tide was out and vehicles were driving on the sandbar where boats usually travel at high tide. At low tide, there is plenty of time to walk across the shell covered sand bar from Bridge St. to Bar Island (less than a mile). We found the village had not changed much since our last visit and did not feel we had to revisit any of the retail shops on Main Street. Ray’s Perspective: Friday the weather was beautiful again and I took the opportunity to ride the Gold Wing up Cadillac Mountain on the mountainous Mount Desert Island. Mount Desert Island is the site of four towns and the largest part of Acadia National Park, visited by millions annually. The mostly one-way 27-mile road was newly paved and a pleasure to ride. There were many turnouts for viewing the terrain below, just to name a few: Schooner Head, Thunder Hole, Otter Cliffs, Otter Point, and Seal Harbor. Cadillac Mountain raises 1,500 feet above sea level making it the highest natural point on the eastern seaboard and the first spot in the US to see the sunrise. Great place to be on a clear day. Famous "Blow Hole" was not active this day! View from Cadillac Mountain. This island, discovered and named by Samuel de Champlain in 1604, was part of L’Acadie, which encompassed the coasts of what are now Eastern Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The name that has been given to Acadia National Park is appropriate. Acadia National Park is one of the top ten most visited parks in the US, welcoming two million travelers a year. Established by Woodrow Wilson in 1916 with 6,000 acres, Acadia now covers more than 40,000 acres thanks to the remarkable dedication and philanthropy of wealthy private citizens such as Charles W. Eliot, George B. Dorr, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. It is the only national park in the Northeast. A number of roads in the area are in bad need of repair to Canada, so I decided to search out an acceptable route for the RV by bike. After riding 150 miles northeast enjoying the rolling and heavily wooded hills, several roads were selected as our trip in a few days as we continue northward. Logging trucks seem to be everywhere, similar to California, Oregon, and Washington. The coastal small villages have crab and lobster traps prepared for use once their season begins. Sunday we drove to the coast in another direction to see Tidal Falls on Frenchman’s Bay. We passed through the town of Lamoine on Rt. 208 (Mudcreek Rd). Saw this very unusual house and took a few pictures of it due to its architectural difference. Red Roof and green shutters?

There is a small park overlooking the Tidal Falls on Frenchman’s Bay Conservancy.

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