Bar Harbor

Well, in this case the pictures need to tell the story of our stay here. We just had the most awesome time here. So picturesque.

The history here is very interesting, with the first European landing here being Samuel de Champlain credited with naming the Island as the Mount Desert Mountains meaning (nothing but rock) because he saw Cadillac Mount's south ridge. French and English proceeded to fight over the area, decimating the Native American population of Maine. Eventually England won the day, giving the French the option to pledge allegiance to the King or leave. Those last left, the Acadians came to be known as the Cajuns and settled in Louisiana. Interesting hmmm? 

Thomas Cole, started painting in this area in 1844 as were others. Their paintings caught the attention of many on the East Coast. The first group who came to visit would stay with the farmers. In time, hotels were built. These hotels were too primitive for the wealthy visitors who began to build "cottages" which we would consider anything but... Some of those "cottage summer visitors" were: The Astors, JP Morgan, PUlitzer, Rockefeller, Vanderbuilt. The reason for the name "cottage", is because in Maine a house used over the summer only was and is considered a cottage. This changed the economy of the area, with the residents working for the wealthy to maintain their lifestyle. The Southwest Harbor, though, retained its agriculture economy. One wealthy cottager proved to be the visionary who provided for Acadia Park today. George Dorr, in the early 1900s turned his wealth and connections towards setting aside land for future generations. He worked tirelessly, devoting his own fortune and networking/fundraising to get his wealthy network to donate money and land. By end of his life he was living in a caretaker house, with 2000 dollars left of his 40 million dollar estate. All of that money went to the park. President Wilson named the area Sieru de Monts National Monument, protecting the area until it could be brought to Congress to be named a national park. This happened in 1919. Door became the first Superintendent of the Park. His friend, John D. Rockefeller, Jur, started summering on the Island in 1908. He was instrumental in the further accessibility of the park and its beauty. He donated 11,000 acres and built the carriage roads. Amazing that we had these individuals who had the foresight to protect what we enjoy today. 

On another note, if you visit the area, there are many many choices for staying from the modest to the expensive. If you camp, I highly recommend Bar Harbor Campground. This park was well organized, clean, reasonable, with great walk ways and views of the Atlantic Ocean. The park accomodates tents, dry camping, water and electric, or full service. I was very impressed with how well kept the park is. There is a beautiful swimming pool and daily free buses that take you anywhere you could imagine going. I also recommend Ocean Kayaking and going on the Oli Trolley. It was on the Trolley that we learned about the history of the area. She also told us to ride the Carriage Road at Eagle Lake, following the trail counter clockwise as it wasn't so hilly and had shorter length inclines. I was VERY GRATEFUL for that advice! Below are some highlights from our visit.

Flowers were beautiful all around Bar Harbor, Maine

Kayaking on the Atlantic Ocean

We had a good group. Two hours, 6.5 miles. Visited a few islands and crossed two channels. Saw a porpoise and a seal.

We had lobster every day. All the restaurants we tried were good. As our guide said, the competition is fierce. If the restaurant can't cook lobster in a variety of ways they don't make it. 

Throughout the Bar Harbor Village, there was plaques explaining the history of the area. 

Jordon Pond Hike. 3 miles, half of which were covered with these planks to protect the bogs. 

The granite rock had a nice pink hue, just beautiful and used in many buildings and walk ways. 

An example, a rock bridge

Jordan Pond

Carriage Roads in Acadia Park built by John Rockefeller, one of the philanthropists responsible for this gem. The carriage roads make for great biking. We went on a 10 mile ride.