Exploring Acadia Part 2

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On Tuesday the 19th we had three goals:

  • Bike riding on the famed Carriage Roads of Acadia
  • Lunch at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant
  • Visiting the summit of Cadillac Mountain

To attain these goals we would need to drive into Acadia National Park, an early start to the day was needed so as to be able to find parking at our desired spot.  We set out from the Cottage around quarter after 8am, something that proved to be quite a challenge to a family that was getting a bit too used to sleeping in longer.  Even though we had an early start the main lot at Eagle Lake (our starting point) was already at capacity, thankfully there was still plenty of parking along the side of the road available which is actually more ideal for the extremely long pickup truck we drive around in.

The Carriage roads are comprised of 45 miles of crushed gravel roads, incredible stone bridges, and amazing views.  They were created through the resources and leadership given by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., between 1913 and 1940.  Cars are not allowed on the roads and they are exclusively for hikers, bikers, horses, and horse-drawn carriages.

The roads were spectacular and make for, at least at the beginning, extremely easy biking.  It was probably a good thing the riding was so easy initially because one was so busy admiring Eagle Lake and the other natural wonders of this area that you could barely have any attention to spare for the road ahead.  As we continued biking we did end up finding some challenging hills (especially for Sam and Ava) but they were troopers and toughed it out to get through it all.

One of the few planned destinations I had before coming here was the Jordan Pond House.  This is actually a restaurant that is located on the south side of Jordan Pond and make an incredible lunch stop during our bike ride.  We were able to sit outside, with views of the lawn and lake beyond while we ate and rested our legs.  They are known for their popovers, a pastry that I was not familiar with prior to this visit (shocking right?).  They ended up being so good that Wendy already found a Pinterest recipe to recreate them with.

The stop at Jordan Pond proved memorable for a couple reasons even beyond the food.  Located in a small field between the house and pond was a large patch of blueberries.  The kids spent some time working their way around trying to supplement their lunch with fresh ripe blueberries.  Additionally, Jordan Pond proved to be an incredible view as well!  Both Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond are water sources for the Mount Desert Island public water system, and it’s no surprise why, the water was amazingly clear.  I have never seen a pond or lake where the water seemed so incredibly pure.

After lunch we had a big hill to face with a large enough drop off to the side that it made me keep the kids well clear of it.  The views as always were amazing though as we could look down upon the pond water.  Finally after a fairly easy 10.5 miles, a wonderful lunch, and great new memories we were back to the truck.

Next stop was Cadillac Mountain.  This Mountain truly earns it’s title as a mountain, not only is it the highest point on Mount Desert Island but at over 1,500 feet high it is the highest peak within 25 miles of coast line for the the entire US east coast.  The drive up was fun and plenty of parking was to be found so no problems there.  After reaching the parking lot we did a bit of hiking on the various rock surfaces that made up the summit of the mountain.  Views were breathtaking and the pictures do an extremely poor job (obviously) of expressing what it was like.

Finally we headed home (home away from home more accurately) and enjoyed a quiet restful evening.  The day has exposed us to some of God’s wonderful creation, both in small and grand scale.  It was such a blessing to be able to see the sights of today and be reminded of what an amazing God we serve.

 

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