World United States Maine Acadia National Park

Northeast USA & Canada

Acadia Natl Park, Bar Harbor fireworks from Cadillac Mtn Jul 4, 2010

Went back into Bar Harbor and showed my parents the gravel bar at low tide before going to Acadia National Park. We drove the loop through the park seeing great views of the ocean and cliffs. At Sandy Beach we stuck our feet in the water and tried to get a picture of the surrounding cliffs without people standing in the way. The park was crowded since it is the 4th of July. Although there were a few people swimming, it was too cold for us. Thunder Hole is an area where the waves crash through rocks make a thunderous noise. It is a good thing we have seen and heard similar areas elsewhere, because today was a calm sea day and no thunder could be heard. We wanted to hike Precipice Trail with narrow cliff edge walkways and ladders to climb, but it was closed due to peregrine falcons nesting in the area. My parents hiked it a couple of years ago and said it was a good trail...guess we will have to return someday for that hike. Cadillac mountain is the highest point along the north Atlantic seaboard at 1532 feet. We drove to the top for a great view of the surrounding islands, Bar Harbor and the island we were on, Desert Island. On the way back through Bar Harbor we stopped at the gravel bar again and watched as the tide rose quickly. We stood in place again as the dry area we were standing on got covered with water in a matter of minutes. Dinner tonight was at one of the many lobster restaurants along the road between us and Bar Harbor then we had planned to walk the trail along the Bar Harbor waterfront and watch the sunset and fireworks from the top of Cadillac Mountain. However, Bar Harbor’s sidewalks and streets were packed with people and cars and there was nowhere to park. So, we decided to drive back to Thunder Hole to see if it was any better. Missed it the first time through on the one way road (not sure how 4 people did that), but lucky for us there was a highway that we could take back to the beginning of the one way road. We found it the 2nd time, but the sea was still calm so no noise. Now to the mountain for sunset and fireworks.... we weren’t the only ones with that idea. On the turnoff to go to the top, the police were telling everyone to drive to the top and if no parking was available, park along the road headed back down the mountain. We were lucky because the Wrangler can park just about anywhere and we found a nice parking spot on top of the curb by the trees/bushes. We even found a nice soft rock looking straight at Bar Harbor. The fireworks were a disappointment though because we were so far away it looked like we were watching them on TV. Oh well, gotta try it once! We were able to see several sets of fireworks though from the surrounding towns and the 100+ people on the mountaintop all had a good sense of humor so we enjoyed it.

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