On the Rocks more than the Path

Monday July 17, 2017                                                                                 Most Recent Posts:
Acadia National Park                                                  Gorham Mountain, Cadillac Cliffs and the Shore Below
Bar Harbor, Maine                                                       David Reports on the Seal Cove Auto Museum

 

 

After our walk on the Ocean Path yesterday, we decided to come back today and do the whole thing.   Unfortunately the fog that was supposed to lift, did for about 5 minutes.  But there’s not a bad day in Acadia and we had a wonderful time.

This time we started out early at Sand Beach.   It’s before 7am. It’s in the upper 50’s but still there are  folks already here back in a corner.  We wonder if they slept on the beach.

 

 

 

 

From there we take the stairs up to the Ocean path.  We’re going to do the entire round trip.   Here it is a lot of stairs up to the “Trail Head”..  So unless you want to see the beach first, as we did, don’t go down there from the parking lot.  You’ll just have to climb back up.

 

 

The path is mostly gravel and we head through the trees until we come to the first rock face.  As I mentioned before, we walk the rocks rather than the path whenever we can. 

 

 

Some bright pretties along the path

 

Onto the rocks we go.

 

 

 

At this point it’s still foggy.  The ocean is not very visible in the picture or to me beyond what’s right by the shore.

 

 

Looking South.

 

 

Fog to the north as well.  These Rosa Rugosa seem to be very much in favor of this rocky humid environment.  Can’t wait for the hips.   They make the bees happy too.

 

 

Droplets of fog on the pine.

 

 

Is it the old man of the sea??

 

Some of the fun of walking on the rocks rather than just the path is not only closer views but being able to go “down in”.

 

Of course then you have to come back out.  Turned out this was not the way. 

 

But I was close enough to get some foggy pictures of one of the many Black Guillmots just riding the waves as casually as you please.

 

 

 

Good thing I’m wearing pink or you’d never see me next to these rocks.  This gives a better sense of how large they are than pictures without anyone in them.

 

Not a big surf today but just enough to be beautiful.

 

 

Close up, it doesn’t look too foggy as I climb back up the rocks.

 

 

 

 

The colors in the rock are so amazing.  This black is a basalt strip.  All due to volcanic activity and glacial carving.

 

 

 

Sea stacks on a cobble beach.

 

 

 

This is why he likes his stick.  Looks like he’s in rocky no man’s land.

 

 

I am just in love with these rocks and their variety.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking down and out – can you see the sea?

 

 

 

 

Everywhere we go, he’s at it again.

 

 

This coastline is very dramatic.  We are not going down there.

 

 

 

Wow to the number of cones on this spruce back on the trail on our way to Otter Cliffs.  Wonder if that means it’s going to be a tough winter and they are trying like crazy to get their seeds out there?

 

 

At Otter Cliffs the rock climbers are  numerous even on a Monday.

 

 

Perhaps a beginner

 

 

Not a beginner.

 

The Black Guillemots are also on the rocks and I’m lucky enough to get one, not well centered picture, of both his red feet and his red mouth.    What a design!  

 

We watch for a little while and then pass on by behind the climbers.   The fog appears to be lifting.

 

 

 

 

We can actually see Sand Beach from here.  Amazing all the views we missed in the fog.  Just another reason to walk this path again.

 

 

Sadly the clearing doesn’t last long and by the time we’re around the cliffs and headed for the point, it has returned.  We pass by this artist on the trail.

 

 

 

 

Clearing comes and clearing goes.  At the point, there wasn’t anything to see so we don’t stop and just take the path back up to the road.

 

 

 

We’ve made it from one trail sign to the other.  Over 4 miles on my pedometer but then we did a lot more than walk the path. There is a bus stop right here on the loop road so rather than walk back up the shore path to the Sand Beach parking lot, we catch the bus and head into Bar Harbor.  It’s lunch time by now after all.

 

 

 

We get off the bus in the Village Square and walk down the street headed for the Downeast Deli.

 

Along the way David gets all excited and we have to stop and take tons of pictures.

 

A closer look at the object of his affection.

 

We’re having lunch here because they advertise a “naked” lobster roll meaning just the meat in butter, no mayo.  That’s actuallly how we like our lobster.

 

 

We’re more than ready but we have to wait in line.  Everyone else wants lobster too.  Well to be fair, some people have pastrami on rye but they must be locals who are lobstered out.

 

As you could see, Downeast is just a counter.  No seating.  So we take our lunch down to Agamont Park at the foot of the street by the Harbor and snag a bench.   David gets a picture of me and our view sort of, we are over looking the water.   

But neither of us thinks to take a picture of the lobster roll.  Possibly this is because we were quite disappointed in the amount of lobster meat in this $14.99 roll.  Most of the bun was filled with lettuce with some lobster on top.  Even though it was in butter, there was just too much lettuce and too little lobster.  The smile is before I’d had a bite.  Thumbs down on Downeast Deli’s lobster roll.

 

 

I did take a picture of and enjoy the local Old Soaker blueberry soda we bought to go with the rolls.   That was great and really really really sweet.

 

 

Heading back up the street to the Village Green to catch the bus back to Ruby at Sand Beach we find more interesting things than I can report.  Bar Harbor never fails to amuse.   It’s a day for artists.   I assume he painted his car as well as the canvas and that he paints pretty fast, it’s 2 hour parking.

 

 

 

 

We did not stop for ice cream but saw these folks coming out of the ice cream shop. 

 

If I didn’t have just too many t-shirts already, I would absolutely have gotten this one.

 

Last fun of the day was as we were leaving and heading off the island.  David is driving and he exclaims excitedly  “I think that’s a moose”.  Well I’m pretty sure there are no moose on MDI any more but I tell him to pull over and let me out and I’ll walk back and see if I can get a picture of the moose.

And here it is.   Nice velvety antler on an obviously very well fed deer.  

 

 

We’ve had a great day.  Fog or no fog!   Moose or no moose!
Love being in Maine for the summer!!