And here is a photo of the bridge that crosses the Penobscot River.
Last time I was here was about 25 years ago and at that time there was an old steel truss bridge here so this bridge is relatively new.
After lunch we continued to Mt. Desert Island and checked into the Oceanside KOA which is in the northwest corner of the island. Here we are set up at the camp.
For dinner there was a guy set up only about 100 ft. from us that did lobster dinners so that was what I had. Pat doesn't like lobster so she had some leftover pasta. Here is his set up.
We were camped just a couple of hundred feet from the ocean so we should have had spectacular sunsets but clouds intervened but it was still pretty nice as seen here.
Mt. Desert Island is the home of Arcadia National Park and the park in conjunction with LL Bean and others has set up a free shuttle bus system that covers the entire island. So, Friday morning we hopped on the shuttle that took us from the campground to Bar Harbor where you pick up the shuttles for the rest of the island. Here is what those shuttles look like.
Our first stop was Sand Beach. The typical beach in this part of the country is rocky but because of its unique location, Sand Beach is sandy. Here are a couple of photos of the beach.
As you can tell, the clouds had moved in and it was foggy and misting, downright unpleasant. However, that did not stop some of the younger set from having a good time in the water.
From personal experience, I can tell you that the water is cold, typically around 50. One time when we were camping here with the Wheelers, the guys climbed a couple of trails called the Precipice and the Beehive. Here is a photo of the Beehive.
After the climb we were hot and sweaty and we ended up at Sand Beach so went for a very brisk swim and no longer were hot and sweaty. Here is another photo of Sand Beach from further down the coast and you can get a better idea of it location in a small cove.
The coast in general is very rugged gradually rising until at the south end of this section you get to an area known as the Otter Cliffs. When we used to camp here the boys liked to climb these rocks and explore all of the tide pools.
In this area is a formation known as Thunder Hole. It is a cleft in the rocks that when you have an off shore storm generating big waves, the water comes storming into this dead end and when it hits the end generates a massive boom and lots of spray. However, today it was Whimper Hole.
One of the things that gives this area its character and cold water is the Grand Banks. The Grand Banks are a glacial moraine left behind in the last great ice age 13,000 years ago. It is a great mound of rocks and debris that had been pushed ahead of the glacier and then left behind when the glacier melted. It is off the cost of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Maine and forces the warm Gulf Stream east towards England and routes the cold Labrador Current down the coast. As a result there is very productive fishing throughout this area
At this point we were getting cold and wet so we called it a day.
Saturday morning it was bright and sunny and we headed into Bar Harbor to continue our explorations. Our first stop was Jordan Pond and its world famous restaurant. We stopped in the restaurant for lunch with one of their famous popovers. Here is a photo of the restaurant's lawn where we sat for lunch. You can see the pond in the background.
This photo was taken from down by the pond.
And here is a photo of the pond with the two Bubble Rocks in the background. Jordan Pond is reported to be the cleanest and clearest lake in Maine and is used as the source of drinking water for the area. It is 150 ft. deep and visibility is supposed to be about 50 ft.
Our next stop was the town of Northeast Harbor where we took a ferry ride out to the Cranberry Islands. Here are a couple of photos of the harbor.
If I ever have a nice boat, this is what I would like to name her.
In 1905, a pastor and his brother raised some money and founded the Maine Seacoast Mission which was a religious outreach program for the residents and lighthouse keepers on Maine's islands. They had a small sloop and would sail from island to island providing services to all. In 1912, they had raised enough money to build a dedicated ship for this mission called the "Sunbeam". Below is a photo of the fifth ship in this service built in 1995. It was leaving the harbor and we later saw going between islands.
There were a lot of lobster boats coming and going as this is one of the major businesses in this area. Here is an example of one.
We came here to ride a ferry out to the islands but they really don't have a dedicated ferry service. What they have is a mail boat that makes several runs a day out to the two largest islands. In addition to mail, they also carry passengers and packages. Here is a photo of the mail boat, the "Double B" that we rode.
On the way out of the harbor passed some interesting houses along the shore.
And an old lighthouse.
Throughout the area are lobster buoys that mark the location of some fisherman's lobster traps. Each fisherman has a unique and registered color code for his buoys such as this colorful example.
Our first stop was Big Cranberry Island. This island is 2 mile long by one mile wide and has a year round population of about 40 that swells to 300 during the summer. The industry on the island is tourists in the summer and lobster fishing year round. Here is a photo of the docks where a number of passengers got off as well as some packages.
Out next stop was Little Cranberry Island, also know as Islesford. This is a much smaller island being only about 200 acres. Here is the dock at this island.
And I guess they have a dog problem.
Lots of lobster boats and this very classic Maine lobster fisherman.
We then sailed back to Big Cranberry Island and then back to Northeast Harbor. Along the way we saw lots of sailboats and here a few photos of some of the more interesting.
I thought this one was very colorful.
From Northeast Harbor we headed back to Bar Harbor where we grabbed and ice cream cone before heading back to our camp. Tomorrow we head north again and say good bye to the USA and hello to Canada.
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