July 24, 2008

July 24, 2008

We spent almost three weeks in the Canadian Maritimes. Longer than I expected for touring the smallest of the Canadian provinces. But Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world. I can attest to that. We drove some 2600 miles following the coastline of a region that is not that big. The fact that gas was averaging $5.60 and the roads were rough made me very sensitive to the distance. We thought we left the Canadian Maritime weather behind but we had a terrific thunderstorm last night. This morning the rain has let up but the fog is thick making our journey south along the coastline of Maine slow. Around noon we arrive at Acadia National Park, the first park founded east of the Mississippi. Acadia was named in honor of the New France settlements of Nova Scotia. After the initial colony at St Croix Island, Samuel Champlain also explored this region of Maine. It turns out we are still in Acadia after all! I should have known from the weather that we really hadn’t left the Canadian Maritimes yet.

Acadia National Park is one of the most popular and therefore crowded. We have no luck getting a spot at the main park campground so we settle for a private one just outside. From there we take a park shuttle to the Visitor Center to get the lay of the land. We are not ready for heavy duty hiking so we take the Main loop shuttle down the coastline and get off at Thunder Hole. From there we walk along the shore to the southern tip of the park. The coast of Acadia is one of chiseled pink granite cliffs battered by the relentless crashing of waves. Beautiful except the fog limits our visibility tremendously. At the tip we shuttle into the adjoining town of Bar Harbor to stroll the shops. It is touristy but not over the top.