UNDER THE FLAPS: September 12-15, 2016 Mount Desert Island

Schoodic Point

Sept 12-15, 2016
This concludes the last of my Maine blogs. It is quite lengthy, but WE SAW AND DID A LOT IN 4 DAYS. In case you missed the others, you can read them by going to my blog and searching for any of the 9(nine) Sept 2016 posts (listed by title, on the left).--> www.undertheflaps.blogspot.com
After checking into our motel, getting maps, and brochures, we headed to Somesville, Bass Harbor Light, and Thurston's.
One of the oldest settlements on Mount Desert Island is a small village called SOMESVILLE . Located 'down the road apiece' on route 102, is the Footbridge of Somesville. This quaint setting is probably the most photographed man made structure on Mount Desert Island. Here are 2 of my iphone versions!

Next, we drove down the SOUTHWEST HARBOR section(see map below) along the inner coast line.
Each of the places recommended to us was more beautiful than the previous.
BASS HARBOR HEAD LIGHT was INCREDIBLE!
You'd think I liked lighthouses!
We used utmost caution venturing down to the rocks below. There were no guardrails for safety.
Once again, our camera tripods came in handy.

We had clear skies during the day and night!

After Bass Harbor, we headed to the highly recommended THURSTON'S LOBSTER POUND for a late lunch. I refuse to tell you what I consumed!, but it also included blueberry pie! After lunch, we included a trip to Seawall, which is also on the Southwest Harbor side of Mount Desert!

Mount Desert is one big island, 'hanging off the coast of Maine like an enormous lobster claw', imagine that! It includes Acadia, Schoodic Peninsula, Ellworth, Jordon Pond, Seal Harbor, Bar Harbor, Sand Beach, Otter Cliff, the Cranberry Islands, just to name a few! (Oh how I wish I had known about Anemone Cave !But, of course, I'm finding out that if you go there any other time than LOW TIDE.........one would be carried out to sea!). I will get that on the next trip! Here is a map!

The first morning in Mount Desert, we left our motel EARLY..... to view the sunrise.
Cadillac Mountain is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard, and the first place to view sunrise in the United States (depending on the time of year).
***** For most of the rest of the year, Cadillac's sunrise is not the first. That honor goes, from late March through mid-September, to Mars Hill (Maine) (a 1,748-foot mountain) near the Canadian border. That's because in winter, the sun rises farther to the south. Sunrise moves north along the horizon during the warmer months.***** Next trip, we will include that as well as Mount Katahdin , which is at Baxter State Park at the NORTHERN END of the APPALACHIAN TRAIL! *****
Cadaillac Mountain is one of over 20 mountains on Mount Desert Island, which includes Bar Harbor! The HIGHLIGHT of Cadillac Mountain for us was the magnificant view........and of course the hundreds of people who also came to watch the SUNRISE!

"Bar Harbor sits in a particular coastal part of the State referred to as DOWN EAST Maine. The term, Down East, has a long history dating back over two hundred years when large schooners, filled with goods on their way back to England or elsewhere in Europe, had to sail down wind to the east - hence, Down East. While visiting, you will often hear the tell-tail sound of a “Mainer” speaking with that special Down East accent. Bar Harbor is pronounced like “Bah-Hah-Bah” and lobster sounds like “lob-stah!” , Acadia is not ARcadia, it's Uh-cadia. And Mount Desert to the Mainer is Mount DESSERT(You may want to begin practicing now.).
Because Bar Harbor is a port destination for cruise ships, the area is filled with MANY restaurants, shops, and entertainment. It is a high energy day/night spot.
Here are a few photos from Bah-Hah-Bah at night!

JORDON POND, Acadia National Park, was our next destination. (Popovers and tea...a 100 yr old tradition and time to catch our breath) The North and South Bubbles and the reflection in the pond were stunning!

I had no fear of walking on rocks or in the water!

We had the perfect maps for getting to know Mount Desert

*****About those Bridges in Acadia******
Ron was the designated driver.
He swears that we drove under 4 of these bridges 16 times!!!!
All of the 16 majestic stone bridges were designed, financed, and supervised by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Stanley Brook Bridge welcomes drivers from the town of Seal Harbor to Acadia National Park.
Check out Joe's Guide for a list of Rockefeller's "CLASSIC 16" ( we saw at least 8)

PARK LOOP ROAD is a ONE WAY road around Acadia National Park, for most of the road.. If you miss your destination, you will be driving around the loop again. (One night, late, late.... we were actually BACKING UP on the loop, as we missed the turn off for our destination......visual here..... it is VERY DARK!)
Yes, that would be THUNDER HOLE
The clear night skies were calling my name.
The moon was bright.
It was either late at night or early morning (not sure which).
We visited this site several times, as I was in awe!!!!!
*****If you want to 'hear' the thunder, visit Thunder Hole at HIGH TIDE. The roar from the ocean as it gushes in the hole (to the right of the steps in photo below) is pretty incredible.

Here are 2 daytime iphone photos of Thunder Hole.

We are standing at the bottom of the steps looking at Otter Cliffs

Nighttime photography at Thunder Hole

Moonlit starry night at Thunder Hole

Cold,dark,windy,clear at Thunder Hole. Photo taken with timer and tripod

The night skies offer so many possibilities to photographers. After reading, researching flickr, and experimenting on my own, I've concluded that my knowledge of nightphotography is just beginning! My friend Matt Pollock captured this on Long Pond in Acadia! He used the photoshop addin Star Spikes Pro to create the straight line comets in his post processing. Check out the Big Dipper above the dam!

SAND BEACH was lovely... and quiet! (also on the one-way Park Loop Road)

SCHOODIC POINT was one of our last OH-WOW places to visit! It's located in Winter Harbor, Maine, near Ellsworth.(more granite, pounding surfs, thousands of boulders, beautiful vistas).
We did not get to close to the edge, as there is no warning of rouge waves, and you can be washed out to sea!