Welcome to my tour of Maine. If these posts don’t make you want to visit, then I’m not doing a great job… Be sure to click on the pictures to see the gorgeous vistas.
Acadia National Park, one of the most beautiful of our national parks, is a place Rhe and Will, two of the main characters in my Rhe Brewster series, would definitely have camped and hiked.
Created in 1919, Acadia National Park was originally named Lafayette National Park I honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, but the name was changed in 1929 to honor the former French colony of Acadia, which once included Maine. The park attained federal status during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson and came under the aegis of the National Park Service on February 26, 1919, when the name was changed. It covers most of the Mount Desert Island and smaller islands around it off the Atlantic coast of Maine, and is the oldest national park east of the Mississippi. It is also one of the most beautiful.
The area was originally inhabited by the Wabanaki people (this will be my W!), who lived in the area now called Maine for many thousands of years. The island was discovered by the explorer Samuel de Champlain during a voyage down the coast in the fall of 1604.
The landscape architect Charles Eliot, an apprentice of Frederick Olmsted who played a central role in shaping the Boston Metropolis Park System, is credited with the idea for the park. From 1915 to 1933, the wealthy philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., financed, designed, and directed the construction of a network of carriage trails throughout the park. The network encompassed over 50
miles of gravel carriage trails, 17 granite bridges, and two gate lodges, almost all of which are still maintained and in use today. Cut granite stones placed along the edges of the carriage roads act as guard rails and today are fondly called “Rockefeller’s teeth”.
The park includes mountains, ocean shoreline, woodlands and lakes, 47, 000 acres in all. The pink granite summit of Cadillac Mountain, named after the French explorer Antoine de Cadillac, dominates the eastern side of Mt. Desert Island; it is one of the first places in the United States to see sunrise.
The park is home to some 40 different species of mammalian wildlife: red and gray squirrels, chipmunks, white-tailed deer, moose, beaver, porcupine, muskrats, foxes, coyotes, bobcats and black bears. Some trails in the park are closed in the summer to protect nesting peregrine falcons.
Whether you are hiking, biking or traveling by car, the vistas and environment of Acadia National Park is a feast for the psyche.
Beautiful, Noelle.
Excellent, informative text and rich pictures.
Well done!
Big Hugs
john
Thanks, John. I love this place.
HI, Noelle. Carolyn here from Pastimes-Passions-Paraphernalia.org. Of course, I would love to visit. You have given some great information which would be very helpful in creating an interesting itinerary.
Thanks, SeaJay – log your blog name!
What a wonderful place, and thanks for all the details and pictures.
Lovely post Noelle – looking forward to reading more during the challenge 🙂
Thanks, Alison!
I loved Acadia when I visited it as a kid. The coastline was beautiful.
Hi there – I visited another site where they were doing Arizona. I’ve been to Arizona a couple of times, but only really passed through Maine once. Looks beautiful! 🙂
Best summers in the world!
What would this country have done without the likes of the Rockefeller’s and the wealth of others, who helped create these beautiful spots. Looking forward to this Maine destination with you.
We can share book settings!
My NY sister vacationed in Maine every year and recently moved to Texas for her work. So many conversations include her lament, “Since I won’t be going to Maine this year, …” It is loved.
Aw, that’s too bad. Texas is certainly warmer and has lots more opportunities for work but oh those Maine summers!
Oh heck, more on the bucket list. Never knew about the French colony of Arcadia. Great name too for both it and the park. Thanks for the lovely post
I’d be on the road 12 months a year trying to see everything but I’ve got two from my A-Z on the schedule for this summer!
Is the subliminal competition for us to guess which two?!!
See if you can figure it out!
*scratches head* will do!
I watched an Anthony Borudain No Reservations where he was exploring Maine and I thought of you. Maine is high up on my list of places to visit and your photos are beautiful!
I suppose Anthony ate his way through Maine, as we tend to do every time we’re there!
So much beauty in one place. Thank you, Noelle, for bringing it to us via your blog. Pure majesty.
Long trip for you, but I recommend making it!
Great post, Noelle. Like you I love this place. I see that you didn’t mention Jordan’s Pond and their great popovers and that’s a good thing. Dont want too many people knowing about it.😊
It’s easy to get lost just wandering around the park. It’s just so beautiful. Thanks for bringing me back.
I’ve got to see if their popovers rival those of a friend of mine.
You did it, wonderful! Of course, I have to share. <3
Thanks, Bette!
Oh wow! That looks spectacular! Can you actually see the wildlife there, or is it a chance sighting thing?
N J Magas, Author
You can see stuff when you’re hiking, generally not from a car.
Beautiful. I want to visit already. 🙂
That looks absolutely gorgeous. I have heard of that park before, but to see the coastline just, ah, it takes the breath away! Beautiful, and thank you for the history lesson. 🙂
Alex Hurst, A Fantasy Author in Kyoto
Out of Print, Fiction authors and their shorts
A-Z Blogging in April Participant
When you get back to the US, you need to visit the right coast!
Great post, kiddo. It’s interesting knowing that the Cajuns (Acadians) were once up in the frozen north. No wonder they moved to New Orleans! It’s beautiful stuff and I don’t blame you for wanting to use it in your Rhe Brewster series. You could even have she and Sam backpack (when they finally do get together as all your fans hope) and find a body out there and have to solve it using just what they have at hand!
There you go, giving me great ideas! Solving the DB (COD, perp) could be difficult though. Thinking on it already…
I’m going to be taking notes of the sites as I’ve never been to Maine . The Twitter share seems to not like the = sign in the title so I’ve tried to change it a bit to share. I hope that’s OK. Happy Easter!
Make sure if you visit, you come in July or August. The BEST months to tour!
Reblogged this on The Life & Times of Zoe the Fabulous Feline and commented:
Nice post…love Maine! I’ve been to Bar Harbor (took a sunset sail there, gorgeous!) but, inexcusably and inexplainable, not to Acadia. Yet. It’s in my future, but I really want to see it in the Fall. Thanks, Noelle for the reminder!
Fall in Maine starts at the beginning of September! Don’t go too late in the season!
Hi. Great post. Yes, you do make me want to visit. I’ve never even been over to the States … so when I eventually do then Maine it is! Now a loyal and increasingly informed follower. All the best. Kris.
http://www.awritersden.wordpress.com
http://www.the1951club.org
Wow, thanks, Chris! If you do visit, choose August or September for New England. Best months of the year there!