Downtown Bar Harbor.  Though only about two-thirds of the way up the Maine coast, this is as far as most visitors travel: their final destination is nearby Acadia National Park, where three million visit each year.  Bar Harbor’s popularity makes it far more touristy than the other towns visited on this trip.

A view into Bar Harbor.  The town and the most popular section of Acadia National Park are situated on Mount Desert Island’s eastern half, to which this page is devoted; the next page shows some of the island’s western half.

Downtown Bar Harbor.  A century ago this town was quite different.  Filled with cottages and mansions of the rich and famous, Bar Harbor was Maine’s version of Newport, Rhode Island.  Few of those structures remain standing today, though; a massive fire in 1947 destroyed many of them.

On the Bar Harbor Shore Path, along the coastline of Bar Harbor.  Receding glaciers up to a mile thick left behind the huge boulder long ago, but not before rolling and tumbling and smoothing it into its current shape.  If I were in that lady’s position, downhill from that boulder, I’d keep an eye on it as well.

Impressive garden flowers in Bar Harbor.

Nighttime in Bar Harbor, where the shops stay open late for the tourists.  Though t-shirt and trinket shops abound, a number of good stores can be found here, including my personal ideal of a very good bookstore close to a very good ice cream parlor.

Petit Manan Light, built in 1817 and reconstructed in 1855, as viewed from a whale-watching boat in rough waters some fifteen miles east of Bar Harbor.  I was fortunate to catch sight of this; the boat needed to go out an unusual distance before spotting any whales this trip, and happened to pass by the lighthouse.  My shipmates were less fortunate; the turbulent waters created many green faces and full sickness bags.  After our return, the remaining tours this day were cancelled.  In rough waters, roll with the waves and keep your eyes on the horizon; it worked for me.

Along the Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park, with Sand Beach in the distance.

Along the Park Loop Road, near Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park.  This was the first national park in the eastern United States; at its establishment in 1919, it was called Lafayette National Park.  A decade later, the name was changed to Acadia National Park.

Pink granite along the Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park.

Along the Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park.

Along the Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park.

Otter Cliffs, Acadia National Park.

Along the Park Loop Road near Otter Cliffs, Acadia National Park.

Along the Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park.

Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park.  The nearby Jordan Pond House, the one restaurant in the park, is a must-visit for its wonderful popovers.

Sunset viewed from atop Cadillac Mountain, the highest point of Acadia National Park.  From October to March, the first rays of morning sunlight in the United States fall on Cadillac Mountain.