Hiking Rockfeller's Carriage Trails (built between 1919-1931) And A Visit To Thuya Garden

Heading Out In The Bay To Work

6:32

6:38

6:39

Fog Over Seawall Pond

As has been my wont, I  have been out driving around the area, enjoying the sunrise, sipping my coffee, letting Evie sleep in.  I drove the 102 Loop, to Bass Harbor and back, stopping occasionally to take a photo, talking with a couple of lobster fishermen heading out for their catch.  And I know we are including too many photographs but this area is one great photo shot after another.

We started our day with coffee, some news, the building excitement of the VP debate before having enough and walking uptown to the Common Good Cafe, for oatmeal and a popover with blue berry jam.  Yumster.  After Monday's climbs, rocks and tree roots, we decided to take it easy and find a good carriage trail loop, finally deciding on one that looped around Parkman Mountain, with view of Hadlock Pond on our return.  It was probably a four mile loop and it took us two hours plus, as we took our time and some of it was obviously uphill.

View of Hadlock Pond While Hiking

A Typical Carriage Trail In Acadia National Park

Hiker Girl

The carriage roads (50 miles of them) are immaculate, wide, smooth usually with fine gravel.  We crossed over three of the 16 granite bridges Rockefeller has built as we hiked, all built in the 1920's, with stones and rocks from the area, no steel or iron works,  just granite.  They are amazing structures as are the roads, often seemingly cut in the mountain, wide enough at times for two cars. The sides of the carriage trails are skirted by rocks of granite, two or three feet high, acting as stone fences.  The amount of labor  going into these trails boggles the mind, the cost hundreds of millions if not a billion in today's money.  But, then, Rockefeller had a lot.  We met hikers and bikers, coming and going but were alone most of our hike.  It was a good choice.

Hadlock Pond

Colors Of Fall

The Nuisance Rat, A Red Squirrel

After our hike, we drove a few miles towards Northwest Harbor hoping to visit the Asticou Terrace but we passed by the parking spot and decided to visit Thuya Garden instead.  We passed the parking area for it as well but found a one way road that led up to the garden, so we were good.  The gardens are spectacular, the only word I can use, with rows of flowers still in bloom, all named with small signs.

Part Of Garden Door

Sedum

Dahlia

Dahlias

Flower Box From Thuya Garden Shed

There are 140 acres, mostly forests, with trails that lead to Asticou Terrace.  We were one of the few people to visit which was nice and Evie had a great talk about dahlias with the horticulturist, actually an art major in college.  She obviously loves her job.

Thuya Garden House Porch

Love the No Tomfoolery!

We took the trail from the garden halfway down to the main highway, stopping at a small pavilion with a striking view of Northwest Harbor.  We could not have found a better place on the island to eat our lunch.  We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on oatmeal honey bread from our friends at Little Notch Bakery, not wanting to leave but we finally hiked back to our car, passing a young guy who was walking the trails barefoot.

Our View Of Northeast Harbor As We Ate Lunch

We didn't get back until just before 3:00, whooped from our adventures on the carriage trails and gardens.  We could not have asked for better weather, in the 50's most of our hike, clear skies, the lakes deep blue.  What a difference from our last visit when a Nor'easter came charging in, bringing from what the locals say, snow in October.  Needless to say, I took a nap and we wanted to take another short walk but our dogs were tired, our legs sore, so we just hung out until dinner time, a good choice.

I drove off around 5:30, looking for a spot to take a photo of the sunset but could not find a good one, and the sunsets earlier than I thought around here because of the mountains.  I ended up down at Beal's Lobster Pound which may be the best spot but I will not know for sure until I am there when the sunsets.  When I returned, Evie was ready for dinner so we walked up to Sips, less than five minutes away.  We wanted a bar seat and a few people had to be moved to accommodate us but they did not seem to mind.  It was a busy place, even a line waiting for tables when we left around 8:15. Our bar ender was really good, hard working and busy, yet she found time to talk with us.  She asked if we were going to go to Bar Harbor and when we said probably not, she suggested it was a good idea as cruise ships had dropped 5000 tourists off for the day.  We had clam chowder and a salad for appetizers and for dinner, an average fish/shrimp and lobster stew, the Italian version, Cioppino.  Sips is a popular restaurant, with lots of interesting dishes.  Just as we were about to leave, we struck up conversation with a really funny guy who was getting married on Saturday.  All he could talk about was the thousands of dollars he had spent the past few days to get things ready for the wedding.

Dinner at Sips

We ended our night like the night before, at the Little Notch Bakery, and we once again had fun with the gals who are behind the bakery counter.  We also met Alicia, from Romania, and we struck up a conversation with a customer who also liked talking with the girls.

The Gals From Little Notch Bakery And Linda

The Charming Lydia 

It was a good way to end our night out and we walked home with chocolate chip short bread and two brownies.  The sweetness of the brownies and shortbread more than made up for the sourness of the VP debate.