Acadia National Park & Moosehead Lake

Having just finished my first semester of school, I was in real need of a break. We decided to head north to Acadia National Park, somewhere I had been longing to go since we arrived in Maine. We were lucky enough to score a camp site on the south end of the island near Acadia. It turned out to be a great location and was not far from an amazing lighthouse. Our first night we walked to the coast and were met with a beautiful scene. Low clouds swallowed up most of our surroundings and brought a light mist of rain. There were distant sounds of seagulls calling with an occasional dong of a fog bell from far-off. Ocean waves crashed against the rocks and the smell of sea was strong. An occasional flash of red beamed from the lighthouse and illuminated the low lying clouds and fine water droplets in the air. It was a moment I will never forget. It felt as though I was in a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Walking down to the ocean.

The next day we climbed Cadillac mountain and enjoyed the beautiful view and ate lots of blueberries from nearby bushes. It was another cloudy day with low lying clouds that appeared to be swallowing up the distant islands making them look like giant pillows.

Wild Maine blueberries

The hike around Jordan Pond was refreshing due to the heat of the day. We all waded in and enjoyed the cool lake water. Emma even spotted a frog.

Though it was particularly busy, sand beach was also a fine place to escape from the heat. The tide brought in the biggest waves I have seen yet since moving to New England. Emma and I had fun dodging the waves.

That evening we enjoyed a forest trail which followed the ocean. When pine trees meet ocean it makes for a breathtaking scene.  We eventually left the trail and went down to what appeared to be a river of ocean water returning back from high tide. We found numerous shells and sea creatures.

More random pictures of Acadia National Park beauty.

Woke up one morning at our campsite to find all of these spider webs underneath the trees. Thought it was quite strange. The rainstorm the night before was one of the strongest I had ever experienced. It was raining extremely hard with constant flashes of light from lightning and booms of thunder. Honestly thought we were going to get zapped it was so intense. I was pleasantly surprised our tent held up to mother natures fury. Emma didn't even wake up which was a huge surprise. 

One of the many stone bridges in the park

Homemade pie using two cups each of local blueberries, raspberries and strawberries

The following day we made the trek inland to Moosehead Lake. My uncle Jerry was kind enough to let us stay in his cabin situated right on the lake. It turned out to be such an amazing place and the perfect vacation spot for our family. A cabin in the woods along a lake will always be a place of refuge.

According to my uncle, this site used to be a scout camp a long time ago before he bought it. Scouts got to camp by means of a steam ship and used the camp as a basecamp before heading even further north.

Main cabin 

Powerhouse and separate cabin with bedroom

I had been itching to do some fishing since I arrived in Maine. I pass rivers and lakes all the time but finally had the time and means to do so. Though I wish I could say I caught something, it was honestly just nice to toss a line again, especially in another state. Prior to fishing, I obtained my license from a local sporting goods store and talked with the cashier about how the fishing has been. He stated that this time of year all the fish are deep seeking cooler water. While out in the kayak I put on heavy flies and let the line sink for a good amount of time but never even got a nibble. I had sinking line but I hadn't put it onto a reel yet. I wish I would have had some but it was still nice to get out and wet a line. I was also reminded how hard it was fishing out of a kayak. Any subtle change in wind and I would be spinning circles. I would need to hurry and position and let out quick casts in the intended direction if I wanted to throw line where I wanted.

No smallies near this island

Big mayfly out on the back porch. Have never seen one this large before.

Local Greeneville fly shop

The following day when we visited a local b-52 bomber site was when I really wish I had brought my rod. During the trek on the dirt road we passed a nice stream which upon further research held salmon. As they say, there's always next time.

 The site was truly a humbling experience. The b-52 bomber was practicing evasion drills from Russian satellite before the plane lost its vertical stabilizer and ultimately crashed. What those nine men experienced on that cold evening in 1963 was horrific. Only two men made it out alive. They experienced -29 degree temperatures in five feet of snow for 18hrs before help arrived. The state of Maine has done a great job making this site a sacred place to come and pay respect for those who died.

More random Moosehead pics.

Emma loved jumping from this rock.

These ducks came by everyday and would eat out of our hands

Literally thousands of wild raspberries on our hike

Not a bad view

Smores every night!

Throughout our time in the Acadia and Moosehead we saw TONS of mushrooms. Emma loved finding these bizarre fungi and often helped her keep her mind busy during the hikes. I admit I had a lot of fun too. There are so many varieties and shapes and sizes.

All of the mushrooms caused me to reflect on a story I heard on an Outside Magazine podcast episode. In the story, a lady went out to her backyard in the woods and gathered what she thought were edible mushrooms for a dinner party she was hosting that evening. The guests arrived and they all had a fine dinner together. The following day, something was wrong. The lady who initially picked the mushrooms was not feeling well and ultimately ended up in the hospital and placed in critical care. She received a phone call later on that evening from one of her party guests who had also landed in the hospital. They had all eaten a mushroom that was a neurotoxin and each could have died if they had not sought medical attention right away. Point of story- be careful not to eat toxic mushrooms!

This one looks just mean and nasty

Did not know if this was a mushroom at first but we looked it up and its a type of white coral mushroom

Love how this image turned out

Emma called this one a jellyfish