Summertime travels to the Northeast - Acadia National Park

The air is cool this morning.  The sun is shining.  Brilliantly.  The transition of seasons finds us this month and we savor each wonderfully, warm, brilliantly sunshiny moment.  Sitting down at the computer for any extended period at this time of year is difficult, hence our delay in posting Acadia pictures.  Thanks for waiting.  We plan to share much about fall happenings and perhaps now that this massive processing of pictures is over, we will feel less hesitant to sit and write.

Initial thoughts?  The northeast is beautiful....incredibly, lusciously beautiful, but then we think that about most natural places we go.   Vermont gets our vote for favorite state we passed through....warranting it a spot on our 'To Return To' list.  We loved Acadia.  What's not to love about rocky, mountainous cliffs bordered by a watery sea?  Bar Harbor is a hopping town we didn't venture in too much due to way cool natural areas that called to us more strongly.  We did, however, adore this bakery.  Oh my, yum.

Travels inspire many more pictures than is reasonable to share so here is a snapshot tour of our late summer trip to a place new to us and a place that we are grateful to now know, if just a bit.

Some hikes were harder than others...

but the effort proved worth it everytime:

Unicorn Caterpillar

Pool on top of a mountain?!  We were smitten.  Frogs, salamanders and dragonflies called this place home.

We made time to just sit, drink a bit of coffee and honor this place with our time and our admiration...

Sea plantain

Tidal pools are rich, vibrant, ever changing habitats...

Trees bordered the ocean, ponds and bays offering home to many other types of creatures.

Pickerel Frog (in this forest we also saw American Toads and Wood Frogs...good indicators of health.)

White Admiral (Our first!  We also saw our first common ringlet, but missed a great photo due to their flightiness.  What fun anyways!)

And, out of the woods, we found that big body of water that defines Acadia, once again.  Orienting ourselves to islands, inlets, and mountains helped us find our way on paths less frequented...

Black guillemot....

Warblers feasted everywhere.  What an experience to witness many of these birds on their nesting grounds making quick work of abundant caterpillars as they prepared to journey south.

Green-striped Mapleworm

Common Eider

We shared a moment of untempered awe as we witnessed a lone monarch butterfly migrating south over the vast Atlantic.  Nature is endlessly captivating.  We hope you are enjoying your own summer adventures...