Sunday, August 9, 2015
This was our last full day in Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, so we biked the Carriage Roads in Acadia NP.  They were built by the Rockefeller's to ride their horse-drawn carriages to Jordan's Pond for lunch or elsewhere on the island to enjoy the beauty here.  The parks service has maintained the Carriage Roads as they were when the Rockefeller's were here, so we had to experience that.  We rode our bikes around Eagle Lake, and it was a befitting thing to do on our last day here!  It was about 9 miles long around the lake and we had some elevation, but we also took the advice of a young family we met yesterday, to go clockwise!  We are glad we did.  We didn't have to push our bikes uphill at all, but if we had gone the other way, I'm sure we would have.  We had some elevation, but we managed it.  It was quite fun to do this 'with many other people out riding today', and to imagine what it was for the Rockefeller's in their day.  Later in the day, we decided to go out to Thunder Hole again, and see if it spewed more water prior to high tide.  We were amazed at the parents that let their children stand on the rocks and let the waves come in and hit them.  They don't realize what force that water has.  We did stop at a fresh seafood place and bought some seafood to take along with us.  We have room in our freezers, so we stocked up on some things.  We haven't been disappointed in our visit here on Mount Desert Island, and we have learned so much about the area, and have seen a beautiful part of our country!  We especially enjoyed our son and his family, when they joined us for part of our time here.  We move on to Palmyra, ME and relax!  We have three days there, before we hit the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  We will bike on a Rails to Trails in Newport, ME this week, and we'll be as far north in Maine as we will go on this trip, so we may see some moose.  We're ready for our next adventure!

This is Eagle Lake, and it furnishes the tap water for Bar Harbor.  It doesn't need to be filtered but it does have to be treated, as it's so pure.  You can kayak or canoe on the lake, but no swimming, or paddle boarding is allowed.  We noticed that they don't keep the sea gulls off of it, though!

Jim is waiting on the Rockefeller Carriage Road Trail, for me to take YET another photo.  The Carriage Roads are about 16' wide, so it can accommodate many bikers, or hikers.

One of many stone bridges that were built by the Rockefeller's, and this was at the end of our bike ride.

This picture was taken about 3 hours before high tide, and you can see the people standing out on the rocks.