Acadia National Park

I took a couple extra days off and had 4 days to finally go camping! I was looking forward to this considering I haven't gone camping since last summer when I was on the road working for Backpacker Magazine. I was looking forward to the one thing I thought I would never want to do when I got home last October. Car Camping. Living out of my vehicle for days on end, sleeping in a tent, and not being able to shower for quite a few days.

Josh asked me if I would want to come along to Acadia with him and his daughter. I said yes. We booked the campsite a few weeks ago. We reserved a site at Blackwoods Campground in the park. We had briefly stayed here in October when I came home from the tour, but only for a night. It simply wasn't enough time. It is located a hop, skip and a jump to the oceans cliffs.

I was looking forward to going camping because I am used to it, and enjoy it very much. However, I was a bit nervous to travel so far away from home and bring Josh's daughter, who is 8, and have her not enjoy it. Harper had never before been camping in a tent, with no showers, in a national park, and very far away from home. I am pretty sure I checked the weather almost 3 times daily to see what the forecast would be for our time there, in hopes it would stay "Sunny and 70" the entire time we were going to be camping. It did.

Tuesday night rolled around and Josh and I packed up the car before the rain moved in that night. We continuously kept saying to each other "we can't forget this". I think we were both nervous and may have went a little over board packing because we were trying to make sure we had everything possible to keep Harper entertained and happy while there. It wasn't until after we got there we realized we forgot to pack our pillows. After packing up the car we set the alarm clocks for 5:30am.

The alarm went off, we put the 3 bikes on the car and hit the road to go pick up Harper at her grandmothers house. We were there by 7:30am and on our way. Together, I believe we counted 6 electronic devices. Together we had 3 IPhone's, 1 Kindle, 1 Ipod, and a GoPro. Makes me think about when I was younger and how we had none of that and still had a blast camping. Most of the electronics were to keep harper entertained in the car for the 5 hour drive and for when she went to bed at night she could watch movies on the Kindle. Otherwise, there was no cell service in the park, which is my favorite thing about camping. NO INTERRUPTIONS!

We made a few pit stops along the way to the park, but before we knew it we were there by noon on Wednesday. First stop, Acadia National Park Visitor Center. I have this habit since traveling on the road last summer where the first place before camp I go to, is the visitor center. I had done my research before we went and had read that the Visitor Center here is not within site of the parking lot. It was exactly 52 steps up from the parking lot. I didn't mind the steps all that much, but I am sure many people get there, read the sign and say- "I'm all set." The steps were broken up into about 6-7 steps per section then about 5 feet of flat and then the next flight. Not to bad.

Once in the Visitor Center, I did my usual and got in line for the information center, and Josh got in line to by our National Park's Pass for the week. (note: Pass for the week is $25) One of the reason's why we stopped here besides to get some info on the park and maps, was to get Harper her first official Junior Ranger Booklet. I had spent my entire summer collecting the Jr. Ranger booklets in every national park and monument I went to and would send them home for her to see and learn about things I was learning about.

 (Note: All National Parks have a Junior and Senior Ranger Program. You receive your booklet at the Visitor Center of the Park and take it along with you on your journey. You are assigned a certain amount of activities you must complete in the book, as well as attend one or more Ranger Led programs. Once completed, you take back to the Visitor Center or other designated spots, a ranger will then check over your work and asked you what you have learned on your visit, then he/she will make you say a pledge to the park and you will receive a badge or a patch in your completion of the parks pledge.)

Harper received her booklet, I grabbed a few maps and info sheets, we walked through the gift shop and even picked up a Passport Book as well for her, and then hit the road to our campground. Anxious to get out of the car, we finally arrived at Blackwoods. Campsite A129. We parked the car and emptied everything out. Quickly setting up camp and making lunch. Josh and Harper worked on setting up the tent, while I cleaned off the picnic table and started making everyone lunch. Once we filled our bellies, we decided to take a walk down to the ocean cliffs just through a walking path from our campground. Some of the most beautiful views we got. The skies were crystal blue, waters were a beautiful aqua, and the sun was shining warmth onto my skin. We sat on the rocks for a little bit here and just took it all in. The smell of the ocean, the crash of the waves, and the gorgeous view of endless coastline.

Once we made it back to the site, Harper was so excited to ride her bike. She probably rode it back and forth to the bathroom a thousand times in the 3 days we were there. It was nice to see how comfortable she was finally getting on her bike, also, before we were to take a ride on the carriage roads. After letting her ride around for a bit, we all decided to head to the Jordan Pond House before dinner and possibly enjoy the World Famous Popovers. I had heard about the Popovers by my friend Becca and her family. They have been visiting Acadia since Becca was really young. While at her parents house in Long Island last summer, her mother made a replica of the popovers from Jordan Pond House and they were absolutely amazing! This was one of the things I was very much looking forward too.

We got a table outside right away, shockingly enough. They serve tea and popovers from 11-5 daily. We got there at about 4:45pm. Just in time! I ordered the Presecco and Popovers. It was unbelievable! We each had 2 popovers and served with butter and fresh strawberry jam. I will absolutely be going back there for sure. It's a bit pricey, but it is well worth it for the experience and they taste of those things! After we were done enjoying our popovers, we took a short walk to Jordan Pond. While at Jordan Pond there was an info sign saying that it was the clearest pond in Maine. They also, use that water for public water source, so  no swimming or pets aloud in there. It was crystal clear for sure.

As soon as we got back we started the fire and took out food for dinner. We decided to keep dinner pretty simple for Harper. So it was hot dogs and beans on the menu for the first night. We planned for 2 nights dinner at camp and our last night dinner in Bar Harbor. Dinner was of course yummy, but I think the best part about camping is the desserts! S'mores! I am the dessert queen and when it comes to camping I have a few favorites of mine I have picked up along the way. Because of that, I brought a few different options. Harper and Josh enjoyed S'mores, while I enjoyed making a favorite of mine, Roasted Bananas.

Roasted Banana Recipe:
Bananas
Hershey's Chocolate Bars
Tinfoil
(Slice banana peel right down the middle and place individual pieces of the Hershey bar in between the slit, wrap the entire thing up in tinfoil and place on the hot coals for about 15 minutes. Once warmed up open the foil up and grab a spoon and dig in to the deliciousness of melted chocolate covered banana!)
Of course, after I finished my banana I indulged in some s'mores. I mean, how do you pass up an all time favorite?

Roasted Banana Time Lapse Video:

Day 2: The sun came up and I was awake, it was 5:30am. Exhausted as anything, I nodded back to sleep again for roughly another hour before finally getting up and out of the tent. I am not sure why, but sleeping in a tent on the ground always makes me have to pee so bad in the morning. I am talking running to the bathroom because I have to pee so bad, or like the tent can't unzip fast enough for me to get to the bathroom. haha

Breakfast was a Mountain House Raspberry Cookie Crumble I had left over from my Get Out More Tour. Becca and I had enjoyed a few of these for breakfast while on the road and I thought it was a good quick and easy idea. We ate it all up. We packed up the car to head out on our journey for the day. We were going to hit the carriage roads for some bike riding. Within minutes of leaving the campground we had seen our first white tailed deer on the side of the road walking. Harper was quite excited. Arriving at our destination, we hopped on our bikes and decided to do about a 5 miles loop around a few ponds near the Visitor Center. Within the first couple minutes on our bikes, another white tailed deer walked right across the carriage road in front of us. We whispered to each other, and watched it as it walked away through the woods.

We continued on our bike ride, stopping every few minutes or so to let Harper rest and drink some water. We enjoyed the beautiful views of all the small ponds, eventually coming to one that had a ton of dead trees and a really impressive beaver dam. We all parked our bikes and walked around to check out the scenery here. Continuing on, we eventually came to one of the beautifully acclaimed bridges where we also stopped to take some photos. There was a flight of stairs that walked down beneath the bridge, so I went down to check it out. I found some stalactite and took some photos of it. I learned all about them in my Mammoth Cave National Park visit, so I was impressed to have been witnessing it here in Maine.

After our bike ride, we had planned to go check out the tide pools down at Bar Island. When the tide is at it's lowest, there is a massive sand bar you can walk across to get to the island. I had read about this prior to going on this trip and was looking forward to this as well. The winds were really blowing down here, so I chose not to swim, I did dip my feet into the water to look for some sea urchins or star fish. With no luck, we continued to keep walking, finally making it to the island. As soon as you got to the other side people had built cairns with all the rocks, everywhere. I was a bit shocked that they allow that to happen, considering there was dozens of signs specifically telling people all about cairns and not to build your own. It was very pretty though, and neat to see all the different ones.

It was just about lunch time and we were all hungry. We made a walk back to the car and stopped for a picnic lunch at the Nature Center in the park. It's always fun just parking the car and making lunch right there in a parking lot. After lunch we checked out the small museum in the nature center and then took a walk to the Abbes Museum. There was an admission for this museum but, nothing significant. We enjoyed looking at all of the Indian Artifacts that had been found over the years. Harper had learned about a few of the tribes in school, so she knew some things we didn't even know.

Our last stop for the day was going to be Thunder Hole. We were hoping to hit Thunder Hole at the best timing for the best show. We lucked out. We got there about 2 hours too early. However, it was still a great experience, walking along the rocks, looking into the tide pools to see what we could find, and enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs. It had been a pretty long day and we were ready to head back to the campsite to start a fire, make dinner, and relax for a little bit before we went to our first Ranger Led Program.

Dinner Consisted of Corn on the Cob and sweet sausage and of course dessert followed. On the dessert menu for the evening was my second all time favorite, Campfire Cones. Yes, I went there. This is a dessert Becca and I were introduced into while on the road. A very nice family invited us over for dinner and a campfire dessert one night and we enjoyed their campfire cones. Being on the road, we couldn't stick to the original recipe for them so we modified it to our own.

Campfire Cone Recipe:
Sugar Cones
Nutella
Peanut Butter
Fluff or mini marshmallows (Marshmallow Fluff is a New England thing)
Tinfoil

Campfire Cone Timelapse Video:

Campfire cones are so delicious and will make you crave something to drink after. I layered peanut butter at the bottom of the cone followed by Nutella and then topped off with Fluff. If I had remember that we had banana I would have sliced the banana and added that in there as well. Once all the layers are in,  I then wrap in tinfoil and place on the grate of the fire for about 10 minutes or so. Once done the layers should be all melted together and you can eat it just like an ice cream.

Our ranger led program Stars above Sand Beach was starting at 9:00pm, so we packed up the car with a blanket and some warm clothing and went down to Sand Beach. I was almost positive we would probably be the only ones there or 3 out of a few that would show. By the time we pulled into the parking lot at about 8:45pm, there had to of been at least 50 people already on the beach. It took some time for the sky to darken, and then the Ranger discussed all the different constellations in the sky, pointed out certain stars and planets with his cool light saber like lazer, and all while laying on the beach listening to the waves crash against the shore. Once the program was over, Harper had to have her Jr. Ranger book signed by Kirk. Kirk was the leading Ranger of the program. Once that was done we all got to the car and went right to bed as soon as we were back at camp. We were all wiped from such a long and eventful day.

Friday morning arrived. We all maybe have slept in a little bit. Taking our time we made some pancakes for breakfast and of course they were Nutella Pancakes. I mean we were on vacation. Our plan for the day was to hit the Bass Harbor Lighthouse, and hike to Bubble Rock before we spent our afternoon in Bar Harbor shopping and would enjoy our last night dinner there.

As soon as we were done with breakfast, we packed up the car again and headed to the lighthouse. The morning started a bit overcast, but trending towards clear as the morning went on. We arrived at the lighthouse and did some exploring, looking in tide pools and climbing over the rocks looking for any kind of sea life we could. I was quite determined to find a star fish, but I had no luck. We took a few photos, then got back into the car. We stopped by the Visitor Center to use the restrooms and make some lunch before hitting the trails. Our stomachs were now happy and we headed towards Bubble Rock. On our way, we decided to take a drive up to Cadillac Mountain. Took a few photos, I did my typical mountain top headstand, and then we visited the gift shop. Back to the car and off to Bubble Rock. Bubble Rock was only 1 mile round trip. I had read great things about this hike for kids and really wanted to hike this one.

The first drive past the trail head parking lot, it was full. We drove past and in hopes did a turn around just a little further up the road. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, there was one spot available! We parked and grabbed our already packed packs and hit the trail. Harper pushed through and enjoyed it. Some beautiful views on the way up, and once at the top. Harper asked me to take her to hike her first 4000 footer in NH, so I kept telling her this was in preparation.

For those of you who hike in NH, Bubble Rock reminded me of Glen Boulder. So much so, that I must've called it Glen Boulder a dozen times. It's pretty unique to see such a large boulder hanging on by barely anything, and located on the edge of the cliff. It took us less than 45 minutes to get up and back to the car and we were all ready to hit the shops in Bar Harbor.

We found parking pretty close to all the shops and started bouncing in and out of all the cool gift stores. There is always just so many cool and unique things to choose from when you are on vacation. We spent the first 2 hours shopping, before heading to Geddy's for dinner. After dinner we decided to head to the nearest Ice Cream Shoppe, the one that is known for it's Lobster Ice Cream. Yes, real lobster in ice cream. I am not a seafood eater, but that sounds disgusting even if I did like it. I enjoyed a mint oreo ice cream on a chocolate cookie cone. The ice cream was incredibly delicious and the cone tasted like paper. It was nasty.

Happily stuffed, we arrived back at camp and had a fire and I got to make some Jiffy Pop, something I haven't done since I was a kid. That stuff is not as easy as you think it's going to be. I managed to not burn it and we then enjoyed our popcorn while playing a game of Uno.

As soon as most of the wood was burned down, we all piled into bed somewhat early. Overall, I couldn't have asked for better weather, or better company. I enjoyed Acadia very much. After having a few months off from visiting National Parks, I remember how much I enjoy staying in them. People may think they are over priced, but they aren't. They are priceless. The land and forests you see are treated with the utmost respect. Our National Parks all across this country are home of some of the most beautiful land in this country.

Lastly, on our way out on Saturday morning, we made one last stop at the Visitor Center. We got one last stamp for the Passport Book, and Harper turned in her Jr. Ranger Book. The Ranger asked her what she learned while there on vacation, she named a few things and then he pulled her to the side and had her raise her hand and say the Jr. Ranger Pledge. Then he handed her an Acadia National Park Patch. He made an announcement in a very crowded visitor center and congratulated her and the entire room started clapping!

If you have kids, this is totally worth taking some time out of your days on vacation to let them learn all about nature around them. I would highly recommend this program, most parks the booklet is free to kids and same with the patch or pin they receive in the end.

If you have not had the time to visit a National Park, find the nearest one to you and spend a few days exploring. Make sure to talk to the rangers, and visit the visitor centers. Explore all options while in one. I assure you, you will walk out absolutely in awe.