(Better late than never - from April 2010)
Mike was awarded the honor of Artist in Residence of Acadia National Park and spent two weeks painting, hiking, drinking distilled mermaid tears (Maine beer) and painting some more. I was lucky enough to have the honor of being Girlfriend of Artist in Residence of Acadia National Park which allowed me to hike, watch Mike paint and get hypmotized by small things in tide pools - all in one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. If you will recall, we visited Acadia in January. The island, although still relatively unpopulated when Mike arrived on April 12, 2010,was visibly being innundated with tourists by the time we left. The permanent population of the island is 10,000, but there are an estimated two and a half million tourists each year. The islanders say they can actually feel the land tipping to the northeast, the location of Bar Harbor - the night life central for Down East Maine. The restaurants were fun and full of character, our favorite was blackened haddock at The Thirsty Whale washed down with Guinness and Bar Harbor Real Ale (for strength, of course).
The trails were literally void of people. We rarely saw a soul, and if we did it was typically when nearing the road. Folks don't like to walk much, it seems. There's certainly plenty to see if you want to stay in your car... but the treat is taking that climb to the top of the island. It's an incredible feeling to be both on top of a mountain and on an island. You don't realize this in most places on Mt. Desert unless you climb high and have the fog rolling past you and the summit and out to sea. Two weeks goes by quick when you're painting, hiking, and reflecting on all things around you. We saw the island awaken with spring - a fortunate stretch of weather for Maine. By the end, the park had opened not only its doors but all its buds, blossoms, colors, and eggs. Everything was alive and moving - from the tide pools to the marshes, from the people to the peregrine falcons.
We hiked mountains together and separately and between the two of us, we put our feet all over the following:
Dorr, Sargent, Cadillac (we got coffee at the top and drank it while taking in the view of the fog!), Acadia, the Beehive, Champlaigne, Pemetic, Beech, Bernard and walked many more trails.
The Wabanaki Indians knew Mount Desert Island as Pemetic, "the sloping land." Frenchman, Samuel de Champlain, who made the first important contribution to the historical record of Mount Desert Island. He led the expedition that landed on Mount Desert on September 5, 1604 and wrote in his journal, "The mountain summits are all bare and rocky..... I name it Isles des Monts Desert." Acadia National Park was the first national park to be created east of the Mississippi, in 1919. The park holds more than 47,000 acres, 30,300 of which are on Mt. Desert Island (the remaining acreage lies in Isle au Haut, Schoodic Penninsula, and several outlying islands). The island's Somes Sound is the only fjord in the lower 48. Technically a fjard, it is a similar geological feature to the fjord and defined as a submerged glacial valley.
We also visited the Schoodic Penninsula and were gifted with lively tidepools filled with creatures that belonged in the Moon Pool. Even less crowded than Mt. Desert Island, the Schoodic region demands as much time spent exploring it as the island. Mike would need a whole other residency just for it!
