Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park is, apparently, the second most visited park in America. We, however, had never even heard of it!!!  But we decided to take a little road trip off our plan and check it out.  

We are glad we did because it was pretty amazing!  The picture here doesn't really do justice to the colours.

ANP is located on an island, just off the coast of Maine.  It was discovered by our old friend, Samuel du Champlain.  (I swear, we have been to so many places that this guy discovered it is truly amazing!!!)  It is one of the first national parks in the US, and is made up entirely of land that was donated by the wealthy families that came to stay in this area in the early 1900's. (i.e. the Rockefeller's).  
The park loop road goes around the island, along the coastal roads, up the granite mountain, and through the beautiful forest.  The early developers did not want cars on this island, but they built a whole series of roads for carriages to carry people around.  These carriage roads now do not allow cars, so you can bike and hike through the whole area without worrying about traffic.

The leaves here are pretty much at peak season, so you can imagine the views we had!

By the end of the day the wind was picking up and it was about 8 degrees.  A little chilly for our top of the mountain walk.  Of course David and Sean are in shorts, and all these people around us are in mitts and toques - they got a few looks!

We ate dinner in Bar Harbor, in a 50's style Route 66 restaurant, converted from an old church.  It was a neat experience!  This town reminded us of Banff, tourist rustic!  Another good day!