My first National Park!

It felt weird. For a very long time, I wanted to visit a National Park. When I was young, I visited the Grand Canyon but there wasn’t much I could reminisce on. It was hard to recall anything because I was around nine years old at the time. After hiking Esther Mountain last winter, I got the news. We decided that during the summer, a trip to Acadia National Park was actually happening! Immediately, I looked up places we’d hike and obviously catch the sunset as well. After leaving the house this July for our trip, I’ve never felt such a sense for adventure.

Hello, Acadia NP!

Seeing the Acadian Mountains heading out into the distance was gorgeous, especially during sunsets. We stayed near a cove and kayaked sometimes as well. Looking out towards those mountains in the morning and before dusk was everything. The sky reflecting off of the water created such a serene moment and I hope we stay there again at some point! Anyways, let’s get into my favorite moments in Maine this year and what I plan to do next time.

Shooting the Milky Way

One of the most challenging concepts to photography is taking photos at night time. I practiced with a kit lens for over a month, covering many photos of the stars near me. The issue with where I live is light pollution which is a huge factor towards this. Luckily, in Maine the light pollution is very low but the weather didn’t cooperate throughout the night. The last two chances I had, my tripod (cheapest piece of metal ever) decided to break mid shot. I produced one photo where you can slightly see the beautiful night sky but otherwise, I didn’t have much to improvise with. This is definitely something I will keep learning about and hopefully be successful with it next time around! Now, let’s get into some stuff I did in Acadia National Park.

Unlimited adventures

The first day in Acadia National Park was absolutely exhilarating and I can’t wait to experience more days like this. Why? Because being outdoors and getting the adrenaline rushing…nothing is better than that! Obviously being safe plays a large role but pushing through on any hard hike feels amazing when you reach the top. My brother and I took Park Loop Road throughout the day but we started at Sands Beach. Across the road is Beehive Trail which of course we had to do and it was one of my favorites. Afterwards, we saw Thunder Hole but nothing was occurring so we went to Jordan Pond. To finish off the day, we took the journey up Cadillac Mountain (by foot) and yes it was a fantastic hike. Other places I ventured off to were Bubble Rock, Bass Harbor Lighthouse, and Great Head Trail. I’ll cover writings on these adventures but I thought I’d give a brief overview first!

Bar Harbor, Maine

Bar Harbor had to be one of the greatest towns I’ve been to and I’ve seen many! There’s something about being near the ocean and turning around to gaze at the mountains. I believe for dining, there’s something for everyone in Bar Harbor. In my opinion, Geddy’s was my favorite place to eat at for lunch or dinner. For every order of nachos, they bring it out inside a hubcap! Pretty cool, right? Anyways, I enjoyed shooting the sunset in this small town and going on a sightseeing cruise. For anyone looking for a summer vacation next year, I think I found the one for you. I highly recommend checking out this magnificent part of Maine!

Thanks!

Thank you as always for anyone who read this blog. Sharing my adventures and where I travel is very important to me, which I hope provides you with information too! I’ll definitely cover a blog on separate adventures from Maine and possibly give tips for hiking there as well. Therefore, I’ll see you in the next blog…plan those adventures!

-Alex