Comprised of rock called Ellsworth Schist, which is a result of sedimentary deposits of mud on the floor of an ancient sea, the island has been dated to 500 million years ago. The mountain we visited yesterday, Cadillac Mountain, began as molten magma that intruded into the Ellsworth Schist fractures, with feldspar giving the granite its distinctive color. Then glacial ice sculpted the undulating landscape of the island over thousands of years, leaving its burden of boulders and debris strewn about. Today, the Atlantic Ocean continues to shape the shoreline in a continuing process of change.
Explorer Samuel Champlain created the first reliable European record of Mount Desert Island in 1604. The French and British disputed the island until 1761, when English colonists established the first permanent settlement. Fishing, farming, granite quarrying, and shipping formed the basis for life on the island until the mid 1800's when tourists began to appear. Wealthy summer residents living in "cottages" soon transformed the quiet farming and fishing villages. In 1901, the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations began to acquire land and present it to the federal government. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the area Sieur de Monts National Monument, and in 1919 Congress redesigned it as a national park- the first to be established east of the Mississippi River.
We began our tour today at the National Park Visitors Center by entering the Park Loop Road. Unlike yesterday, we didn't go to the top of Cadillac Mountain, but bailed off along the eastern coast and made our first stop at Thunder Hole. The name is self explanatory, because of the ocean spray that sprays upward at the incoming tide. We talked to a couple that had visited the site 50 years ago on their honeymoon. They remarked that the rocks and the ocean remained the same, but there are sure a lot more people!
At Otter Bay, we stopped to enjoy the sights.
Further along the perimeter of the island, we left the Park Loop Road and started our own exploration. After a stop at Echo Lake Beach for a quick lunch and Sasha walk, we continued on to Southwest Harbor, where we had to get a photo of the bay.
The road took us along the west side of the island, through forests of pine and hardwood trees interspersed with small farms and vacation homes.
Completing our island loop trek, we stopped at the same picnic area where we had lunch yesterday for a Sasha walk. She had a great time chasing the ripples in the water!
Now we've just about covered Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park from east to west and north to south. There are two parts of the park that are separate, and we hope to see them another day.
What a nice day trip today!
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