A C A D I A   N A T I O N A L   P A R K   -   D A Y   # 4

Friday, October 8, 2004

Regretfully, today will be my last day in Acadia National Park. Having already spent 3 full days here, I must say I've really enjoyed this place; the quiet beauty, the interesting scenery, the heightened ocean views, the friendly people.

To cap things off and leave with a thunderous bang, I plan on experiencing a sunrise atop Cadillac Mountain. Now, why would a night owl like myself drag my sleepy butt out of bed in the wee hours of the morning (btw, anything before 7am is what I consider as wee hours) to catch a sunrise? Sounds stupid to me. Well, normally I leave the sunrises to other folk, but after reading the Acadia National Park Guide I snagged at the campgrounds 3 days prior, believe it or not I'm a changed man, if only for a day. There is something rather unique about sunrises atop Cadillac Mountain. It's the first bit of land within the US that receives the day's first light.

My cell phone alarm goes off and I wake to darkness. And of course I set the alarm to be as near sunrise as possible, allotting only a slim, sliver of time to drive out to the mountain. Rushing against time, I dress, jump in the driver's seat, then race out of the campgrounds beating feet to my heightened destination.

Guess what? I get stuck behind someone who is doing the speed limit. Oh joy! Unable to pass, I start to think I'm pretty much screwed. Hopefully the driver is not going to the top of Cadillac Mountain too. The entrance to the road to the mountaintop arrives... and the driver makes the turn! Damn!

Patiently I drive along. Hey, maybe I'll make it to the top before the sunrise after all?!?

I arrive at the top with a few minutes to spare. Geeze, there's quite a few folks here, I'm a little surprised. I guess this sunrise really is a big deal!

Well, the big lightshow is about to begin.

Click here for more detail and pictures of today's sunrise atop Cadillac Mountain.

Today I find myself all hopped up for a bit of driving. The drive today will take me down Maine's coastline to Portland. During that portion of the drive I'll try to capture as much of the coast as I can. From Portland I'll head due west to Parsonsfield, ME, where my good ole buddy Bill lives in his beautiful log home out in the sticks.