Downeast solstice

I was feeling the need for an Acadia National Park "fix" by mid-December. I settled on a long weekend just before the winter solstice for a quick wander, starting my journey with a quick (overnight) visit with a friend in Yarmouth, ME. That gave me a jump up the coast, allowing me to spend the afternoon of my first Downeast day on the Schoodic Peninsula.

It was a gray day, a day of wind, of ocean swells and crashing waves. The tip of the Schoodic Peninsula is pure magic.

1 :: a splash of color, dried berries
2 :: not quite to the tip, rounded rocks create a difficult walking surface
3 :: magic light, reflected
4 :: a tree standing tall
5 :: mixed colors, granite and a diabase dike
6 :: crashing waves
7 :: a bit calmer as I headed back from the tip of the peninsula
8 :: another view of rocks
After looping the tip of the peninsula I stopped in the fishing village of Corea.

9 :: in Corea
10 :: a view of the harbor
As I started the journey back to my home for the night in Ellsworth, a tree jumped out for a photo.

11 :: tree posing
The next morning I headed to Mount Desert Island to visit a small section of Acadia. The park is open year-round but most of the roads are not. I headed down Schooner Head road to the end, reaching the road that cuts over to the open section of Park Loop Road just before Sand Beach. That was my parking destination; I thought about doing the Gorham Mountain trail but somehow being totally alone on the trail didn't feel like the right thing to do. It's one thing to do that in the season when there are others wandering there as well; this day the park was pretty empty.

Just after I arrived at Sand Beach on a sunny morning I started seeing snow flakes in the air. Brr... chilly! I walked on the beach, then headed down the trail that paralleled the road and wandered onto the rocks.

12 :: some people were surfing (in calm waters), despite the cold air and water
13 :: calm water, reflecting sand
14 :: looking inland, behind Sand Beach
15 :: still wearing green
16 :: looking back at Sand Beach
17 :: tumbled rocks
18 :: an inaccessible "beach" of rounded rocks
19 :: painted rocks
After walking next to the ocean, I headed inland for a bit. These photos were taken near the Wild Gardens of Acadia and along the Jesup Path and vicinity.

20 :: trees!
21:: a puddle and reflections
22 :: calm
23 :: through the trees
My next stop was the carriage trails near Eagle Lake. As I started walking the clouds dropped and I found myself enveloped in a snow squall.

24 :: Eagle Lake in a snow squall
I started back to the mainland, heading again for Ellsworth. I don't know what made me take a left turn at Hulls Cove but I'm very glad that I did. In all my years of visiting Acadia I didn't know there was a sculpture garden hiding in plain sight!

25 :: a sign in the (outdoor) Davistown Museum
26 :: a few residents of the sculpture garden
27 :: are you looking at me?
I hope you've enjoyed this quick glimpse of my short and chilly weekend wander. If you'd like to see more photos from this trip they are available in the gallery Downeast solstice.

Photos in this post were taken with a Fujifilm X-T1, using the XF10-24 and XF18-135 lenses.

--- Denise