The view from the top of South Bubble Mountain
Tag: Jordan Pond
While planning this trip, the number one thing we wanted to do was a carriage tour of the carriage roads. On our first day in Acadia (Sunday), while we were driving the Park Loop Road, we made a stop at Wildwood Stables to book a carriage tour. The first available tour they had was the following Saturday. We were planning on driving back to New Hampshire that day, but we were able to squeeze in a morning carriage tour before heading south. All week, we called checking for cancellations, but we weren’t able to get in any earlier than Saturday morning.
We chose the Mr. Rockefeller’s bridge tour, a two-hour tour that highlights the picturesque bridges that were planned by John D. Rockefeller Jr. One of the highlights of the tour is Cobblestone (above). Built in 1917, Cobblestone is the oldest bridge on the Carriage Roads and the only one built entirely out of cobblestones. The tour takes a short break so you can get out and explore the bridge. I wish I had more time to photograph here!
Jordan Pond Gatelodge
The tour was a great way to see the carriage roads and it was much less strenuous than biking. The price ($40 for adults for the 2-hour tours and $24 for the hour-long tours) is reasonable and totally worth it, in my opinion. The biggest downside is how quick tours book up. I wanted to wait until we knew what the weather was going to be like before booking and by doing so, all the tours early in the week were booked up. We were very lucky we stayed so long or we probably wouldn’t have gotten in. The moral of the story, if a tour of the carriage roads is on your must-do list for Acadia, book it as soon as possible to have your choice of tours and hope the weather cooperates.
Thanks for stopping by! To read more about this trip, visit the Mainely Acadia Trip Report page. To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
The view from the top of Cadillac Mountain
When visiting Acadia, the best place to start is the Park Loop Road. So, on our most recent trip, our first day in the park involved driving around and stopping at the many overlooks. Last year, we picked up an audio tour of the Park Loop Road at the Visitor’s Center. Luckily, we kept it because it came in handy taking my family around. We did get a few funny looks from other motorists when we stopped at several of the vantage points and sat, unspeaking, staring out the windshield, but it is a great way to learn more about the area than the signs tell you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this audio tour is sold online, but I do recommend you purchase it at the visitor’s center when you arrive at the park.
The crowds are already gathering at Thunder Hole in the morning.
The Park Loop Road can get very congested, so I recommend you begin your drive early before the crowds arrive. Because the sun rises so early in Maine, my whole family was up most days before 6 AM (the house we were staying in could have used some blackout curtains, that is for sure!) so it wasn’t difficult to get an early start on our tour. Even with an early morning start, the popular stops were already brimming with people. By the time we got to Jordan Pond House for lunch, there was not a parking spot to be had. I think Chris circled for over 3o minutes trying to find a place to park. They told us it would be a 20 minute wait to be seated and he wasn’t back when our buzzer went off. If you are planning on stopping at Jordan Pond House at lunchtime, I recommend you park at Hull’s Cove and take the bus. Last year we didn’t have a problem parking, but we dined in the early afternoon.
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back next week to read more about our Mainely Acadia trip! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
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2018 has been one of the biggest years for photography for me so far. While I feel like my landscape work has been pretty stagnant over the last few years. I definitely improved my portrait game this year. We continued our photography tours in 2018 and we are looking at how we can continue and come up with new classes for next year.
Catwalk at frozen St. Joseph Lighthouse
We had our biggest portrait job ever this year, photographing over one hundred families for our church directory. We also shot a wedding this year and I did my first ever infant shoot. We even got a few senior shoots in too and did a little more sports photography.
In terms of landscape photography, we started off the year with a trip to frozen Lake Michigan lighthouses (left). Early in the summer, we explored the Hocking Hills region of Ohio which really blew me away. I really want to return there when the colors change. That would be beautiful!
We also returned to a favorite campground, Straits State Park in St. Ignace and took a day trip to Sault Ste. Marie to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Michigan’s oldest city. Of course, at the end of the summer, we took a great road trip to Boston, Acadia National Park, and Watkins Glen. As unbelievably beautiful as it was at Acadia, the sheer vastness was difficult to capture. Watkins Glen (right) was one of the most stunning places I have ever visited and I have been telling everyone I meet that they need to check it out. It really isn’t a bad drive from Michigan. If you would make the drive to the U.P., Watkins Glen is a similar distance.
Us at Watkins Glen
We finally upgraded our camera this year to a Nikon D7200. I can no longer say that I shoot with an entry level camera. We had rented them a few times so I was excited to finally own one. When you hit the top of your camera’s abilities, it feels so good to upgrade and be able to do the things that your camera was keeping you from. In this case the biggest thing was ISO sensitivity and low light capability. Even with the new camera, I think my favorite photo I took all year may be the Jordan Pond House photo I took with my iPhone (top).
This has been a good year for photography and exploring new places. I am looking forward to 2019 for more of the same! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
On our second day at Acadia National Park, we set out to hike the Jordan Pond Trail. Jordan Pond is one of the iconic features of the park and by taking the trail around it, you get into the woods and experience the real Acadia. As I mentioned in last week’s post, after two hot days in Maine, a storm rolled in and cooled it down to more comfortable, hiking weather.
The View from the Jordan Pond House
The trail begins near the Jordan Pond House Restaurant (left). The 4.3 mile trail is described as an easy, family, friendly hike. 2/3 of the trail are pressed dirt and boardwalks but the rough, rocky terrain near the back side of the pond surprised me. There were some spots where it was hard to get my footing and I was worried I was going to fall. If you want to enjoy the park and get away from the crowds, I recommend taking a hike. The parking lot was full, but it felt like we were the only people on the trail.
We were hoping to do some more hiking before we left Acadia but the weather did not cooperate. Chris really wanted to hike Bubble Rock (the mountain the can be seen straight back in both of the photos). Somehow, its described as an easy hike. How can climbing up a mountain be easy? Anyway, it stormed on our last day so we left early and began heading home. We will have to come back to Acadia another day and maybe I’ll be brave enough to conquer the Bubble.
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back next week as we photograph Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
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