12 Oakdale

Acadia stuck me as a mirror to the Everglades: one has to find the majesty in subtly. Nothing particularly took my breath away, yet there was much to enjoy at a micro level. We did get up early enough to see the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain, albeit not from the top. Rather than parking in the west lot and hoofing it up to the summit, we opted to retreat a little down and used a pullout all to ourselves. We sat on boulders, having the truck as a wind barrier. It was our second time up the mountain, so we weren’t concerned about walking around on the paths at the top. We took a carriage ride with Mike as our guide and his granddaughter Sally driving most of the time. Horses Charlie and Charmer did the work, pulling the wagon on roads built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., beginning, I believe, in 1904, continuing until the start of World War II. Mike claimed his operation of 26 horses puts $100,000+ each year into the Mount Desert economy, hiring locals to work in the barns and drive the ...

We must have the shadiest campsite in the park, A10. Normally good; bad for using our solar panels to charge our Jackery battery. I said, after dealing with ice at Yellowstone last year, I was buying a Dometic camping fridge. Which we did, using an Amazon card for a 5% rebate and having a 20% off coupon. Still about $1500 for the setup. Not having soggy cold food: priceless. Fortunately, the Tacoma has an AC outlet in the bed, so we plug either the fridge or the battery in when we drive. We can also charge phones, iPads, and Grant’s hearing aides from either battery or car. Not exactly camping like my parents did. We have cell service at our site. I suspect this is more a bleed over from all the nearby towns rather than the National Park Service having added towers. This means I can read downloaded library books on my iPad while lying on my cot. Yes, we’ve added cots to our baggage, thank goodness, (even though I find mine pretty uncomfortable), because there is no way I could get up f...