Park Loop Road

After hiking the Sargent Loop Trail, our whirlwind tour of Acadia National Park continued as I headed back to the hotel for a quick shower, picked up Danelle and the kids, grabbed some lunch at a local Lobster Pound and went back into the park to drive the Park Loop Road.

You have no idea how hard I looked to find the right angle and wait for the right moment to make Sand Beach look deserted.  Why I didn't realize that a beach would be crowded on a hot summer day is beyond me.

The drive was nice, but the light in the afternoon was a little harsh for great pictures.  We stopped at Thunder Hole, drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain and then headed back to town for dinner.

Bonus trip after dinner, and not exactly on the Park Loop Road.  But Taryn came with me out to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse to shoot the sunset.  Well worth the trip.

Back up before dawn and back up to the top of Cadillac Mountain for sunrise.  I was bummed when I arrived to see a dozen other cars in the parking lot.  By the time I left, the lot was completely full.  So this view isn't exactly a secret.  But nor should it be -- it's too good for the soul.

We didn't stop at Otter Cliff on Friday.  Way too crowded. Not so at 6:00 Saturday morning.

This was definitely a better time to be there.  Photographers don't call the hour after sunrise the "golden hour" for nothing.

The warm, low light illuminated the terrain gorgeously.

This was the solitude I had hoped to find on top of Cadillac Mountain.  Just me and the waves lapping against the shore.

Eventually it was time to be on my way.  But not before one more stop at Bubble Pond, another place we'd skipped the previous day.

Sitting on the shore I heard a call I didn't recognize from just off to my left, but far enough into the undergrowth that I couldn't see what was making it.  A few seconds later it was answered from my right.  I waited and hoped that their sources would make their way to the water, but they never did.  They did keep up their back-and-forth communication for a while, though.  And after a little online research I'm convinced that it was a pair of moose.  I imagine one was warning the other not to come down for a drink; another nosy human was hanging around. :)

As a photographer I'm always hoping to capture a memorable visual.  But Acadia instead chose to give me an audible gift I'll never forget.