Bar Harbor Whale Watching Trip

 The Bar Harbor Whale Watching Company located on West Street.   They also do many other smaller tours to include lighthouses, wildlife, and bay cruises.  

 

We arrived very early to get a good parking spot and seats for our trip.   This vessel uses jet propulsion like a jet ski and is very safe around whales and wildlife since it has no propeller. It also travels about 35 knots which is pretty fast for its size. 

We decided on the upper level to have a good advantage point to see the wildlife. We were hoping to see whale breaches that we did not get to see on our previous whale trip.   

While leaving the harbor, we had an opportunity to see some of the million dollars estates along Frenchmen Bay.   These are referred to as cottages.  Some cottages! 

Million Dollar Row.   Homes of America's super-rich and powerful families the Ford's, Rockefellers, Gettys, and Vanderbilts along with presidents and vice presidents.   

The weather was very warm this day, 90 degrees in the harbor and the seas were extremely calm.  At sea however, the temperature was a little chilly.  You needed a sweater at times.   We took ice water and snacks for our 3–4-hour trip. 

After an hour or so we spotted our first whales.  I decided to use video mode instead of photos.  I turned on the camera and hit the record button when I saw a whale come up.   Much easier than trying to catch each camera shot. 

 3 Whales - YouTube

Our first contact, three whales.  The video takes a second to adjust but you can see all three whales. 

Whales Dolphins - YouTube

Did not realize for a while that there were a family of dolphins swimming alongside the whales.   We counted more than five dolphins in the group. Not sure why this happens, but we were very lucky to experience this during our trip. 

We also had an opportunity to see Mt. Desert Island Lighthouse, 18 nautical miles from Bay Harbor. College of the Atlantic researchers stay on the island in the summer months and depart for the winter. It was automated in 1977. 

Although we had a good time, we never saw any whale breaches, but we were extremely happy to see the dolphins swimming along with the whales.   All in all, a very nice day out on the ocean. 

Acadia NP - The North and South Bubble Summits and Bubble Rock

 

Trailhead marker for the South Bubbles & Bubbles Rock Hikes.  We departed 7:30 a.m. to be sure to get a parking spot at the lot for our hikes. It's a holiday weekend and evidence from our Cadillac Mountain sunrise trip, the park is full. 

. The Bubbles are two mountains at the north end of Jorden Pond.  As you can see, various rocks need to be scrambled to hike the trail.  We decided to hike the North Bubble first. 

This is one of the few flat sections of the trail. 

Average trails in Acadia NP exceed 17% grade, so you are going up quickly. 

Large rocks need to be climbed as well. It is rocky, but if you are in good shape, it's not a problem. 

As you near the top, boulders form your pathway.  Some are wet and slippery, so you have to be careful. 

Blue paint, as seen in this photo are painted on rocks to mark your way. Think of these as breadcrumbs, so when in doubt as to which way to go, look for blue paint. 

A nice view of Jorden's Pond at the North Bubble.  The hike was .7 miles to the top, but the trail was fairly steep.  

Elevation 873 feet at the summit. You can move around and see other views great views of the pond. 

Me at the top.  While called a pond, this is a lake in my book.  Jorden Pond is 150 feet deep. That's a pretty deep pond!

We hiked back to the trail marker to travel to the South Bubble.  The trail was very similar to hike for the North Bubble but a little shorter in length.

The South Bubble Trail is 0.4 in length.  The area around Bubble Rock is a great place to take photos and explore, but you have to be careful as the cliffs are quite steep.

Once at the top you have views of two mountains, one pond and one Lake.

Eagles Lake at the South Bubbles 

Kathy uses a program called "Map My Walk" to track our trails and times. This hike was a great warm up for other planned hikes in Acadia National Park.