Enjoying the stops to Mount Desert Island, Maine

Leaving busy Camden Harbor we sailed east through the Fox Island Thorofare again.  However, this time we continued to travel all the way through to "one of the most rustic and unspoiled anchorages on Vinalhaven Island" according to our cruising guide.

We have to agree with them that Winter Harbor is a special place and especially protected as dark storm clouds passed close to our north.  This bright rainbow shown between passes of storms that went by.

Huge granite boulders and rocks were fun to climb and explore.  During the ten foot low tide folks came to collect mussels growing on the boulders.  At dusk we heard and could see through our binoculars four seals talking about which of them would remain on the rock as the tide rose.  It looked like a game they were playing to knock each other into the water until another seal bumped them off.

Some sheer rock walls on the banks were over 150 feet high.

We left Winter Harbor and sailed through Deer Isle Thorofare, another passage between the many islands.  Stonington, a town of houses built into the side of the hill sloping down to the water, is home to fishermen, lobster boats and granite quarry workers.

Passing through the town moorings we saw an interesting boat made of concrete and a tall ship called Victory Chimes.  There were many tents set up on the town shore for some celebration.  Perhaps we should have stopped but we sailed on.

After a quiet night anchored in Pickering Cove, we sailed on to Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island and picked up a mooring.  Mount Desert Island is home to many private residents and also to Acadia National Park.  We dinghied ashore to check in with the Harbormaster and found lots of company at the dinghy dock, over fifty dinghies tied up.  Always room for one more....

Cruisers we met back at Booth Bay Harbor shared that the best way for boaters to visit the Park was to avoid too busy Bar Harbor and moor at Northeast Harbor, so we did. When you pay for a mooring here, you gain access to the Yachtsman Center for showers, wi-fi connection, trash drop off, dinghy docking and a lounge area. L.L.Bean provides busses that follow routes all over the Park and Island with a stop here at Northeast.  It is a very convenient way to visit the Island.  We walked to explore the little town and found a lookout over the Harbor with Priority tethered to its mooring.You can see that picking up a mooring is the best way to go rather than to try and anchor in an area like this harbor.  The busy harbors tend to be crowded allowing no swing room for an anchored boat and the ten foot tides limit boats to fairly deep water. Priority is moored right in the middle of the photo.

Following a trail along the Asticou stream we found a bench and enjoyed the cool stream bank.

The trail led to beautiful Asticou Gardens and the Thuya Lodge & Gardens, similar to  mini-Longwood Gardens. Mount Desert Island was a summer place for many wealthy folks back in the early 1900's.  A 26-day-long fire destroyed many homes and land in 1947 .  When rebuilding began again, more affluent homes were built in the Northeast Harbor area when these Gardens were created for residents and their guests.  We certainly did enjoy them today.

We were glad we visited the Gardens on a sunny Monday because Tuesday has been rainy and foggy.  The bad weather day was  good to get laundry done downtown and to ride a few Park bus routes to explore the Island.  It helped us make plans for when the rain stops.