Southwest Harbor, ME is one island that is in a grouping of islands just off the coast of Maine.  Even though it’s an island, it’s only separated from the mainland by about a 6 foot channel, and during low tide you can walk across it without getting your knees wet.  The island is called Mt. Desert Island  although the island is not at all a desert, it’s lush and green and forested.  We asked several locals why it was called Mt. Desert Island and got several different answers, the Natl Park information indicated it was because when Champlain discovered it the tops of the two largest mountains were bald, thus looking like deserts.  The largest mountain in Cadillac Mountain which is about 1,500 feet high.  The others aren’t even 1,000 feet high, but along the coast that’s higher than anything else around.

We took a cruise around the islands and saw one village on an island where there are about 70 people, all are lobster fishermen.  They have some cars on the island, not registered or inspected or anything, and get to and from the larger Mt. Desert Island by the mail boat which goes back and forth several times a day.  No cars on the mail boat!  We saw an eagle in the very top of a pine tree, and an egret nest with an egret in it.  We also saw some sea lions on a rocky outcropping as well as beautiful scenery and some really expensive “summer camps” of the rich people that summer in this area.

We also took a drive through the Acadia National Park one day, which is wholly located on Mt. Desert Island.  It became a national park in the early 1900s when the rich folks who summered here saw more and more people move to the island and they realized they wanted it to stay less populated and more natural, so they formed a conservation group and bought up about 33,000 acres and after managing it themselves for a while, donated it to the National Park system.  Thus, Acadia National Park.  Our drive took us along the coast for quite a while, then inland and up to the top of Cadillac Mountain where there are some great views of the islands and ocean!

Here are some photos we took during the cruise around the islands and through the National Park: