Lynn WiezyckiOne of the most popular locations in Acadia National Park is
Jordan Pond.
After trying to get a parking spot (in a very large lot, by the way) for several days, we decided to try the early bird method! We arrived at 7:30 am and were greeted with a completely empty parking lot!
Details from Wikipedia
Jordan Pond is an oligotrophic tarn in Acadia National Park near the town of Bar Harbor, Maine. The pond covers 187 acres to a maximum depth of 150 feet with a shoreline of 3.6 miles. The pond was formed by the Wisconsin Ice Sheet during the last glacial period.
Our Visit
We gathered up our gear and headed toward the pond. There is a trail that goes around the entire pond but it is somewhat rough in areas and much of it is rough-hewn wood walkways.
The classic image at Jordan Pond is taken from the shore down from Jordan Pond House (a historic restaurant (with popovers) and a shop). This image features the rocks just offshore, Jordan Pond, and the twin Bubbles at the opposite end.
There are other trails in this area of Acadia NP but I wanted to shoot and see the various views around the pond so I decided to go as far as I could along the trail around the pond as time allowed.
I initially took the trail to the right hoping to get the sunlight on the opposite shore as the sun rose. But what I found as I rounded one of the curves was that the rising sun was skimming over the fall-colored trees on my side of the pond.
As I walked along the sun was lighting up more and more of the trees!
I pulled out my infrared converted camera a couple of times although it was hard to stop shooting all the fall colors that were finally appearing! This image was made from a small “bridge” that goes over this off-shoot of Jordan Pond.
Continuing on this side of the trail, I realized that the sun was really too harsh on the opposite side of the pond so I decided to turn around and try the other side.
Most of the trail going to the left from the shore below Jordan Pond House is pretty wet so they have built a walkway made from 2 rough-hewn slices of wood.
The shore along this side is not as accessible as the other side and by this time the light was even getting harsh across the pond. Always adapting to what I am given, I started concentrating on the small scenes along the trail.
My time was running short so I turned back toward Jordan Pond House. Someday I will make sure I allow enough time to make the trek all the way around the pond!
I walked up by Jordan Pond House to see if there were any flowers blooming in their gardens (many flowers and butterflies in September during my last visit) and to see if they were open so we could get some popovers but unfortunately, there were no flowers and the restaurant was closed!
When we walked back to our vehicle we knew we had timed our visit perfectly as the lot was totally full!
From Jordan Pond, we drove a short way down the loop road to the location of my next blog post. But after our second visit to this location, we drove into Bar Harbor to try to find the elusive popover! We did a Google search and found a place on the main drag in Bar Harbor that should have popovers.
Popovers, Finally!
The Coffee Hound at The Stadium in downtown Bar Harbor is where we found our popovers! They are a small walk-in cafe. It was lunchtime so we ordered our last lobsta rolls and asked about the popovers. We were told that they had popovers in the oven. We asked to pre-purchase some and they said that they did not do that in case the batch did not “popover”. So, we got our lobsta rolls and some good coffee and tea and stood to the side and waited. I was the lucky one as I was the first in line waiting as many others came in behind us for popovers! As the oven timer went off and we watched them bring the popovers out, we could see they were perfectly popped over. With some choices for toppings, I, of course, picked Maine wild blueberry jam!
We walked down the street to Agamont Park, found a couple of benches, hurriedly ate the lobsta rolls (believe it or not), and then finally got to taste a popover! Mine was just as good as the ones I had eaten at Asticou Inn on a previous visit! The newbie popover eaters were sold!
I highly recommend a visit to Jordan Pond but remember to go early! Try to get into Jordan Pond House to try out their menu and especially their popovers but if you miss the popovers there, try Coffee Hound in Bar Harbor!
The previous afternoon, right after Jordan Pond, and for a third visit, after lobsta rolls and popovers in Bar Harbor, we visited Sieur de Monts in Acadia National Park. I had never even heard of this place and it is now my favorite place in Acadia! Check out my next blog post to see the beauty that is Sieur de Monts!
For a larger version, please click on any image or visit my Jordan Pond Gallery for these and additional images.
That is all for now.
Lynn
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