Sept 7, 2019 – Acadia, Bar Harbor
When we got up this morning, it was obvious that Hurricane Dorian had arrived in northern Maine. It was raining……one of those steady, unrelenting rains that can cause a lot of flooding. Within and hour or two, the wind picked up and was blowing steadily at 20-30 mph. Here in Bar Harbor, it rained steady and hard until about 3pm. We didn’t have any more rain after that, but the strong winds lasted until the sun went down.
We located at the blue dot below
There were a few gusts that really rattled Alice….I could tell she was rattled because she was creaking (not screeching!). During the day, the temperature stayed in the low to mid 50’s until it started cooling off again around dusk. It’s not that the 50’s is particularly cold…..but when you combine temps in the 50’s with cloudy skies, steady rain, and gusty wind, the result is a very ugly weather day.
Since this was our last day in Acadia and Bar Harbor, we decided to put on our rain gear and head to the park……in a hurricane (or at least the remnants of a hurricane)! But I have to admit, I was aware that the weakened storm might still be producing a spectacular “show” of waves crashing along the rocky coast. With Hurricane Dorian approaching, the warnings were already posted about the high surf expected. High surf = bigger, higher volume waves = more spectacular wave crashes against the large coastal rocks! So maybe there was at least a little payoff for the misery of walking around in the cold wind and rain to check out another beautiful, but very different coastal view, and get a few pictures.
We stopped and walked around a little at the very popular Sand Beach area. It’s a 300 yard long beach with sand that is made up of crushed shells that have turned to sand over millions of years. There were stairs leading down to Sand Beach but given the weather and the concern for public safety, the park service barricaded all “improved” access points designed to give people easier access to the rocks and surf. Good idea.
We walked over to another area near Sand Beach to check out the expected big surf……we were disappointed to see that it really wasn’t that big. The waves were just a little bigger than normal, and fairly spread out. With all the hype about the hurricane, a lot of people figured there would be exceptionally high surf, and lots of spectacular wave crashes on the rocks. It turned out to be be much less than expected, at least while we were there. But what the heck……we went to a couple neat places and made the most of our last day at Acadia and Bar Harbor, even if it was a cloudy, rainy, windy day.
Sand Beach
Do I look like I’m having fun?! Actually, we did have a pretty good day. These areas are beautiful in any weather or season.
Just behind me, remnants of Dorian….
We saved what we hoped would be the best, for last. It’s a place called “Thunder Hole”. In that area of the coast, there is surface level cave that empties and fills with water as the waves go in and out. When the water rushes back into and fills the cave, it produces a deep thunder-like sound…..but it wasn’t real loud. With the weather forecast, we thought we would hear a friggin thunder storm….but all we got were some rumbles!
We were pretty amazed at the number of people that were in the park and getting outside their cars on such a rainy, windy, and chilly day. It wasn’t the normal Saturday crowd I’m sure…..but still a lot of people. Also, I’m typically not a “mudder”…..but since it was our last day and Nancy wanted to go, I toughed it out. And like many other times I hesitated on something Nancy wanted to do, I went and had a good time. Thanks to Nancy for her patience!
We stopped at The Tailgate Sports Bar in Bar Harbor to have a pizza and a beer, and watch some of the Ohio State game. It didn’t take long for the Bucks to get way ahead so we left at halftime.
Despite getting a lot of rain, we didn’t see any signs of flooding. I don’t know, but I guess when you’re living on an island that is a giant slab of granite, normal heavy rain just works its way back to the ocean pretty quickly!
We really didn’t even consider that Dorian might be a problem for us. We were lucky. We only got 20-30 mph winds and a lot of rain for a few hours. By the time it got here, it just didn’t have much punch left. But we know others felt Hurricane Dorian much more. Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by this most recent natural disaster.
When we got home today, we could smell Nancy’s dinner cooking in the crockpot…..pot roast and veggies and potatoes. It was delicious! Tomorrow we move to Lake Pemaquid campground, which is a little further south in Damariscotta, ME.