Monday, 29 May 2006

Blackwoods Campground to Seawalls campground

After 2 nights under the trees at Blackwoods Campground, the tent and everything else was covered with a thick film of pollen. It would pay to have hayfever here. the campground was noticeably quieter this morning, many people having packed up to travel home at the end of Memorial Day weekend. I had a leisurely breakfast and then packed up the bike. The day was cool and cloudy - good for cycling. From the campground I headed north on the SR 3 towards Bar Harbor. En route I stopped off at the 'Wild Garden of Acadia' - a small botanical garden which was quite nice but perhaps a little too early in the season to be at its best. Some plant had yet to appear and often it was difficult to tell which plant belonged to which label.

Bar Harbor itself is a pretty bustling little tourist town as you might imagine. I went to the China Joy restaurant for lunch ($.58) my fortune cookiw tells me that "The stars appear every night in the sky. All is well." I spent $10.70 on the internet trying to catch up on blog...

The cloud had suddenly cleared and it was now a hot day once again. I heeaded out of Bar Harbor, after stocking up on food, on the SR 3 so that I could check out the CAT ferry terminal for ferries going over to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Check-in time is 7 am so that will be a nice early start. I also checked out the nearest campsite, which is 3 miles from the terminal. I then headed off on a tour of Mount Desert Island, turning off the busy SR 3 onto Norway Drive and then Crooked Road; both nice quiet roads. I was heading for the quieter western part of the island but was disappointed that the Indian Point Road and later the SR 102 didn't have the scenic views I'd hoped for. Much of the SR 102 was pretty rough, the road surface being very broken up especially at the edges so it can be a rough ride and you have to keep your wits about you. Often I'm cycling close to the centre of the road which is no bad thing as it forces drivers to slow down. (I had a few today driving too close, but that was mainly on the busier SR 3)

It was getting late by the time I reached Bass Harbor so I had no time to stop, expect for a quick visit to the lighthouse. A coouple of more miles brought me to Seawall Campground, another site operated by the National Park Service. there was no-one at the office so I just had to find myself a nice quiet pitch. The mosquitoes here are altogether more annoying and persistent, so even I resorted to lighting a fire but even this is not as effective as you might think. I probably smelled as smoked as a kipper. I don't think my natural oils insect repellent is working too well, it just makes everything oily; unless that's the idea - you apply so much that the little buggers just slide off.

Distance: 39.4 miles
Cycling time: 4:16
Total distance: 501.3 miles