The sun came out today. We slept a little bit later this morning, maybe until 6:30 and woke to 45°, but there were blue gaps between the clouds. After breakfast we walked down to the picnic area to look at the seabirds. In addition to the usual eiders, cormorants and gulls, we spotted some Red-necked Grebes (and also a few seals). Ellen didn't have her camera, so we returned to camp and drove back in Speedy.
Ellen was able to get a few good shots of the grebes. On the way up from the beach, we saw a Hairy Woodpecker, not one we see often at home, and a little bird in one of the bare trees. After a bit of bird guide searching, Ellen finally identified it as a Blue-headed Vireo, a new life list bird for her.
It was then back to Cadillac Mountain to the hawk watch. The wind was out of the north again today and there was a fair bit of sun. When we arrived, after 10AM, they'd already seen abut a 100 hawks. A group of five Broad-winged Hawks were circling up (kettling) on a thermal right in front of us. Hawks continued to come along right up until we broke for lunch in Speedy. By the time we finished lunch, the clouds had returned. Things were a little slower in the afternoon, but we did see a Merlin, another life list bird for Ellen, and a juvenile Bald Eagle, among others. They had seen about 170 by the time we left.
It was time time for us to move on...but first an afternoon latte to warm up. As I was sitting in Speedy drinking my coffee, a couple pulled in next to us on a BMW F800GS, identical to mine. Needless to say, I had to go out and talk with them. They were Swiss and they'd shipped their RV over from Europe with the F800 on the back. They'd just arrived in the US and were starting in Maine and heading south and west on a six month trip. We talked about riding in the Appalachians as the went south and also in the west.
I wished them well and we headed down the mountain to do some bicycling. Somehow we have been unable to bike the carriage roads on a sunny warm day. It was cool, breezy and cloudy when we reached the Visitor Center parking lot. Our plan was to start there on the loop around Witch Hole Pond and decide when we got to the first junction if we wanted to continue down to the Eagle Lake loop (site of our rained out ride earlier in the week).
Even though the ride started with a steep climb form the visitor center to the pond, the rest of the ride to the first junction was pleasant. We saw a couple of unidentifiable ducks in the pond (maybe a teal and a merganser, but they were too far away). At the junction we took the road to Eagle Lake. On the way we passed a beaver pond with and active beaver lodge. We didn't see any beaver (it was too early in the day), but there was a freshly cut (or is that gnawed) down tree right next to the road. At Eagle Lake we rode the loop in the opposite direction than we did on Tuesday, then went back along he connecting road and completed the Witch Hole Pond loop, nearly 14 miles in all.
By the time we got back to Speedy it was after 5PM. Since we didn't think that we would make it back to camp before dark, we abandoned out planned dinner—grilling in the dark is no fun. Instead we stopped at the Sawyer's Lobster Pound, about a mile from the campground for take-out. Clam chowder, a haddock sandwich for Ellen, a clam roll for me, with french roast ice cream (Ellen) and blueberry pie (Steve) for dessert. We drove to the Seawall picnic area, parked on the shorefront and had dinner in the fading light.
Unfortunately, it sounds better than it was. Buying food from places named Sawyers in Southwest Harbor has not been very satisfying for us. Yesterday we stopped at Sawyer's market for some very over-priced groceries—prices that Whole Foods would be ashamed of. The meal tonight was equally over-priced and not even mediocre. The clam chowder was lacking in clams and was mostly liquid (lacking in potatoes as well). Mine container was only about 2/3's full as well. The clams in my clam roll were quite soggy and Ellen's haddock we nothing special. The ice cream was supposedly a local small-batch gourmet brand but was pretty grainy. The only saving grace was the blueberry pie. It was a two crust pie with a flaky crust and a thick filling of sweet small wild Maine blueberries.
A last note: At the campground ranger station they post a notice board every morning with the weather forecast, the sunrise and sunset times and the tide times and heights. Today they added one more fact: "3 Ships, 5800 ppl". There were, in fact, three big cruise ships in Bar Harbor today. It was just like a weather warning, only a crowd warning—5800 extra people in town today. We didn't join them.
I picked up a copy of the Southwest Harbor and Tremont Port Directory the other day. It contains the complete cruise ship schedule for 2013. There have been ships stopping in Bar Harbor nearly every day since May 27th and will continue until October 20th, with as many a three in a single day. There have been 11 ships in the harbor since we arrived last week. It must be good for some businesses, but is it really good for Bar Harbor?
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