ACADIA NATIONAL PARK IN MAINE

We arrived in Acadia National Park and fell in love with it, so promptly booked an extra 3 days giving us a week here.
Acadia National Park, located on the rock-bound Maine Island of Mount Desert (pronounced dessert - only in America!), protects more than 49,000 acres of granite-domed mountains (all less than 1530ft), forests, meadowlands, marshes, Somes Sound, the only fjord in the contiguous states and stunning ocean shorelines everywhere. With 120 miles of hiking trails, 45 miles of carriage roads and a 27 mile scenic drive its a little gem.
We chose Seawall Campground on the quieter, western side of the island with the ocean 10 minutes walk away.

Acadia Mountain

Roy "bagging the peaks!"

 
We hiked many of the mountains and let me tell you that even though most only reach around 1200ft, these little mountains have attitude, some tough climbs and most starting at sea level!
Maine means lobster, so we have managed to eat a fair bit and of course we had to try the Clam Chowder(delicous) topped off with Maine wild Blueberry pie(we think it looked like Bear scat!) and endless ice cream, my favourite was Maine Maple Walnut - Roy just likes them all!
Near the end of our week here we discovered the Common Good Soup Kitchen offering wifi, coffee and popovers ( like mini Yorkshire puddings with butter and jam - yummy). A great place that operates every morning throughout the summer and you just give a donation. They say that with the money they get it, it lets them open during the harsh winter and put on meals, entertainment and activities for the local community.

Lobster buoys

Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island - Acadia NP

Sand Beach

Summit of Cadillac mountain

Cadillac mountain

Our last day in Acadia we decided that we should hike up Cadillac Mountain, we had driven up its 1530 feet domed summit by car on the scenic drive. Of course the weather changed and Roy said it would be good to go up Dorr Mountain1270ft first. Remind me never to trust Roy's map reading skills again - there was a gorge that separated them which was horrendous and then it started raining and the trail down from Cadillac was a nightmare over granite rock like ice. Still we made it - took 5 hours to hike 4.3 miles! 

Pemetic Mountain

lunch stop

Roy playing silly faces with a rock!

Jordan Pond

North East Harbor

 Sunshine made us stay another day in Arcadia and we drove round to the mainland to tour the tiny Schoodic Peninsula, part of Acadia National Park, granite headlands, rocky beaches and spruce-fir forests. - similar to Desert Island but more intimate and secluded.
Crashing waves, eider ducks,many mighty Monarch butterflies on their migration to Mexico, made for a great day, then on the way back we stopped at a lobster pound near our campsite where we found out the answers to our lobster questions. Why do they call it a lobster pound where they cook them? - first reason was maybe because they sell lobsters by the pound and second reason was likening it to a dog pound - somewhere to keep them safe until they decide what to do with them! They steam them in a small amount of water. Are they alive when they are dropped in - yes. do they scream? No but the clams do! He was such a joker! But did you know that the lobster is an arachnid - spider family - it has 8 legs and has hardly any nervous system - so he says!
Au revoir Acadia.

Ladder trail up Dorr Mountain

The ladder!

filling up for winter

Cadillac Mountain in the background - the gorge between - unseen!

view from Dorr mountain

two poorlies! - dont argue with the mountain!

Blueberry (Bear scat )pie

Schoodic Peninsula

worn out again after lunch

mighty Mammoth

Wansqueak Harbor

Lobster Pound

NEW BRUNSWICK CANADA TO MAINE USA

Grand Falls minus the falls!

more of Grand Falls

  Leaving Quebec City we decided we would spend one more day in Canada and visit New Brunswick. Travelling north then east we enjoyed the big rolling, rugged, forested hills and the peaceful roads and supposedly potato fields. We have now been in every time zone of the USA as now on Atlantic time, just 4 hours behind UK, but just until we reach Maine.
We visited Grand Falls - a deep, dramatic gorge splitting the town in two. Would be a stunning place in the spring but in the Fall there were no falls! Moving further east we arrived at Hartland and the longest covered bridge in the world - 1282 feet with a walkway at the side which we took instead of taking the trailer through. Roy was sure we would fit but we didn't want to tempt fate twice as we would have had to turn around and come back through it.
Finally we returned to the good old U.S.A. and into Maine. No problems with customs!
We are now in Bangor and moving today to spend 5 nights in Acadia National Park with no services.

inside the bridge on walkway

We drove here thinking we were going to get 30 different kinds of "chips" as in UK type as thats what they call them in Canada but they were crisps - it was a crisp factory

QUEBEC CITY

We are never buying another trailer! What a nightmare trying to sort out the tax and get them to send our tag. We have resorted to asking our friendly UPS manager to go and collect it and post it to us in Maine, bless him, he is going to shut the store and go in his lunch hour. Can you imagine the man in the post office in England doing that? 
Finally everything is sorted and our tag should be arriving next week, Phew!
A great day was spent playing tourists in Quebec, we met up with Jo and Michael again and they joined our "Roy led tour"
A lovely old city with ramparts, a citadel, Chateau Frontenac, St Lawrence River, Notre Dame de Quebec, a criterium bike ride, lots of narrow, pretty streets and hundreds of steps. We had a fun time.

Chateau Frontenac

Chateau Frontenac

Terrasse Dufferin, Roy, Jo and Michael

Governors Promenade and St Lawrence river

criterium

looks like York!

carriage ride rest

Break neck steps

Notre Dame de Quebec

Chateau Frontenac

TORONTO TO QUEBEC

We swept through Toronto, hoping to be able to park at the CN Tower with our rig on a Labour Day weekend but traffic was manic, so we made do with a photo on the move and the thought that we cannot do everything! It was lovely driving past the beautiful beaches but not so much fun through the slum areas to escape the chaotic city.

CN Tower taken on the move

We drove north, originally to visit some friends we met earlier in the year, but as they were miles away on their trawler, we settled for seeing the Kirkfield Lift Lock, a magnificent piece of engineering raising boats 49 feet in seconds up and down the Trent-Severn Waterway, the second highest hydraulic lift lock in the world. Then next day we saw the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world at Peterborough which lifts the boats 65 feet - truly amazing.

Kirkfield Lift Lock

 
 

the biggest lift lock at Peterborough

cleaning the lake

St Lawrence Seaway

Eastwards to the St Lawrence Seaway then north via Ottawa, got lost in the centre, drove through the business area and Little Italy before finding our way north over the bridge and away.
Mountains at last, well, pretty forested hills interspersed with ski slopes but it makes a change from the flat lands.
We got entangled in the Labour Day queues as everyone headed home to Montreal but after 2 hours in a jam we finally arrived at our campsite.
We camped near Mont Tremblant as we had arranged to meet Roy's daughter Jo and her husband Michael who were staying in St Jovite. We spent a great day with them, Michael drove us into Mont Tremblant and we enjoyed a boat ride, walks round the town, almost a trip on the cable car which was stopped as there was a threat of a storm(never arrived) so we enjoyed a beer instead. They came back to see our trailer and to eat - a lovely day!
Today we have arrived on the outskirts of Quebec - tourist day tomorrow

Roy, Jo his daughter and Michael her husband

pretty village at Mont Tremblant

boys will be boys!

view form the free cable cat that takes you to the top of the town

An American Bittern

boat ride

Michael and yachts

Sleeping Giant mountain at end of lake

Beer instead of cable car ride!