At Last, Acadia!

Trenton, Maine   High: 73  Low: 64

Two years ago, we came to Bar Harbor, our first destination after leaving Indiana, starting full timing in June, 2010. We headed straight for Maine, then worked our way across the northern states and headed out west. We spent almost a week at Smuggler's Den in the Bar Harbor area to explore Acadia National Park. The cost this year at Smuggler's Den is anywhere from 45.00 on up. Prices for a big rig in the Bar Harbor area average 50.00 a night and up. We liked the campground, but looked for something cheaper this time around. And actually, we went and looked at Smuggler's Den again today, and it's not as easy for a big rig to get into and around in there, even though we did it two years ago in a 38 foot Damon Challenger. Tight turns, narrow lots, lots of tree roots. The pool is really tiny.

So-o-o-...we're taking advantage of two Encore park specials in the Bar Harbor area that we saw in Trailblazer magazine that are available to Thousand Trails members. The first one is for 199.00 for one week plus a 3.00 a day resort fee, plus taxes to stay at Narrows Too, in Trenton, Maine, just across the river from Mt. Desert Island where Acadia National Park is located. The second week in the area we will be spending at Mt. Desert Narrows Campground which is just on the other side of the bridge ON Mt. Desert Island and the price for that week is 99.00. Woo-hoo! Now THAT is a great deal! We'll tell you more about our parks as we go through our days in them.

Typical site at Narrows Too

We are at Narrows Too campground in Trenton, ME this week. We have 50 amp, full hookup, and great cable. Wi-fi is extra. Since we came in on a special, we don't have a choice of site, they put you in the least expensive, least pretty view of the campground, as a rule. We started out being placed on a site facing the busy two lane highway, highway 3 East. We really didn't want to be right out there by the road, so Sparky sweet talked her way a little further into the campground. It helped that one of the park's workers, at the front desk, was a gal we met at a South Carolina campground one night and we chatted away about full timing and the fact that they were heading to Bar Harbor, ME for the summer. And here she was, working the front desk! So she kindly moved us away from the street. The gravel sites are level, there is ample room between them in some of the sections, in others it's a little more crowded, like where we are.

There's a lower level with sites that have some wonderful views of the ocean, and there's a small pool for swimming. There's very little shade in the park, so it's a good thing temperatures are coming down the two weeks we are in the area.

primo site--ocean view at Narrows Too-100.00 a nite!

We are in what I would call the "secondary section" of the campground, a little area where there are mostly seasonals. The view isn't so hot, it has a "rally round the campfire" feel to it, like a wagon train circle. All our noses of our rigs point towards each other. It's kind of isolated from the rest of the park by a ring of bushes and trees, obscuring any possible view of the ocean. We are surrounded by seasonals and hardly any live bodies are in this section except us, but that's ok. We're going to be out and about exploring Acadia, checking out the restaurants in Bar Harbor that we remember from last time, and going on some hikes. Eldy has to earn some points for all the cooking I did with the grandkids, initiating and supervising the blog they wrote, entertaining them with activities, and refereeing sibling squabbles for two weeks. He's off to a great start, having brought me to one of my favorite national parks, Acadia for my 62nd birthday, July 18th. And we'll see you there tomorrow!