Acadia - Part 2

Even though Acadia National park, is one of the smaller national parks, it is an immense cache of photo-worthy subjects, and I wanted to capture as many as I could during my time there. I think I was pretty efficient with my time, and after several days of exploration- driving around the park, getting lost, and meeting people who had ideas of where I should go to get good shots, I had already taken lots of photos, and had visited many spots I wanted to revisit during better lighting.

One place was Eagle Lake. It’s a good-sized lake nested among the mountains on the bit of land just north of where Somes Sound splits the island into east and west. I passed it each morning on my way from the campground, which was on the quiet eastern side, near Somesville, to get to the sites of interest on the Western side of the park. Each day I passed Eagle Lake I was teased by the signs for parking, and by the meager, fleeting view of the water. Finally the sirens’ insistent song drew me to the lake and I checked it out. I quickly decided I would have to revisit it during an inconvenient time of day, namely daybreak.

Coyote Sunrise at Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park

i got there very early the next morning, when it was pitch black, trying to find the path I wanted to take to the lakeshore sites I spotted the day before. I finally found one of the spites, and it happened to have a very comfortable log that I sat on and quietly meditated. I rarely sense the presence of God when I pray or meditate, but I did this time. I don’t remember any details of those precious moments, but I imagine they were filled with thanks, and a sense of humility, prompted by the splendor of all of God’s wonderful creations, including the people in my life, many who probably were featured in the prayers of that morning’s meditations; the part when I ask/beg God for our healing and forgiveness…

Anyway, as I was sitting there in the cold, waiting for the sun to bring out the visual beauty of the place, curious about what colors, if any would come out of the sunrise, I realized I had company- The sound of coyotes howling nearby was as wonderful and strangely reassuring as the sense of well-being and proximity to God I was getting from my meditations. In fact, the howling blended perfectly into my meditative process, as they howled back and forth to each other, from my right, then my left, enveloping me in their primal song. I think there were actually three that were howling to each other from different places on the shoreline. The nearest one was pretty close, and I imagined I could hear it moving around in the brush. Unfortunately they vanished before the ground was illuminated, and I never did catch a glimpse of them.