Soak up Acadia’s Ocean Sounds

It is late fall here at Acadia National Park. The tide along great head Beach is high signaling the handoff from day to night. The fading sun hovers low on the skyline with the pale moon, slowly rolling into view here at the border between land and sea. Acadia National Park supports a wide range of native ecosystems covering coastlines, forests, and towering mountain summits. There is all manner of life to witness and explore in this vast space. So as we prepare for tonight's journey, let's begin our evening with a brief wind down exercise. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you are ready, let's begin. So first, get yourself comfortable. Now just bringing the attention to the breath, just noticing where you feel it in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm, your nice and relaxed. We are going to be taking a deep breath in for four. Holding it for four, then breathing out for six. So are you ready? Let's begin in for 4, 2, 3, 4. Hold it for 4, 2, 3, 4. Now breathing out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5. Six. In for four, two. Three. Four. Holding for 4, 2, 3. Four. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for four, two. Three. Four. Holding for four, two. Three. Four. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for four, two. Three. Four. Holding for 4, 2, 3. Four. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Great. Now returning the breath to normal. For over a century, Acadia has drawn in visitors wishing to connect with the vast natural world. When boats began flocking to Mount Desert Island, Mariners needed guidance finding their way along the Rocky Coast, lighthouses were erected on small islands scattered through the bay. A series of beacons drawing ships through the night. On the southwestern corner of the main island is the white brick bass harbor head. Lighthouse nestled atop the rugged cliffs towering pines pepper the landscape, their pointed tops nearly piercing The billowy clouds communing in the bay. Just below the ocean meets mossy cuts of rock, sending up clouds of salty mist with every crashing wave seals lounge on rocky outcroppings warming their gray speckled submarine shaped bodies. Some roll onto their sides, tucking in their flippers, letting the sun hit their belly. Others flop on a rock blending in with the granite smoothed by ages. Their distinct barks can be heard across the waves as they seem to share news from another day in the ocean. When the sun makes wave for the stars, the lighthouse casts a warm red beam across the moonlit waves. Thanks to the lighthouse Mount Desert Island remains a refuge even in the darkest of nights. When the hush of winter falls over Acadia, a different kind of park appears dense forests of green pines lose their edges. As snow softens the angled branches, the carriage roads reserved for horses, bikes and foot traffic become a perfect route for cross country skiers. Park volunteers smooth the snow...