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Since time immemorial man has strived to intern his final remains in grand fashion. From the pyramids of Egyptian pharaohs to the tombs of kings and presidents to the mausoleums of the rich and famous, the location of ones final resting place continues to be a subject of universal interest and concern.

Cremation has recently become more popular, possibly due to our growing world population and sheer lack of space for traditional cemeteries, and acceptance from major religions. Even with this option, there are decisions to be made. To spread or not to spread, that is the questions. And someday Sara and I will have something in common with the Fords, the Rockefellers and the Astors, as well as Katharine Hepburn, Julia Child and Martha Stewart. We will also become residents of the Acadia National Park area of northern Maine with one major difference. Our residency will be permanent.

We recently updated our wills and medical wishes in the event of a terminal illness. The Terry Schivo fiasco prompted that action as we didn’t want the US congress involved with such a personal decision. Part of the process was to give instructions for our final internment. We opted to be co mingled, meaning that it will be the responsibility of the surviving mate to hold the ashes of the first deceased and the responsibility of our two daughters to have them mixed and spread over Acadia National Park; shudder, shudder!!!! When informed of what seems to us a rather modest last request, our daughters remarked, “How do you expect us to find this place and get out there?” Sara suggested that they might try a multiple purpose approach by combining this last task with a vacation while my head was filled with visions of our mixed remains ending up at a local landfill or the truck of their cars!!!

Why Acadia? Well, simply, because we think is the most beautiful place on the face of the earth. While that opinion may be based on somewhat limited travel, it is the location that is used by us as the standard against which all other places are judged, as we travel across this beautiful country.

Not surprisingly, a call to the park headquarters revealed that a permit to spread ashes is required. When we inquired what would be the procedure if the rules change between the call and our eventual mutual demise, the ranger commented, “No problem, just have the pilot fly another few minutes east; no one will know the difference.”

Acadia National Park, now know as Mt. Desert Island (pronounced dessert by the locals) was formed some 500 million years ago through the combined action of volcanoes, glaciers, wind, water and some of the most spectacular waves on any shore line. Established in 1916, the park was the first national park east of the Mississippi and the first to be created entirely by the donations of private citizens. It covers over 40,000 acres, and is the home to over 165 species of common native plants, 60 species of land and marine mammals and 150 breeding species of birds. Its highest point is Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 ft, the site of countless weddings and the place where the first rays of morning light hit the east coast of the United States before anywhere else. The early morning climb to its summit is a favorite ritual among visitors and locals alike, to view the sun as it peeks from horizon of the blue Atlantic.

Trying to describe Acadia National Park with words seems a hopeless task. You just have to see it to believe. The design of the park has one common goal, to preserve it. The park loop road is a 20 mile two lane, one way thoroughfare which winds through the most breathtaking part of the park. It can be driven in less than the an hour but one is a fool to take less than a day. From your vehicle you have front row seats to a dramatic battle between land and sea. Blue green waves race toward jagged, black and pink granite outcrops, only to explode into cascading spray of pure white against vivid backdrop. At Thunder Hole, at high tide, the wind whipped waves trap air under a granite narrows, which then rhythmically escapes producing a booming blast the gives this favorite spot for visitors its name. We packed a lunch and sat in wonder for several hours. Thunder Hole alone is worth a visit to the park.

Alone the Loop Road is Sandy Beach. In a park bordered by one granite buttress after another, some rising over 100 ft from the ocean’s edge, a sand beach is truly an anomaly. It is a favorite among swimmers but be warned that the water temperature rarely reaches 55 degrees, and most bather’s spend but a moment in the icy water.

The parked is dotted with several lakes and ponds filled with the clearest, coldest, bluest water one can imagine. It is as if a giant block of ice from the glacier that formed the view melted on the spot but a few days before.

Splitting the park into an eastern and western half is Somes Sound (rhymes with homes) and forms the only fjord on the East Coast of the United States. The gorge is over 168 ft deep carved by glaciers and salt water and this location not to be missed.

Probably the most impressive man made features of Arcadia National Park are its light houses and carriage roads. Acadia boasts five lighthouses arrayed around the surrounding bays: Bass Harbor Head, Bear Island, Baker Island, Egg Rock and Great Duck Island. Built between 1828 and 1875, all the lighthouses except Great Duck are visible from various points in the park. Only Bass Harbor Head is accessible by car.

It is the famous carriage roads of Acadia that crisscross the entire island with over 45 miles of trails. In about 1913, John D Rockefeller, one of the park’s original benefactors, became concerned over an unexpected threat to Mt Desert Island, the automobile. Determined to prevent the growing intruders from ruining the park experience for hikers, spooking the many horse drawn carriages and horse back riders, Rockefeller built this system of carriage roads which later became known as Rockefeller’s Roads. The system consisted of gentle grades of broken stone and beautifully arching bridges of granite cut from the park and showing that rugged old time construction of a 20’s depression WPA project that dot the USA. Today, “Rocky’s Roads” are a favorite of bikers, birders and hikers alike.

There is something for everyone at Arcadia. Sara and I were, of course, interested in the bird watching. It was on the northern face of the “Beehive” a 525 ft granite wall that we witnessed one of the most spectacular sites in all of bird watching. First just to see a peregrine falcon in the wild is unforgettable. In 1975 there were only 325 known breeding pairs in all of the United States, Canada and Mexico. While their numbers have grown with the removal of DDT from the food chain, that first siting will stir the heart of any birder. There was mamma, teaching her four new fledglings how to fly. Occasionally a turkey vulture would slip over the ridge only to retreat in a flash as the razor sharp talons of a protective mother would zoom toward them. Now keep in mind that the vulture is about three times larger, but no match for a peregrine. We marveled for hours as the mother and her babies drifted on the thermals. We witnessed feeding behavior when the adult peregrine preformed a predatory dive, reaching speeds of over 200 miles an hour; to pluck its meal out of the sky. But before we left there was one final act to the show. An immature bald eagle strayed too close to one of the baby peregrines. In a lighting bolt the mother falcon flew into the scene. Then in mid air the inexperienced eagle rolled on its back, talons outstretched to meet the challenge. For a brief moment, there was a midair talon to talon clash. It ended in a standoff but was an image we will never, ever forget.

Yes, be it birder, hiker, canoeist, photographer, lighthouse buff, historian, cross country skier, camper, artist or poet, Acadian National Park is the place to be whether a first visit or a final resting place.