Reconnecting with Nature in Our First Acadia Stop

Injured Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

My first morning in the KOA was surprisingly smooth, especially considering Mallory, Libby and I spent 30 minutes talking about how cold our cabin got and didn’t get ready until 7:30 a.m.. The van left a little after eight in the morning and The Wild Gardens of Acadia, where more than 300 different plants that reside in Acadia can be found in one place, was our first stop of the drive on Park Loop Road. While Libby, Mallory, Kate, Maci, Favour and I explored, we found a frog resting on a lily pad and captured some very nice photos of its colors matching the plants around it. After leaving the Wild Gardens of Acadia, a few of us decided to walk Jesup Path, a very calm trail leading to a beautiful pond. On the way to the end, our group stumbled upon an injured butterfly with a torn wing in the middle of the pathway. I didn’t want to injure it anymore than it had been already, so I took a dry leaf and attempted to get the butterfly onto it. Surprisingly, the butterfly was very willing to step on the leaf and I was able to move it carefully to safety on the side of the trail. While we kept walking, Libby called me to catch up with the group since we had separated a little bit before. We went back to the beginning of the trail to meet up with her, and then we finally walked all the way to the end of it. The view of the pond surrounded by mountains and greenery was immensely worth it and was definitely the highlight of the first stop. After taking some photos and videos, we walked back to the van to set off to our next destination.