USA's First Sunrise: Cadillac Mountain

After visiting Acadia National Park for the last three summers, I finally was able to see the first sunrise in the country atop Cadillac Mountain. (The mountain is the highest elevation within 25 miles of the coastline from Maine to Mexico. Although during certain times of the year, the easternmost point in the US, Lubec Maine, sees the sun first.) All it involved was being there at 4 in the morning, a tripod from Walmart, and a lot of patience! Here are some images from the day...

So here you can see the first colors starting to appear, and the people at bottom right (above) and below.The first pic above is a little blurry...I was trying to get the exposure down pat. I needed to keep the shutter open for a few seconds to capture the earliest morning light, and then I changed it as the sun came up.

Above, the rocks are turning pinkish purple. The rocks on top of Cadillac are actually made of pink granite, and are naturally light speckled pink and gray.

The colors got more and more vibrant, especially the pink, and the water began to change from blue to pink right before our eyes..

There it is peeking over the horizon...we are the first to see it...all these people on the mountain started cheering. Partiers who had been up all night, little children with their grandparents, hikers, photographers....everyone was excited. There must have been 40 people there.

Above, you can see some of them gathered against the water (toward the left of the photo.) The islands you see here are called the Porcupine Islands, located in Frenchman's Bay, on the Maine coast.

And as the day began I was able to snap another for my "hearts" collection... see it? 

We spent a few days in this area of Maine and I have lots more to share, too. :) Hope you enjoyed the sunrise!