From Acadia to the White Mountains!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 Wonderland and Bass Harbor Trails

Today should be an easy day. Why, you may ask? I really don't know, although I suppose it has something to do with the fact that we aren't quite familiar with our surroundings yet. Or perhaps it's because we had rain overnight and the sky is currently threatening. Note: after noon, the day cleared to be mostly sunny and reasonably warm, with a high temp in the high 60s.

The day started with a hearty breakfast in the RV after which we went to a "restaurant" for a WiFi connection. The Common Good Soup Kitchen is a bit unusual. It is apparently a soup kitchen in the winter, helping to feed hungry families and folks who can't seem to make ends meet when the tourists leave. Their situations are exacerbated in the winter because of generally lousy weather and a tourist industry that is in hibernation and lack of other viable work.

Right now, they serve food to the likes of us without charging a fee. Rather, they ask for a donation. We had Pop Overs and tea and surfed the net, and left a generous donation as we exited the establishment.

We walked the Wonderland Trail; an easy walk with ocean views and pounding surf crashing on the granite rocks that line the shore. After a short drive, we walked a short trail to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. There were quite a few other folks doing the same.

We then took a self guided auto tour of the area from Bass Harbor, Tremont, West Tremont and Seal Cove. Each community had a cove and each cove was dotted with colorful boats; very typical of what you'd expect to see in Maine.

In Southwest Harbor, we found the Hamilton Marine Store and got a great deal on a few small items. That wasn't the case at the local West Marine, where one item was $10.00. Amazingly, we purchased three such items at Hamilton Marine for less than that!

Before returning to the CG, we stopped at the local grocery store for a few items we needed for dinner.

Thursday, September 20, 2012 The Acadia Mountain Trail

We don't measure our hikes by distance travelled anymore. Elevation gain is more important to us. But wait, there's more. It's not just elevation gain, but how rapidly that elevation is gained. Today's hike up Acadia Mountain, with an altitude of a mere 681 feet, was as challenging a hike as we have had to date. We gained that altitude in about one-quarter mile, scrambling over boulders, in crevices and on the edge of granite ledges. It was strenuous, at least for us. No less than eight hikers passed us along the way. Most were younger folk and a few were kids! As it turned out, most didn't do the whole trail. They made it to the summit and backtracked. We did reach the summit and soaked in the fabulous views, then continued along the trail. Heading down the South side of the hill was even steeper than the north side. At one point we lost about eighty feet of elevation in a horizontal distance of about ten feet. All told, we walked a distance of almost four miles, but it took three and one-half hours to do it.

On the way back to the CG, we picked up some corn-on-the-cob at the grocery store and two lobsters at Sawyer's. We made it in time to take advantage of their $4.95/lobster (already steamed). Once back at the CG, we feasted on Lobster Cacciatore. Dinner is usually followed by an evening stroll through the CG. Tonight was no exception. There are at least five Airstream TT's here tonight. The number has been fairly constant since we arrived a couple of days ago. Some have left, but new ones come in a short while later.

Friday, September 21, 2012 The Ship Harbor Trail

By any measure, today's trail was EASY! It was very scenic too, and we passed several folks who were doing the same.

Saturday, September 22, 2012 Riding the Free Bus, Snow and a 3 1/2 Pound Lobster!

Had a nice, relaxing day. Rode the bus to the Village Green in Bar Harbor where we saw SNOW(?) on the side of the street! Holy cow, it didn't feel that cold!

We rode the next bus to the Jordan Pond House for one a final taste of Popovers and Tea! After returning to Bar Harbor, we walked around for a few minutes before boarding the bus to go back to Sea Wall CG.

At dinner time, we went to Sawyer's Lobster Pound for what will probably be our last lobster dinner of the trip. This time we splurged and bought a 3.2 pounder. The beast was HUGE! It was also very tasty, accompanied by an ear of Maine corn.

Tomorrow we leave for another stop in Freeport where we'll visit LL Bean again. We want to express our gratitude for their support of Acadia NP in person! LL Bean sponsors the bus system and we made great use of it during our stay!

Sunday, September 23, 2012 Goodbye Acadia!

It's time to move on! We had a great visit to Acadia N P, biking and hiking eleven trails. Freeport, home of LL Bean is today's destination. We want to check some options for picnic shelters for next year's Grand Canyon/Yellowstone Adventure. While we're there, we'll say thanks for their contribution in making Acadia even more special than it already is!

Monday, September 24, 2012 Blackberry Crossing CG, White Mountains National Forest, on the scenic Kancamagus Hwy near Conway, NH - Hiking the Rocky Gorge and the Lovequist Loop around Falls Pond

Freeport was in our rearview mirror by 0900 hours. Our departure was delayed by a visit to Starbucks for a quick breakfast. Camp at Blackberry Crossing CG was set up by 1200 Noon. Hiking, our chosen activity for the day was postponed by intermittent rain showers that took a few hours to pass.

In the meantime, we took a scenic drive through Conway and North Conway. In each of those towns, we stopped to check out a few of the shops. The score of the day was made at Eastern Mountain Sports where we purchased a half gallon of New Hampshire medium dark grade Maple Syrup.

To break in the new hiking boots we procured at LL Bean yesterday, we hiked the Rocky Gorge and Lovequist Loop trails around Falls Pond. Rocky George has quite a famous story (from 1942) about a swimmer who was swept into the Gorge. She was held under by rocks and the force of the water for hours. When her friends and the rescue party finally found her (it took awhile since they had to fill sandbags to divert the flow of the water) and brought her to the surface, they thought she was dead. The rescue guy reached into the icy water to grab the hand of what he thought was a corpse, when he started pulling, her hand actually tightened around his. Of course he was shocked! The area has been heavily posted with "No Swimming" signs since.

I got some shots from the trail that show the fall colors are not far off!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012 The Portland Pudgy

The Portland Pudgy is a yacht tender, dinghy, sailboat and life boat all wrapped in one. I've been a fan for years. Today, we scheduled a visit to the factory to talk with David Hulbert, designer/manufacturer, about its suitability for our needs.

We had a great visit. Unfortunately, there was no way to try the dinghy out on the water. We need to do that so we can see if it meets Anna Marie's strict stability test. None-the-less, it was a nice visit to Portland, and only an hour and forty-five minute drive from the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 Hiking the Flume Trail at Franconia Notch and Another Cool Movie Theater/Cafe!

Rain showers put a damper on our hiking plans today. Instead of hiking, we drove the 34 mile length of the scenic Kancamagus Highway. The leaves are really starting to "pop!" their colors were muted by the dreariness of the day. Clouds hung in the mountain tops giving an ethereal appearance to our surroundings.

When we got to the west side of the highway, we checked out the Hobo train. It was too dismal to ride it today. Clark's Trading Post was another spot we wanted to check out. The original building looked the same, but additional building and activities have been added.

After our visit to Clark's we headed north on Route 3 bound for Franconia State Park and the Flume. The two mile hike ( with 500 foot elevation change was invigorating. The scenery was even more fantastic than I remember it.

About nine years ago, the iconic Old Man of the Mountain collapsed. It made the national news. Well, the Old Man is back! He is visible from profile park. You really have to see it to believe it! We thought it incredulous that the Old Man was back, but we saw him with our own eyes! Incredible!

It was late afternoon when we headed back to the eastern side of the forest. We had time to check out the movie theater in Conway. The Marquee indicated that Ruby Sparks was playing and that there was a buffet on Wednesdays starting at 1800 hours.

As we discovered, the Conway Cafe runs the Majestic Theater. It has one screen and the first showing is at 0800. That's right, 0 8 0 0! The last show begins at 2100. It also happens that Wednesday night is not only buffet night but open mike night as well. The assembled crowd ( there was standing room only) was enjoying the buffet and the local singer/songwriters. We watched 1/2 dozen performers and they were very talented indeed. This was nothing like the open mike night experiences we have had in Marathon! This was more like a coffee house that happened to be a restaurant. The musicians were great as was the crowd. It was an entertaining night.

Before heading back to the CG, we stopped at the local WalMart to make a few purchases.

Thursday, September 27, 2012 Hiking the Boulder Loop

This trail is aptly named. There are boulders, large and small everywhere. Some weigh 300 tons and more. The smaller ones can be problematic on the trail. They present significant tripping hazards. You must make sure of your footing with every step. With an 1150 foot gain in elevation it was slow going. The climb was steep and steady. It took two hours to reach the summit. Once there, the views to the east, south and west are spectacular and make for a very rewarding hike.

The down hill bubble had a lot of tripping hazards too. We made it to the bottom in an hour and a quarter, feeling great with nary an ache or a pain.