A day in three parts

My last full day in the park, and I managed to more than fill it.

Breakfast was delightful again. Today I had a baked egg on top of blue corn chips, rounds of French toast topped with crunchy tasty grains, and a baked pear. Rover tells me I'm getting spoiled; I think that's a good way to be spoiled, don't you?

It was a morning for hiking but not getting to my planned destination. I started by following the trail around the southern end of Eagle Lake, on the way to the trail named Conner's Nubble. It was the trail on the western side of Eagle Lake that stopped me. The first part of the trail was narrow and root-covered, requiring careful foot placement. As I crossed from the east side of the lake to the west side, the trail became progressively worse. The trail guide I was following said "The Eagle Lake shore trail has many rocks, slowing the pace of most hikers, but repair crews have improved the trail with boardwalks, and the hike remains high in quality." Hmmm... the further I went the rockier it got. I finally turned around when the rocks in the trail became large boulders. The trail markers at that point were a bit too far apart for my comfort, and honestly I was getting tired of climbing over rocks. That's not my normal happy hiking style. It was a beautiful jaunt through the woods even though I didn't get to climb the nubble.

And hey - did you know that nubble is really a word? I figured it was a made-up word, but then i went looking and discovered that a nubble is a small lump. I suppose a hill with an elevation of 588 feet could qualify - it's about a third the height of Cadillac Mountain.

After I retraced my steps, I thought about taking a roundabout route to get to the start of the trail. I could have walked one of the carriage roads then spent a very short distance on the Eagle Lake trail to get to the starting point. I'd already spent a chunk of time walking, and there were other things I wanted to do today. Maybe another time...

Before heading back to the B&B to switch transportation modes, I spent a bit of time at Jordan Pond, walking part of the trail, chatting with other people sitting and absorbing the beauty.

And then... it was time to wander on two wheels. I headed out on my bike and just followed roads that looked interesting, including some I had never rolled down before. I probably couldn't repeat my route exactly since I didn't pay much attention to my turns. I wandered, I looked around, I enjoyed my ride, and I ended up back at the Holland Inn without losing my way. Happy.

Part three? It was late afternoon, time to head back into the park to walk along the rocky coastline, to see the rocks highlighted by late day sun. I meant to stay by the ocean, but after walking for a while I realized that the clouds were painting wonderful pictures. It was time to get closer to the clouds, to the top of Cadillac Mountain once again.

Another good day...