Photos from my 3-day wander in Acadia National Park are loaded into galleries and ready for viewing. Start with the top level gallery, Acadia, May 2011 or click on the photos below to enter a specific gallery.
Calm, beautiful, Acadia:
Denise was thinking that photos would jump into her Acadia galleries by now. I told her that she was being silly, there just wasn't enough time for her to sort through the photos after work. If the weather wizard had brought a rainy weekend she would have had some "inside" time - but the weekend has been warm and sunny, good weather for riding, and good weather for taking more photos.
I told her you wouldn't mind waiting. You don't, do you?
--- Rover
Hiking on well-marked trails is a security blanket for me. Walk, look ahead, look around, follow a trail worn through the woods, follow a trail on solid rock.
When we turned down the Schoodic Peninsula on Saturday morning the fog followed us. Denise stopped at a picnic area just before the road turned into a one-way loop so we could stretch our legs. Looking inland it was cloudy but clear. Looking over the water there was fog.
I was looking over Denise's shoulder yesterday as she was started to sort through her photos (yes, it does take her a while, and she's not close to done yet!). I saw these three shots from that quick stop before heading to the tip of the peninsula. I thought I would share them with you now instead of waiting for the Denise's galleries to be completed.
Hmmm... I wonder if I can convince Denise we need to visit Acadia again before the autumn months roll around. I think I'm probably going to need to wait, but...
Oh! I almost forgot I wanted to tell you that we were standing in almost the same spot for all of these photos. We were standing on the ground to the right of the dock for the first two photos, and on the floaty thing at the end of the dock to get the really foggy shot.
--- Rover
I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain. This morning the ground is wet, the sky is gray, and the air is dry.
Breakfast first... today's treat was rosemary scramble (eggs!), french toast topped with a sweet walnut almond crumble, and a bit of watermelon. Evin's breakfasts always give me a good start.
Ah, time for a walk along the ocean, a last morning to absorb Acadia. An ocean walk, a quick trip to the top of Cadillac Mountain to stand inside a cloud, to feel the wind. Then it was time to head home, driving south and west.
Sometimes a quick trip is just what I need.
Denise promised that we would hike Gorham Mountain today so I was pretty surprised when we started our morning with two garden visits. Our first stop was at the Wild Gardens of Acadia. I wasn't surprised by that one since it is just off of Park Loop Road - it was on the way to our hike.
Uh oh. After our Wild Gardens visit the car turned towards Northeast Harbor instead of continuing along the loop road. I poked Denise to remind her of our plans. I should have known she had something sensible in mind - we were still going to bounce up the Gorham Mountain trail, just a little later. The temperature was still in the mid 40s, and the forecast called for better weather in the afternoon. Denise thought a second garden visit would be a good morning activity. It's still early for azaleas, but we visited the Asticou Azalea Garden anyway. Even though it was early for most of the blooms there was scattered color.
It was still morning when we parked at Sand Beach for our loop hike, following the ocean path to the start of the Gorham Mountain trail, heading up the mountain, over the top, and down, ending near Sand Beach. Denise almost decided to do it as an out-and-back hike because the trail up was so wet. The "down" part is almost always wet, and with so much water on the "up" side she figured it was going to be a very wet walk down. She talked to some people on top of the mountain who were doing the loop in the opposite direction. They told her that the trail was very wet in spots but there were rocks she could use to keep her feet dry. I usually bounce along the trail with Denise, but there were a few sections where I was quite happy to ride in her pack. Bouncing between rocks is hard when you're as little as I am!
Rock hopping was hard work for Denise too. She said that her feet were very happy to walk on a smooth surface again.
Blue finally started peeking out from the clouds in the middle of the afternoon and Denise started chasing reflections. We found the first set along Park Loop Road, and the second set near the Eagle Lake carriage road parking area. Nice...
Cadillac Mountain called early in the evening. The top of the mountain is a good place to see the late day light.
--- Rover
I know when I'm staying with Evin that I'm going to be spoiled with fabulous food to start my day. Today's mix of breakfast tastes: a frittata loaded with vegetables and black beans with a bit of cheese and spices thrown in for extra flavor, french toast topped with bumbleberry jam, and apple chunks with currents, almonds, and a light dressing. I'm happy, loaded with walking energy.
unlike yesterday when I was the only early breakfast attendee, there were some other folks at the 7:30 sitting. There was a couple from Cape Elizabeth (Maine), and I finally met David, another Holland Inn repeat visitor from the Boston area. We've been at the inn at the same time before but we haven't previously crossed paths.
Good conversation, good food, a good start to the day...
I knew it was going to be a day of lots of stops when Denise hopped out of the car on the edge of Mt. Desert Island. Of course I hopped out too. That stop was because Denise was fascinated by the fog on the water. Hmmm...
We were headed to the Schoodic Peninsula to start our wanders. Silly me, I thought that would be our first stop. I should know better. After all, I've been traveling with Denise for a long time, and I know if something jumps out and grabs her eye, we always stop.
There were foggy spots and almost clear spots. At one point we even saw a few flashes of blue sky. That disappeared really quickly. We walked on the big rocks of Schoodic (well Denise walked, I bounced!). Denise even sat and watched the waves crashing into the rocks for a while. It started sprinkling, we kept walking. Denise even asked some sea gulls if they would pose for a portrait!
Sprinkles turned into heavy rain, then sprinkles again. When we got back to Mount Desert Island we headed up Cadillac Mountain. I thought that was a little crazy, but Denise wanted to see if the top of the mountain was in the clouds. It was. The rain was steady, and waves of white flowed across our vision. Wet...
The rain disappeared as we left Cadillac, leaving occasional sprinkles for a little more wandering. We wandered, we returned to our home away from home for a bit, fueled up with some food, and then we headed back up the mountain. The top of the mountain was still totally socked in, but there was interesting light as we descended. It was a good end to a good day.
--- Rover
Morning, it's time for another of Evin's fabulous breakfasts.
Today's treat was an egg layered with good tastes, cranberry currant pancakes loaded with lemon zest, and a baked pear topped with crispy gingery goodness. Yum!
Fog is decorating the landscape. Now, it's time to wander.
I've been keeping an eye on the weekend weather forecasts for a few weeks now, hoping to find a dry few days to satisfy my need for a wander in Acadia. This week's gray and wet conditions fed my into need to get away. Yesterday I decided that it was time to take a chance on the weather, and this afternoon it was time to head to Maine.
The skies were gray. The ground was dry for the first time in days. Driving...
Fog appeared in the distance, hugging the ground.
Rain started, light, heavy, light, stopping.
Signs warning to watch for moose in the road changed, from simple text to images of a moose.
Miles rolled by.
My drive ended in Bar Harbor at the Holland Inn, my home away from home what I suspect will be a too quick 3-day weekend. The weather? Only time will tell - I'm hoping for more dry than wet. No matter, it's time to recharge, to absorb the wonder of Acadia National Park.
