late day light

We walked in Bar Harbor as the sun was setting.

The light was amazing!

--- Rover

wicked windy

Wow, it was wicked windy today! There were times when I had to jump into Denise's camera bag so I wouldn't blow away.

It was a day of wandering, of stopping whenever something interesting grabbed Denise's attention. Once we were done with quick stops we bounced down two different trails.

First we did an out and back walk on Wonderland Trail on the southwest side of the island. Later we circled Jordan Pond.

It was another good day!

--- Rover

a Carriage Road loop

The forecast for this afternoon was a bit iffy, and while it did sprinkle a bit the heavier rain waited until we finished our walk in the park.

I chose the Witch Hole Pond Loop on the carriage roads. I like that because the carriage roads are wide which leaves a lot of bouncing space for me. I did jump back into Denise's camera pack when there was water in the air.

There were lots of red and yellow and orange leaves. Denise said she wasn't sure that the leaves would seill be on the trees when we arrived here, how great that we got to see the autumn colors!

--- Rover

to Schoodic

It was a funny weather morning. Clouds followed us as we drove to the Schoodic Peninsula but once we arrived we bounced under blue skies with some white fluffy clouds.

Oh! I haven't written in Denise's blog in a while so maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Rover and I'm a little red dog. I travel with Denise and with my friend Blue. Oh, and I always use italics instead of regular letters so you can tell it is me writing.

Denise really likes the rocks and pools of water at the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula. While she walks carefully there, I like to bounce and scamper around. It's probably good that Denise is careful about where she places her feet; it's best to stay upright!

--- Rover

morning ramble

I think we were really lucky today. It rained overnight, as predicted. It stopped raining early enough that we were able to walk without water falling from the sky.

There was mist hanging in the air, enough to change the look of the same scenery we walked by on Saturday. We again started walking at Sand Beach, following Ocean Path past Thunder Hole, eventually turning back to return to the car.

I know we'll return again someday; for now it was a good last walk in the park.

--- Rover

a bit of a wander

It was a good wandering day today. We stopped at The Tarn because Denise liked the reflections. Then we walked on Ocean Path for a while, enjoying the rocks and the ocean. Jordan Pond was next, then a quick walk at the top of Cadillac Mountain.

The temperature stuck at 45 degrees while we were at the level of the ocean but it dropped to 40 degrees at the top of the mountain. Brrr.... Luckily Denise had extra layers with her.

Tomorrow we head home. The forecast calls for rain overnight but we are hoping it stops early enough in the morning so we can get a dry walk in before we spend hours driving home.

It's been a good trip!

--- Rover

trees reflecting in The Tarn

along Ocean Path

Jordan Pond

rolly rocks

Do you think "rolly" is a word? I think it describes the rocks on Hunters Beach perfectly. While some have angles, they are rounded and I think they roll in the ocean waves.

I remembered visiting there a long time ago; I asked Denise if we could head there this morning to start our day. Of course she said yes! It was lucky she remembered where it lives on the island because when she put it in her GPS it tried to take us to Little Hunters Beach instead of Hunters Beach.

I enoyed bouncing on the rocks, and my friend Blue enjoyed it too.

--- Rover

Rover & Blue at Hunters Beach

Hunters Beach

looping Witch Hole

The Carriage Roads called to us this afternoon. We headed to the end of Duck Brook Road to find the start of the Witch Hole Pond loop.

It was a good afternoon to walk that loop. It's 3.1 miles, not too long. Denise even got warm enough to shed her light jacket - even though the air temperature was stuck in the mid-40s.

We're pretty far east in Maine so the change back to standard time makes a big difference. I just looked out the window, and it's looking a little dusky already. The sunset here today is at 4:19 PM, wow!

--- Rover

Schoodic magic

The first thing Denise did when she woke up today was to look outside. There were clouds in the sky, and she hoped they would stick around since she likes playing with her camera under interesting clouds. The forecast was for clear skies though, and that's what we had. The air was a bit chilly but it was still so beautiful!

We headed to the Schoodic Peninsula this morning. That's a favorite place to wander, and we even tried a new hike. We bounced up an unmarked dirt road that led to the top of Schoodic Head. Even though there wasn't a "no tree" view from the top, it was a good walk, a good way to start the day.

Our next stopping point was the tip of the peninsula. The rocks there are pretty slanty but still good for walking. We explored there for a bit before returning to the bigger part of Acadia on Mount Desert Island.

--- Rover

to Acadia

Oh! It's the beginning of November and it's time for a quick trip to Acadia National Park.

Denise likes to wait until there are fewer people in the park. That kind of worked this time - while there were way fewer people than there would have been in the normal tourist season, it was pretty busy. Maybe because it was a beautiful day, and it's Saturday.

It was a crisp day with a mix of clouds and sunshine. It rained a tiny bit on our drive but for the most part it was dry.

It was early afternoon when we arrived in Bar Harbor. That meant we had time to walk in the park. Denise walked and I bounced along. It's such a beautiful place! We started at Sand Beach and then followed the path along the coast for an out and back walk.

--- Rover

in case you don't remember me from previous trips...

from our wander in the park this afternoon...

along Ocean Path trail

There was time for one more walk in Acadia before heading home today.

We started at Sand Beach, then walked the Ocean Path trail to Otter Point before we reversed direction. Oh! Denise walked and I bounced!

The sky was very blue again today. Even though Denise likes cloudy days for photos I know she enjoyed the very reasonable walking weather that we had for our wanders.

--- Rover

around Jordan Pond

Denise and I walked in a couple of different places today. For our middle walk we followed the trail around Jordan Pond. We've walked that before but it was long enough ago that there were some changes - or maybe I should say there were a couple of sections that seemed new to me!

The beginning of our walk was on a fairly flat trail through the woods. Next was a rocky section where Denise really had to watch where she put her feet. It was easier for me to bounce on the stable but angled rocks than it was for her to walk. Before we were back on what I would consider a normal trail surface there was a very long section of boardwalk. The boardwalk consisted of two flattened sections from what looked like logs (the top was flat but the bottome was kind of curved) with occasional additional space to allow people to pass. The surface was flat but we didn't want to fall from the boardwalk - we would have been wet and muddy then.

Even with the changing walking surface it is a beautiful trail.

--- Rover

a carriage road loop

It was early in the afternoon when we got back from the Schoodic Peninsula. We had plenty of time for another walk.

I wasn't sure where we were headed until Denise turned off on Duck Brook Road. She said she wanted to walk the Witch Hole Pond carriage road loop but she couldn't remember the name of the road to take. She thought it was right after the Eagle Lake parking area so she just took the next road. Luckily that was the right choice.

The carriage roads are peaceful places to walk, wide paths used by both walkers and bikers. We were mostly by ourselves today - we saw two pairs of bikers and several other people and dogs walking.

When we finished our loop we walked down Duck Brook Road a bit so Denise could capture the view with her camera.

--- Rover

view from Duck Brook Road

to Schoodic

Since we spent a lot of time in the car yesterday I wondered if we would stay in the part of the park that lives on Mount Desert Island. Nope! Denise really wanted to spend some time on the Schoodic Peninsula so we jumped back on the road this morning to drive an hour further up the coast.

Schoodic is rocky with big slabs of stone tipped at different angles. And there are places where water gathers in pools. It's interesting looking at the different patterns created by the rocks and water.

I really like bouncing between the rocks. Denise is more careful, making sure she has good stable rock under her feet.

--- Rover

heading to Acadia

Wow, it's been a long time since I've helped Denise with her blog. In case you don't remember me... I'm Rover, a little red dog who travels with Denise. I like to play with words so while she captures photos I find words to use to share our travels.

Today we drove to the north and east for miles and miles, heading to Acadia National Park. It's hard to believe that the last time we visited was before Covid, back in October of 2019. That's three years, quite a difference from our previous twice a year visits.

Oh! I found a picture of me from that last visit so I'm going to include it here.

Once we arrived in the park we headed out to walk along the rocky coastline. It's beautiful here!

--- Rover

clear blue

Yesterday's storm blew away leaving a clear blue sky. Even though Denise prefers to see some clouds, it was a beautiful day.

We wandered on a number of different trails today. I think my favorite of the day was our walk on one of the Carriage Roads, the one that goes by Witch Hole Pond. That's a nice circle trail that passes by several ponds and has lots of things to look at.

When we were halfway around Denise said hello to two people who were walking in the opposite direction. Instead of saying hello and continuing to walk we stopped and chatted for a while. Our conversation mates were from Burlington, Vermont - and they come to Acadia twice a year too. Similar to our May and October schedule, they visit in June and October. Funny, it's not just Denise who likes to visit Acadia when it isn't crowded.

Tomorrow is our last day in the park for this trip - but I'm sure we'll be visiting here again.

--- Rover

a wild ocean

After walking this morning Denise & I spent some time inside, waiting out the rain. The wind died down by about noon and the rain changed to intermittent. It was time to head out again, this time accompanied by my camera.

We headed into the park looking for fog on the mountains.

It was too wet to bounce down any of the trails so we drove around Park Loop Road, stopping occasionally for walking and photos. The ocean was wild! Sand Beach was closed, and Thunder Hole was closed too. There was a big sign at each place saying:

WARNING
DANGEROUS SURF
USE EXTREME
CAUTION

The walkway was blocked too, but some very silly people ducked under the sign to get closer to the water. I really don't understand; Denise & I wouldn't have moved closer to that wild water even without a warning sign.

We stood still at several spots along Ocean Path and watched the ocean. Denise said that she doesn't remember ever seeing waves as crazy as the ones that were rolling in today.

Tomorrow should be a good day for wandering. The forecast calls for sunshine!

--- Rover

wet & windy

Oh! The rain and wind started overnight; it was very wet this morning.

Denise decided it was a good time to walk the Great Meadow Loop. It's flat, and we can start from our B&B, walking into the park and looping back. It felt like a good time to walk without carrying anything, even the camera. I hopped into a pocket in Denise's rainjacket, she grabbed her phone (in case she saw any scenes she needed to capture), and we headed out.

Luckily the temperature stayed in the mid-50s so we were able to easily stay warm. The conditions changed often, from light rain and wind to heavier versions of both.

Right now we're relaxing inside where it is dry but soon I think we're going to head out again.

--- Rover

Schoodic wander

Our first wandering point in Acadia today was the Schoodic Peninsula. It's the only part of Acadia National Park that is on the mainland, and I think it's Denise's favorite part of the park. Here's the description from the park's web site:

"Schoodic Peninsula, the only part of Acadia National Park found on the mainland, boasts granite headlands that bear erosional scars of storm waves and flood tides. Although similar in scenic splendor to portions of Mount Desert Island, the Schoodic Coast is a more secluded area."

We spent a good amount of time there, walking (carefully), watching the waves crash on the rocks, enjoying the beauty around us.

Once we finished our Schoodic visit we headed back to the west, visiting a small section of the park on Mount Desert Island before ending our wandering for the day.

It sounds like tomorrow will be very wet. Hopefully we will find some places to wander in the rain.

--- Rover

driving north and east

Denise & I hit the road early this morning, heading for downeast Maine and Acadia National Park.

I wondered if we would still see color in the trees today, and yes, we do! There were sections of road where the trees were wearing bare branches and sections where there was still color. That made Denise happy!

Somewhere between Bangor and Ellsworth I saw a field of red groundcover. We were already driving past but I convinced Denise to turn back to get a photo. I didn't expect to see red on the ground; we saw more when we wandered on the Schoodic Peninsula.

--- Rover