exploring my world, one park at a time
A beautiful fall afternoon, that actually felt like fall. The parking lot at the trailhead was packed, but everyone was pretty well spread out along the trail.
It was a fast hike, a race with the early setting sun, up and down the switchbacks and along the ridge of the five mile trail.
Beautiful, sunny, jacket cool afternoon. We climbed up Dogwood trail to the overlook, then down along Hickory to the Twin Shelter and Hickory South to the Lodge for lunch.
I wasn’t sure how much color to expect. It was forcast to be on the dull side this year, and I hadn’t seen much at home. The River Road was pretty on the way, but without the brilliant reds it often has.
The trees in the park were still thick with leaves, though, and the brilliant sunshine set them aglow like Christmas lights.
There were lots of people, but not really any crowds. Everyone was well spaced out on the trails, enjoying the beautiful day.
Sea shores, mountain trails, and an astonishing number of other tourists. I’m not sure why we thought we’d be the only ones with this idea. Bar Harbor was terrifying until we discovered where the largest public parking lot was. We quickly learned to go straight there and just walk to where ever we wanted to go around town.
Acadia was a challenge to get into too, but crowds mostly thinned out once everyone was parked and hiking.
We wandered trails, drove up Cadillac Summit, took a boat tour of the harbor, and explored the local shops and restaurants. It was beautiful and peaceful and busy all at once. We didn’t even begin to see all that was there.
The goals were Fall colors, National Parks, and at least skimming the few states we’d never yet traveled through.
Packing was a bit of a challenge. It was still Summer hot when we left St Louis, but would be far cooler by the time we reached Maine. Shorts and t-shirts, jeans and sweaters vied for space with camera lenses and notebooks.
The bulk of the trip was spent in Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park. We rambled on the journey, though, exploring beautiful parks and lakes and mountains along the way.
Stumbling from the nest,
Exploring the woods
Huddling together,
A little uncertain,
Carefully supervised from far above
It’s a beautiful sunny day, just a little bit cool. The trail edges the wildlife garden, Pinetun Lake, and the prairies near the Bascom House.
The fields are brilliant with wildflowers and alive with the whistle of the red wing blackbird.
Well, it definitely wasn’t one of the babies I saw out on Tuesday. They were huddled inside the nest today, still tiny and fuzzy and curious.
Can they see me, I wonder, peering out like that?
Or are they just waiting for their mother, perched high above in her usual tree, to flutter down with breakfast?
Rambling ... 