Finally: the Maine photos!

   I took an incredible Maine vacation back in July, but have been too busy to blog about it... until now! I've been working on prepping my photos all day. The good & bad news is that I took many, many photos. They're all under the correct dates back in mid-July, but here are some links. (I haven't even started WRITING most of these posts yet, so they're just eye candy for now.)

These first links are my solo vacation:

Pre-trip humor

Arriving in Portland

The Danforth Inn

Quick stop in Rockland

Afternoon in Camden

Camden State Park

Manor House Inn, Bar Harbor (Mount Desert Island)

Bar Harbor
Fun in Bar Harbor

Southwest Harbor

Acadia Teaser
Acadia: Mt. Cadillac in the fog
Acadia: Penobscot Mountain
Acadia: Deer Brook Trail, from Sargent to Bubbles

Acadia: Sargent Mountain

Acadia: Hiking down Sargent

Acadia: The Bubbles
Acadia: Jordan Pond

Acadia: Jordan Pond lunch

Acadia: The Beehive
Gotta Getta Garmin
And here's where I joined the group:
The house on China Lake
Maine food
Stella's house
Lunch at Shaw's / Goofin' with Mom, part 1
Pemaquid Lighthouse
Goofin' with Mom, part 2
Antiques
Historic cemetery
Gayle's photos

China Lake

This is how you know you're not in Kansas:

Also, this:

We used mosquito coils just like the ones I saw in 「くれくれたこら」!

And while we sat & drank & talked...

Shameless plug for Garmin

   It's not as if I try to hide my geekiness for gadgets, but I have to say, this Garmin GPS unit was as fun as it was functional. David & Olivia generously loaned it to me for both weeks that I was on vacation (Maine & New Mexico), ensuring my survival. I just kept the device in the pocket of my cargo pants & was able to check my course & mark landmarks in case I got lost. It shows a trip odometer, maximum speed, total ascent, etc.

   Here you can see the route I took around Jordan Pond, hitting 4 peaks: Penobscot, Sargent, and both Bubbles.

And the 5th peak, The Beehive. (I also marked the Inn just in case.)

   Unless cell phone technology progresses to a point where it has all these features, I'll have to invest in a Garmin before my next hiking trip...

The hike down Sargent

A lil' friend landed on my knee:

While some of his buddies landed nearby:

Even in death, this tree is beautiful:

This guy joined me on one of my breaks and kept me company:

Toadstools on the side of a tree:

The Maine ferns are plentiful:

I nearly stepped on this lil' guy. He never moved!

I wonder who lives here? There were dozens of burrows like this in the area:

Penobscot Mountain

   Penobscot had some fun, narrow "staircases" of granite that snaked around the edge of the mountain & forced some tight squeezes and a little climbing:

The trail had plenty of cairns to keep me on the right track:

Not sure what they call these formations, but they look like giant cat paws to me!

   The view wasn't much on this particular day, but the fog added some mystique. And after a fast, strenuous climb, the misty air at the top was exhilarating!

   Hiking down the trail that lead from Penobscot to Sargent turned out to be a real treat for the senses. As soon as I hit the treeline, magical foliage surrounded me. The colors gleamed and everything dripped with dew from the fog. The Manor House's great breakfast was supplemented with wild blueberries by the handful. The trails were lined with them!