On To Acadia National Park

July 23, 2012

I’ve only been to this part of Maine once on a dive trip some years ago and to be honest I don’t remember much from that trip except the water was murky and really cold, my thick neoprene wet suit was cumbersome and the seals didn’t want to play with us uncoordinated humans so the drive onto the island, today, was a pleasant surprise. We checked in to the Seawall Campground, had an early supper and then went for a short drive to the Bass Harbor Head Light. We spent about an hour climbing over gargantuan slabs of sea worn rock to get the best angle of the warning beacon still in use today and although we were hours ahead of the sunset, I could see this site had potential. It also had the potential for a sunrise shot but the climbing out onto the cliff side during that predawn light could be a bit tricky if you weren’t careful. You’d also need at least one flashlight.

We weren’t ready to retire just yet so we stopped at one of the many trailheads for a short walk. The one we chose was called Wonder Land and Carl figures it was about a mile through scrubby woodlands and over huge glacier scarred slabs of granite until at the very end the hard pack earth from so many feet gave way to the sea washed gravel. Carl was surprised there has been no sandy beaches on this side of the island. But, oh, the rocky coastline with countless tidal pools was beautiful. I grew up off the coast of Massachusetts on Plum Island where salt air played havoc with my naturally curly hair and I dealt with more than a few painful sunburns during my childhood. I felt comfortable wandering along the shoreline looking for subjects for my camera. Finally as will all good things, we turned for home and our camper. I hope it was a great sunset. I didn’t see it from the campground. Acadia is a National Park and has ranger programs most evening which we enjoyed very much while at Denali last summer. The programs for our campground are at 9:30PM at the amphitheater. That’s way past our bedtime.

Yarmouth Clam Festival

July 20-22, 2012

Well, as the name implies, we just had to have seafood one evening after manning the booth in the heat of summer. Carl had a good sized bag of steamers and a soft shelled lobster while I had grilled scallops served in a hot dog roll. Yarmouth is a great place and they really know how to throw a party. The event is in it’s 47th year so they’ve had plenty of time to work on the small details. Things like music in three places, road and bicycle races through the Main Streets, a fireman’s muster under the Route 1 overpass, a huge “food court” where all types of social organizations are responsible for an incredible array of foods ( more on this later ), a craft fair with over 100 artisans and an art show with more than 40 artists, games for the kids and even karaoke on the big stage during the day, no liquor required. They also had Smokey’s Midway and Carnival rides for those who have to do that sort of thing.

We talked with a lady who worked the Lime Rickey booth. She said everyone from the boy scouts to soccer  parents get together, decide who will sell what and what the prices will be and then Sysco sets up two tractor trailers, one refrigerated and the other frozen for them to buy their food as they need it. Only one booth can sell pizza, one for fried clams, one for lobsters and so on. The only duplicate was bottled water and that price was preset. We never had a Lime Rickey but they were served in lime colored plastic cups and we saw a bunch of them. Everywhere you looked people were strolling by holding lime colored plastic cups or sucking on lime colored straws.

Our participation in the Art show was a successful venture. Sales were okay, business cards disappeared and we networked with several local artists and picked up helpful tips and chatted about other events in the area. We even lucked out with our overnight accommodations. The event staff created a mini campground at the Travis Roy Ice Arena which is part of North Yarmouth Academy. It was so close,  we had only to cross route 1 at the traffic light, 5 minutes down a lovely walking path, cross Main Street and onto the Merrill Library lawn where our booth was located.

Our days were long, dusty and uncomfortably warm but the nights were perfect for sleeping, no air conditioner needed. We decided to spend one more night in Yarmouth before heading off to Acadia National Park for a few days. We hit the food court just at the end of the Festival and in time for a couple of bargains, a lobster roll for Carl and a kielbasa on a stick for me.

Dreary With A Chance Of Overcast

The results of last night’s game was not as exciting as the previous night but the weather has modified a bit today. There is still a serious pileup of clouds which will be with us for a while.  At least the driving rain has let up so we’re off today to visit a couple more lighthouses as well as some of the beautiful fishing fleets, harbors and beaches on both the Atlantic side as well as the bay side. We started with a visit to the Nauset Light, another of those moved back from the original position because they were threatened by serious cliff erosion.  Since most all ships now have GPS, the role of the lighthouse has slipped further back into the history books. Gone are the days of the lonely keeper ever on duty to provide a beacon to ships in danger of piling up on the rocky coast. From there we drifted on over to the Chatham Light next to the Coast Guard Rescue Station. Signage here told of the Mayflower’s trip from England, their landing near Provincetown to take on their first fresh water in more than 65 days and their eventual trip northward to Plymouth. Maybe I was absent from school the day they talked about the original land charter being nearer to the mouth of the Hudson River but due to a rip current, they had to turn around. The history of this area would be very different otherwise. During a short stop at the commercial fishing harbor in Yarmouth, we visited with a fisherman who was repairing holes in the drag net he uses to fish for squid. We talked about the bum rap most drag net fishermen get. His little net does not disturb the bottom or wreck coral. In fact coral, if it were even in the area would do more damage to his nets. He even commented on the impact the huge commercial drag net operations have on his livelihood. These factory ships impact the fisheries regulations as well. At another little harbor, I got permission from the harbormaster to go out on the floating docks to get closer to a resident swan, recently returned from it’s winter grounds. I took more than 20 photos over a 15 minute period but all she did was preen her feathers. Actually, I think she was a bit camera shy.  I can’t say enough good things about the local Chamber offices we visited. The one in West Yarmouth helped us find a place to fill our propane tank for the camper and directed us to a little out of the way place called Gray’s Beach. The Bass Hole Boardwalk juts out into the marsh area allowing access to tidal flats one wouldn’t normally be able to view. We watched several shore birds wading through the canals searching for bits of crab, clams and fish. The sun popped out just in time to turn the incoming water from that flat cloud cover gray to a bit more interesting steel blue. The dunes in the distance provided an interesting contrast. The patches of blue disappeared almost at once making my question to Carl about sunset photos moot. There will be no sun visible to set. Our last stop for the day was at the Truro Vineyards where I enjoyed a wine tasting seminar, including commemorative glass for just $10.00. This isn’t the way most vineyards we’ve visited do things but it was effective. I became convinced I had to buy a bottle of  a semi-dry white. Turns out this particular wine isn’t even made here.

It's Official-We're Weather Jonahs!

The Red Sox won last night which makes me a happy camper. What doesn’t make me happy is the meteorologist chose today to get his forecast right. We’re getting hammered with high gusts of wind and driving rain from the southwest. Now, our plan of attack for today is to find an information booth that’s open for directions to stores and restaurants. No luck on that search but we did eventually find the Provincetown Chamber Of Commerce after driving the wrong way down a one way street ( with a policeman’s permission ) and backing into a parked car’s rear tire ( Thank God ). No damage done from either event. We found the local Stop and Shop for a few groceries, ate at Napi’s Restaurant and had what I considered to be the best Clam Chowder I’ve had in a very long time and managed to get soaked while grabbing a few photos of the Atlantic side of the shoreline.  A small break in the weather provided us the opportunity to grab a quick photo of the Highland light, near our campground, which has been moved several hundred feet back from a seriously eroded cliff.  The rain continued at an impressive rate aided, no doubt, by the wind so we called it an early day.

Next Discovery-Cape Cod

After packing up last evening, we traveled as far as Lebanon, NH and spent a quiet but windy night at the Wal-Mart. Then it was up and on the road by 8:30AM. We hit very little traffic until crossing the Cape Cod Canal over the Sagamore Bridge. Now, this is a normal choke point for vacationers headed both south and northbound but today was worse than usual. They’re doing bridge maintenance and have restricted the travel to one lane in each direction. Once past the bottleneck, it was good going. We hit the “Closed For The Season”  Barnstable rest area for a camper lunch and I couldn’t help but notice all of the trash thrown about. Apparently, it’s okay to toss your trash even if there’s no barrel to put it in. Always looking for an interesting angle, I spotted the window boxes on the building growing soda and thick shake cups. Just couldn’t pass up a photo like that. We found out site at the Adventure Bound Camping Resort-Cape Cod in North Truro, MA and settled in for a few days. Carl is thrilled because they have cable TV and I’m not upset because one of the stations is NESN. I can watch my Red Sox. They are also supposed to have wi-fi but I haven’t had any luck getting connected. The weather isn’t looking good for tomorrow. We’ll have to find indoor things to keep us busy.

First Show Is A Bust

Well, to say the weekend was less than successful is an understatement. The weather in St Albans, next to Lake Champlain, was blustery, cold and at times, snowy. The people who bothered to come out for the event were driven inside. We made no sales on Friday even though there was a half decent flow of potential customers. Saturday, normally the busier of the three days, seemed to be much quieter than other years. I spoke with other vendors who basically confirmed what I was experiencing.  Sunday didn’t disappoint with it’s tomb like qualities although the organizers of the event moved the popular parade to Sunday in hopes of drawing more people out. The winners of the weekend, well there’s no surprise there. The crafters who sold food did very well while us nature photographers didn’t break even. I sure hope this isn’t a sign for the entire season.

A Look Back And Forward

It’s customary to look back on the previous year, reflecting on all that occurred, while at the same time looking forward to the new year with hope and refreshed aspirations. And, this is the case with me as well. I’m sitting here, looking out the window on a seasonally crisp morning as my husband burns a bit of brush, thinking about the trip we undertook during the summer. It was phenomenal and it’s hard to believe we’ve been back longer than we were away already. I promised some of you readers some additional details on the trip so here they are. We traveled 16,458 miles, covered 21 states and 4 provinces. We were gone 93 days and in that time we got to experience things I had only ever read or dreamed about. I won’t say it was my “Bucket List” but I did get a chance to cross several thing off that list while admittedly adding several more to it. But did you know:

We used 1,460 gallons of gas. This figure may be a bit higher due to some places just giving us receipts without liter amounts printed on them. I also admit I could be off due to my conversion from liters to gallons.

The entire trip cost the equivalent of $1.00/mile. This is a strange statistic because it includes all our expenses, haircuts, beer, post cards, magnets, hotel rooms, wine, ferry fees and even movies.

We spent 63 nights on campgrounds or paid rooms which averaged $26.00 per night. And, we spent 29 nights at either WalMarts, friends or rest areas which saved us more than $750.00. That’s a cool statistic.

Our expenses for food totaled $2,083.81 which includes both groceries and eating out or if you prefer, it averaged $22.41 a day for two people. I think that’s pretty good, too!

I’m not sure what other information might amuse people so if you have any questions about routes, statistics, border crossings, admissions to parks or attractions, just let me know. I’m happy to help in any way I can. And while I took more than 8,000 photos, I can honestly say about 7,500 where of the “vacation” variety. Of the remaining 500, there are but a handful I would consider “saleable” . Oh, but those handful can still take my breath away. And even the snapshots take me back to that place and time. This was a trip of a lifetime. We may never travel this way again. Carl has stated he will never drive to Alaska again although he is the first to admit everyone should do it once. And with all of his grumbling, he’s already talking and planning for the next great adventure. I just have 29 more states to hit!