Hiking Around Jordan's Pond

This is our second trip to Downeast Maine.  Six years ago we were here over the 4th of July weekend.  It was busy then, but not as busy as it is now.  Despite the crowds we have had a great time the last few days.

We are camped at Forest Ridge Campground in Ellsworth, ME which is about 15 miles from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.  One great thing about this lifestyle is seeing friends and meeting new ones.  On Saturday we took a short drive to Orrington, ME which is outside of Bangor.  We arrived at Rick and Barbara's place for a gourmet lunch (Menu - Asian spring roll, cole slaw, corn on the cob, chix lobster) and some catching up time.

Rick and I were in the same unit (Constant Watch PMO) back in the 1980's when we were stationed in Hawaii.  He relocated back here and he and Barbara finished their careers here.  It was great to be able to meet up with them again and enjoy their hospitality.

Earlier in the week, blog readers Randy and Pat, let us know they were camped near us and we got together on Sunday.  We met for the first time at this beautiful church

then went to lunch.  The time passed quickly at Finn's Irish Pub in Ellsworth.  I think we all had fish sandwiches which worked out well.

It was fun hearing about their 18 months on the road and learning of their three kids and what they are up to.  Randy and Pat are from Indiana but moved to Christiansburg VA where they retired and became full-timers.  Check out their blog:  click here

We got together again for some hiking in Acadia National Park around Jordan's Pond.  We drove over to the Visitor Center and took the free (LL Bean supported) bus to Jordan's Pond.

It was misting a little bit and we waited for the rain to let up.  Pam was the only one with a rain coat so the rest of us got a $1 poncho before we started out.

We took the counter clock-wise route and it was a beautiful hike.

 Pat noticed some beautiful tree growth through some rocks.

 We also saw some evidence of beavers at work.

The trail was the busiest hiking we had done in quite a while.  But with the steady stream of traffic, we were able to have a fellow hiker take our picture.

In the distance are the Bubbles.  The North Bubble (left) is 872' and the South (right) is 766'.  We passed near them at the far end of the pond.  At the end of the far end is this cool footbridge.

The first half of the hike took us to the far end of the pond.  On the return, we entered into a more difficult rocky area.

Though I didn't take any pictures, the rocks were part of the actual trail and we slowly hiked a couple hundred yards over them. They were flat and it was it was an easy hike.

Then we traveled along the board trail area.  This portion seemed to go on forever.  It was probably about 1/2 a mile but it required your complete attention.  I was concerned the split logs would be slippery with the light rain but it was not an issue.

Toward the end of the hike, we paused for about 20 minutes and had our picnic lunch off the trail near some rocks.

When we finished, we visited the gift shop again and then boarded the bus for the return trip to the Visitor Center.

 The hike around Jordan Pond is almost a 'must do' while at Acadia National Park.  And it was great spending time with our new friends Randy and Pat.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Deadwood Trails in the Cactus Forest

We love to hike.  Fortunately there are many ways to do it.  We fit into the recreational, casual category.  We enjoy getting out and taking a easy walk through different places.  It helps us appreciate nature and gives us some badly needed exercise.

I couldn't wait to get over to our nearest National Park (we are at Davis-Monthan AFB campground) and take a hike through the desert.

Pam put together some sandwiches, we got some water bottles and our walking sticks and made our way over to Saguaro East.  We have been on these trails every time we have visited Tucson.

This particular one was the Mica View trail that is hard-packed and disability accessible.  Not sure that is a word but wheelchairs can roll on this portion.

 We went down that the path for a while,  found a joining trail and continued on.

I found myself stopping and say, "Wow -- look at this view!"  Its not like I had never seen the desert or cacti before.  Or this was the first time we'd been hiking on a beautiful, warm, calm day in the desert.  The first trail we took was aptly named the Mica View.

This huge one Saguaro was really something to look at.

From their we joined up with the Cactus Forest trail.  We have been out here on previous visits to Tucson but I have never really stopped and thought about "Cactus Forest".  I don't know who coined that term but it is quite remarkable.  And this area has a lot of big Saguaros which are magnificent all by themselves, let alone in the midst of hundreds of other ones.

A couple of days later, we returned and went on another hike a little later in the day on some different trails:  Shantz, Pink Hill and Loma Verde Wash.  This time we went after lunch in the heat of the day. It was mid-70's.  It was beautiful and hot.

This time I noticed the wood ribs of decayed cactus that were scattered near the trail.  

There were lots of dead and decaying wood from the cactus near the trail.  And this gem in the middle of a young green tree, and an old dead one.  All kinds of variations of life among the cactus and desert trees.

I guess I was most impressed with the 'wood' laying around the once used to be Cholla or Saguaro cacti.  This one was in a class by itself.

We didn't go on a long hike, but long enough for us until we get more miles under our feet and used to the heat.

From here later this morning we go up the road to Catalina State Park.  Hopefully we can hike some more of those trails again.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Hiking the Georgia Trails

We actually went  hiking on two trails and they were both not far from our campsite at Red Top State Park about 40 minutes north of Atlanta.  After a pretty busy day of trying to see the sites in the hustle and bustle of Atlanta the previous day, we decided to back off and take a hike.  It turned out to be an excellent choice.

Our campground may be typical for Georgia and if so, we are impressed.  We had quite a few trails to choose from and we picked the one nearest our campsite and joined up with another one.

We started on the Campground Trail taking us over to the Visitor Center and then joined up with the Sweet Gum Trail.

 The trails had enough ups and downs to get our heart rate up at times.

 But mostly it was a chance to get out there and enjoy the woods and take in the fresh air.  It was great day.  We love to do it and wonder why we don't get out there more often...

Here's a look at the 3.22 mile route we walked on my MapMyRide app:

I'm sure we'll be doing more hikes as we enjoy the weather down South here for the next few weeks!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Museum, Cliff House and Other Dwellings at Mesa Verde

You can't see everything in a day at Mesa Verde National Park.  In fact, it takes more than the two days we spent there.  But we saw quite a bit and finished up with a tour of the Museum over on Chapin Mesa.

It had a great 25 minute video explaining the history and some of the archeology of the Ancient Puebloans who occupied the area.

Some of the displays were old ones from the 1950's which I liked.

 A short hike to the Spruce House was next on the agenda and we had a good walk down the zig zag trail.

 The Spruce House is one of the best preserved and third largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde.

We next made our way over to the Cliff Canyon area and saw more dwellings high up along the canyon walls.

There was lots to see and plenty of scenic driving at Mesa Verde.  We are glad we finally made it there and hope to return.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!