White Mountains and a Blue Ocean

We have spent the last two weeks visiting the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Acadia National Park in Maine.  What a great time!

White Mountains

It seems kind of funny that we left the Green Mountains of Vermont and headed to the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  What color is next?  Maybe we should visit the Blue Ridge Mountains?  Probably not this trip…but someday!

Anyway, we found a very nice campground at a discounted rate (score!) and made it our home base for a week.

A stellar campsite...and no neighbors. Yay!

A stellar campsite…and no neighbors. Yay!

We just HAD to drive the auto road up to the summit of Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the East. The drive up is not for the faint of heart.  Jim, fortunately, is just the opposite, so we drove.

You have been warned!

You have been warned!

Other options are to take a van up or the cog railroad.

Cogwheel train making it's way to the top of Mt. Washington.

Cogwheel train making its way to the top of Mt. Washington.

The view was breathtaking.  The weather station here is staffed year around and because of the extreme conditions, a lot of weather research happens here too.

Weather Instruments.

Weather Instruments.

The peak is the site of the highest wind speed ever recorded by man (231 mph).  We got a kick out of the fact that it’s so windy, they have to bolt the propane tanks down to the ground!

Propane tank restrained so the wind doesn't blow it over.

Propane tank restrained so the wind doesn’t blow it over.

View from the top of Mt. Washington.

View from the top of Mt. Washington.

View from Mt. Washington.

View from Mt. Washington.

Top of Mt. Washington...it's a tad windy!

Top of Mt. Washington…it’s a tad windy!

You have to pay to drive up the Auto Road to the top of Mt. Washington. A bumper sticker is your reward.

You have to pay to drive up the Auto Road to the top of Mt. Washington. A bumper sticker is your reward.

After the peak, it was time to explore the rest of the White Mountains.  There is a great loop road.  We also discovered an audio tour that you could download to your phone or IPod that provides narration about the the sights on the roads through the park.  I love it when places do this!  However, it assumed you were driving the loop clockwise.  Of course, we were going counter-clockwise.  But we managed.

There were lots of hikes, water falls and vistas.

A river cut it's way through the granite over the years.

A river cut its way through the granite over the years.

Lunchtime on a hiking trail.

Lunchtime on a hiking trail.

A cool piece of fungus on a fallen tree. Janelle, this picture is for you.

A cool piece of fungus on a fallen tree. Janelle, this picture is for you.

There were also the expected covered bridges.

One of many Covered Bridges in the White Mountains.

One of many Covered Bridges in the White Mountains.

The trees were just starting to change colors…it won’t be long before this area is bursting with fall colors.

Fall is a'coming.

Fall is a’coming.

Every serious quilter knows that New Hampshire is home to Keepsake Quilting, one of the premier quilt shops in the country.  Road trip!  I did well, only spending $150. I got off cheap compared to some other shoppers!

Welcome to Keepsake Quilting.

Welcome to Keepsake Quilting.

Inside Keepsake Quilting. Someday I'll figure out how how to take a decent selfie.

Inside Keepsake Quilting. Someday I’ll figure out how how to take a decent selfie.

 

Keeping a level head

We decided to head to Maine next.  But what’s an RV trip without a hiccup or two.  As we were pulling out of the campground in New Hampshire, I noticed that one of our leveling jacks did not raise all the way.  Stop the RV!!!

See that shiny post…that’s the leveling jack.  What you can’t see is that Jim is under the RV trying to diagnose the problem and figure out what is wrong.  Yes, he can sit upright underneath the RV.

A leveling jack that won't go up....and Jim in there somewhere.

A leveling jack that won’t go up….and Jim in there somewhere.

Kudos here to Jim for finding a way to get us on our way.  We ended up getting the jack up by forcing it.  I was in the driver’s seat of the RV and filled our RV air suspension with air, thereby raising the RV.  Jim then piled blocks of wood under the jack.  Next I let the air out of the air suspension causing the RV to lower, thereby forcing the jack to press against the wood blocks and moving the hydraulic cylinder up.  After 5 or 6 cycles of this, we had the jack back up.  We still don’t know what the problem is and haven’t had it down since.  A call to the jack manufacturer is on tap for this week.

Acadia National Park

Finally we were on our way to  to the Bar Harbor, Maine area, specifically Acadia National Park.  We were last here in 1982 with our friend Jon Hill, a native Maniac (yes, that’s what they call themselves).  And years later, we were able to meet up with him again for dinner!  Jon and I started Kodak at the same time and shared an office for a couple of months.  He left Kodak after a year, but the friendship is still intact,  It’s always great when you can see someone after a number of years and pick right back up where you left off.

Jon and I.

Jon and I.

Acadia is a wonderful park on the Atlantic Ocean. Let it be said that I had my feet in the Pacific (while visiting Callie) and the Atlantic in 2015!

Toes in the cold Atlantic Ocean

Toes in the cold Atlantic Ocean

The shoreline views are stupendous. The crowds are maddening.  We thought that since it was September the park would be empty.  Wrong!  One ranger said that the crowds are as bad as they were in July and August.  The theory is that the cheap price of gas has enabled more to travel.

Acadia has Cadillac Mountain as its highest peak.  We drove to the summit the first afternoon and decided we had to see sunrise from there the next morning.  At this time of the year, Cadillac Mountain is the first place on the east coast of North America that the sun shines upon when it rises.

So, we were up at 4:30 a.m. to leave by 5:00 for a 6:13 sunrise.  And we weren’t the only ones.  I couldn’t believe how many people were crazy enough to do the exact same thing.
Driving up Cadillac Mountain in the dark. It was about 5:15 a.m. when this was taken. There was a steady stream of cars.

Hundreds of other crazies willing to be on top of a mountain at 6:00 a.m. to watch the sun rise.

Hundreds of other crazies willing to be on top of a mountain at 6:00 a.m. to watch the sun rise.

I had done some research, and it was recommended to dress warmly and take chairs and coffee.  We did all that…except we substituted hot soup for coffee.

We came prepared to greet the day!

We came prepared to greet the day!

 

What a way to start the day!

Almost sunrise

Almost sunrise

Sunrise from Cadillac Mountain

Sunrise from Cadillac Mountain

The park itself consists of land that was all donated by wealthy land owners, especially John D. Rockefeller.  At one time, there were many summer cottages on the island, however a fire in 1947 destroyed most of them.  It was after this that the land was donated to make a National Park.  John D. Rockefeller Jr. made carriage roads all through the park that the wealthy used to walk, ride horse back, and take their carriages down.

The carriage roads are all packed gravel. Volunteers keep them maintained, and do a great job.

The carriage roads are all packed gravel. Volunteers keep them maintained, and do a great job.

These carriage roads included many stone bridges, each unique.

Stone bridge with a carriage road under it.

Stone bridge with a carriage road under it.

Stone bridge with a carriage road on top.

Stone bridge with a carriage road on top.

These days motorized vehicles are not allowed on the carriage roads, we we rode our bikes around them.

Bike ride around Eagle Lake on a carriage road.

Bike ride around Eagle Lake on a carriage road.

The park has Ranger led hikes also.  We took a moderate hike that proved to be more challenging than we expected.  But the views are worth it.

Our NP Ranger explaining the geology of the region.

Our NP Ranger explaining the geology of the region.

View from the top of Great Head

View from the top of Great Head

Sand Beach...the ONLY sandy beach in the park. It was a very popular place.

Sand Beach…the ONLY sandy beach in the park. It was a very popular place.

View of Sand Beach from Great Head.

View of Sand Beach from Great Head.

 

 

Shoreline of Maine

Shoreline of Maine

Acadia National Park, looking north.

Acadia National Park, looking north.

A beautiful shoreline.

A beautiful shoreline.

We could have easily spent more time in Maine, but it was time to move on.  We are now in Massachusetts at an RV Resort.  We need some downtime and this place provides it.  We have heated swimming pools, hot tubs, and a sauna at our disposal.  It quiet, serene, and a good place to catch up on the normal day-to-day activities (mail, banking, etc).  We need to rest up after all that fun the past couple of weeks.  Today is also our 31st wedding anniversary, so a little pampering is in order!

Normandy Farms RV Resort, time to unwind for a week.

Normandy Farms RV Resort, time to unwind for a week.

We are here through Sunday.  As usual, our next destination is yet to be determined…just the way we like it.

5 thoughts on “White Mountains and a Blue Ocean

  1. dominiquefeather

    Neat pictures, thanks. You can also walk up Mt. Washington — Don did. Part of the AT. The only place we ever saw the northern lights was at Acadia National Park — but we were in a tent. As usual, sounds like you are having a great adventure!!!!

    1. Corinne Post author

      I thought of Don more than once when we were at Mt. Washington and near the Appalachia Trail. I have a huge amount of respect for anyone that attempts the AT. And someday I’ll see the Northern Lights….someday.

  2. Amy

    The photos of Mt Washington, the ocean and sunrise are stunning!!!! Keep Blogging for those of us back home. Happy Anniversary…31 years is quite an accomplishment! ๐Ÿ™‚

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