We’ve Mastered The Art of “Dumb Luck!”

Officially @ Acadia National Park

Day 61        August 9

When your day starts out at a microbrewery, that is a great day. This day was a great day! Remember, when I say, “starting out” the day, I mean noon, ‘cause that’s just about the time we’re hittin’ our stride for the day.

The day started with no set plan. We commenced our wandering about Acadia National Park and the surrounding environs. I’m still not sure, without consulting a map, when we were actually inside of, or outside of Acadia, and it didn’t really matter.

When we saw the signs for the Atlantic Brewing Company, and Mainely Meat, right next to each other, we knew it was gonna be a spectacular day! Ends up that the two businesses are right there on one property, making for a one-stop lunch stop.

Lunch time!

Lunch @ Mainely Meat & the Atlantic Brewing Company

I liked my beer so much, that I went for a little swim in it.

We had a great lunch…fantastic pulled pork, and killer baked beans, along with a couple local brews. And then we hit the brewery shop for some take-out beers with which to restock our fridge.

So many beers to choose from!

Fully fueled, our next stop was Beech Mountain, where we picked one of several hiking trails, and just went for it…no map, no info, no clue…as usual. We happened to pick a fairly steep and extremely rocky path to the top. I was worried about the dogs being able to keep up, when, clearly, I should have been worried about me keeping up!

Starting our Beech Mountain hike.

Following the boys up Beech Mountain

After dragging all four of our butts to the top, we were richly rewarded with the most awesome of views!

@ the top of Beech Mountain

With our little bendable friends @ the top of Beech Mountain

@ the top of Beech Mountain

@ the water tower @ top of Beech Mountain

We soaked in the beauty, rested in the shade for a while, rehydrated, and then took a different way back down. This worked out great, as the path wasn’t as rocky or as steep, plus, we got to see completely different views. We certainly picked a fabulous hike!

The view on the way back down Beech Mountain

The view on the way back down Beech Mountain

The view on the way back down Beech Mountain

Enough hiking for one day. We hopped back in the Space Shuttle, and headed in some such direction as seemed interesting at the time. Not really sure how we picked our route. We ended up at Bass Harbor, in the town of Bernard. Bass Harbor seemed to be one big lobster fishing harbor. I’ve never seen so many lobster pots in my life!!

Bass Harbor

Bass Harbor

Bass Harbor

As luck would have it, Bass Harbor also had a lighthouse, the Bass Harbor Head Light. Somehow, all of our “winging it” had totally paid off today!

Bass Harbor Head Light

Bass Harbor Head Light

We completed the day by making another trip up Cadillac Mountain to view the sunset. This time we had no rain and no hail…just pure sun, turning into darkness.

Me, looking pretty dang serious, working on an Instagram @ Cadillac Mountain.

Sunset on Cadillac Mountain

Watching the sunset on Cadillac Mountain. It’s a spectator sport!

Sunset on Cadillac Mountain

Portrait of Dax @ sunset on Cadillac Mountain

Sunset on Cadillac Mountain

Fiona. Waiting to go down the mountain after watching the spectacular sunset on Cadillac Mountain.

And later that evening, the appropriate beer for the appropriate daily activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weird Road Trip Conversations & The F-Bomb

Garden of the Gods, IL

Day 31       July 10

The Crab Orchard Campground was beautiful, and we’d scored a site right on the lake. When we woke up this morning, we knew why we’d gotten such a “great” site. SKEETERS!!! The space shuttle was covered in huge skeeters. We were way too close to the stagnant water!!

Yowza!!! This wasn’t the first time we’d hi-tailed it out of a campground to escape skeeters, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

On the road

We drove through the campus of Southern Illinois University, just to see it, and then made a stop at Walmart to buy a small hand held vacuum. I don’t love Walmart, but, it made sense to buy one there. That way, if it didn’t work, or we didn’t like it, we could return it to the next Walmart in the next town. Walmart is super convenient if you’re traveling, so, while we’re traveling, I’ll just leave it at that.

Today was a great day for interesting conversation as we drove. Here’s what we covered today:

• People with big properties spend a lot of time mowing their lawns

• I like to wear skirts when I travel, because they’re comfortable, but I don’t know how to stop the bugs from flying up them.

• General discussion about Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Cathy Ireland.

• General discussion about why I won’t make sandwiches in a moving RV

• What is the proper name to call a “little person?” Is it “dwarf,” or “little person,” or…??? We are pretty sure that the term “midget” is no longer used, or is not considered to be kind.

Time flew by with such stimulating conversation. We drove south on Rt 34, and before we knew it, we were in Shawnee National Forest.

Shawnee National Forest, IL

Garden of the Gods, IL

Garden of the Gods, IL

Garden of the Gods, IL

Garden of the Gods, IL

Garden of the Gods, IL

We first explored an area called Garden of the Gods. While crouched down, walking through a tunnel in the rocks, I hit my head on the rock ceiling so hard, that I knocked myself on my ass.

You know what lesson I learned from that? Do NOT wear a hat while hiking. I was wearing a baseball cap, and the brim, essentially, blocked my upper peripheral view.

You know what other lesson I learned? That families out hiking with young kids, do NOT appreciate hearing the f-bomb while they’re out in nature.

Our next stop was a hiking area called Rim Rock. The guide book described the main hike at Rim Rock as having a “breath-taking view.”  Hmmm…no view at all, but a pretty little hike in the woods.

And then, a stop at Pounds Hallow, a local fishing and swimming hole.

Pounds Hallow, IL

Pounds Hallow, IL

Pounds Hallow, IL

Pounds Hallow, IL

We headed out on Rt 1, to Rt 146. Went through some cool little places, and pretty countryside. We also passed about a zillion deer and their little babies out galavanting where they should not be….on the dang road. And because of this, I inadvertently invented a new swear word….”Shimaran.”

“Shimaran” is what came out of my mouth when I tried to yell, “Shit, Mark, the deer are running!” I was trying to warn him that some deer were about to run in front of us. Lucky he saw the deer, ‘cause he had no clue what I had yelled and he started yelling at me, “Use your words! Use your  words!”

Ohio River. Elizabethtown, IL

Ohio River. Elizabethtown, IL

The scenic route

Elizabethtown, IL

Ohio River, IL

Early evening, we safely crossed the Kentucky state line. We had a great dinner at Patti’s 1880’s Settlement, in Grand Rivers. It’s kind of a crazy tourist trap place, but, we thought it was fun, and the dinner was delicious.

Hello Kentucky!

Dinner @ Patti’s

They serve these loaves of bread there called Flower Pot Loaves, or some such name. These are loaves of bread that are baked in, shaped like, and served in, flowerpots. Dangerous shit. We ate two whole flower pots of bread with our meal, and then still had enough wits about us to buy some fudge at the little gift shop! No wonder my pants are gettin’ tight!

We finally found, and settled in for the night at the Kentucky Dam Campground.

Jr. Rangers and The Pretzelberry

Selfie. Craters of the Moon

Day 18   June 27

Why Do Kids Get All The Good Stuff?

We spent a good part of the day exploring Craters of the Moon National Monument. There’s lots of little hiking trails that take you to all kinds of varying and cool volcanic formations.

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

The Space Shuttle @ Craters of the Moon

Crazy dead tree @ Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

Climbing on the lava formations @ Craters of the Moon

Mark @ Craters of the Moon

We met a nice couple from the San Francisco Bay area,  with their young boy who was working on getting his Jr. Ranger badge. He was going to a Jr. Ranger workshop given by the park ranger, and he was doing work in his Jr. Ranger workbook, and was out hiking with mom and dad and learning stuff.

Obviously, this got me thinking… Why do kids get all the good stuff and get to have all the fun? Why is there just Jr. Rangers for kids? Why isn’t there like a Sr. Ranger thing for older people? I’d like to get a badge too, ya know.

And ya know what else? Those kids with all the great Jr. Ranger activities and stuff…they don’t even pay for their own trips to these cool places. Their parents pay for it!!!!! It’s a total free ride for them. Well, I’m payin’ for my own trip, and I want a freakin’ Sr. Ranger badge!!!!! Who can I talk to about that?!

The Pretzelberry

So, ok, one perk of being an adult, is that I can eat whatever the hell I want, when I want. That’s worth something, especially when you’re on a road trip, and you need to eat constantly, because you’re burning so many calories sitting on your ass all day driving from place to place that you’d probably die if you didn’t eat the whole time.

In the afternoon, we drove from Craters of the Moon, to Yellowstone National Park  in Wyoming. That was 254 miles, where I got to eat anything I wanted. And that was when I invented the pretzelberry!!

The Pretzelberry

The pretzelberry is a pretzel & strawberry combo. A near-perfect mix of sweet and healthy, with salty carbs of no nutritional value what-so-ever. I say near-perfect, only because, what would have made it absolutely perfect, would have been some melted dark chocolate on top.

Alas, after consuming many pretzelberries, we arrived at Yellowstone, and settled into our campsite for the night.

Entering Yellowstone

Arriving at our campground

Celebrating Crummy Canned Foods From the 1960’s

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Day #8

Since we’d un-virginized  the RV propane stove yesterday while preparing a wholesome  dinner of Dinty Moore Stew, it was easy to do the same today. So, while sitting in the Bridge RV Park in White Salmon, Washington, while Lew Farber began work on our solar upgrade, we dove right into another culinary bastardaization…lunch…Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs.

My normally healthy eating habits were on a speedy decline. And I was actually enjoying it. I devoured the spaghetti and meatballs. I have heard people say that everything tastes extra good when you’re glamping, and I was beginning to believe it, ‘cause here I was, kind of enjoying my can of spaghetti!!

After lunch, Mark and I headed out on a day trip in a rental car, while Lew worked on the rig.

Lew, working on our solar panel install & upgrade. White Salmon, WA

We drove west from White Salmon, through Carson, and ended up at the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center. Cool museum.

Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum

Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum

Ya know what I learned at the Interpretive Center? That in Skamania County, it is illegal to hunt Sasquatch (Big Foot.).  The reason being this….If Big Foot was killed, and was deemed a human, than he would fall under the jurisdiction of the Sherriff’s Department. If Big Foot was killed and was deemed an animal, he would fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Fish and Game. Neither department wanted to deal with it, so they just made it illegal to hunt him. Makes sense.

Enough of filling our brains with cultural stuff and information that’s difficult to retain. So we drove back over to the Oregon side of the river, to Multnomah Falls.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Mark, hiking back down @ Multnomah Falls, Oregon

Hiked to the top. I think it was about a mile to the top, via some steep switchbacks. We did secret races against the other hikers. Kicked ass on every single one of them. Slow and steady never wins any race. Faster is better, even if it kills you.