After our vacation I am at last back home. We have had a most excellent time and gotten out into nature before the winter snows hem us in. We drove way up north to the north eastern area of Maine for the week. Its a wonderful time to visit there as tourist season is done and there are very few people about. Of course most visitor centers and such are also closed but that us the price you pay. Temperatures dropped while up there so that by the time we left there was frost on the ground in the morning. Please note, when I talk about hiking its more strolling. Thus is not like the hikes Mr Ed has done in the White Mountains. Janine and I are much more the sauntering style of hiking.
We stayed in Ellsworth which was a great central location. First day there we dropped can get to Arcadia National National Park. Although the visitor centers and most tourists sites were closed there was still plenty to do. A shore walk was a perfect way to start our trip. There were great views of the Harbor.
The town of Bar Harbor gets it name because if a very long and wide sand bar which appears at low tide. It connects the town to Bar Island. its a pleasant walk across the sand bar and then a wonderful walk around the island. Great views of the Harbor and town. At this time the New England foliage was still bright and beautiful colors which added to the walk. By the way please keep a eye on the time as once the tide starts to come in it dies so very quickly! Tide charts are posted everywhere.
There are a number of short but interesting walks in most towns around here. These can be very rewarding and of course not crowded at all. One was in the town of Ellsworth off a old farm. Locals maintain it and its a very pleasant walk. Afterwards there is a very nice brewery in town. The local beer is Airline Brewery. Its is not named for aircraft but for the road between Bangor where driver "Fly" by you. The New England IPA is most excellent.
A local mentioned to us a nice climb up Blue Hill mountain. It took us a while to find but we were rewarded by a good steady climb and beautiful views of the area. This walk is off the beaten path but was a good climb.
Another feature of the coast of Maine was the rocky shore line and light houses. We saw a couple.
There were a number of other walks but I would be just repeating myself. Lets us just say we got out and enjoyed ourselves each day. Plus we also got a little history in. But more on that later.
