Tag Archives: National Parks

Acadia National Park, Part 1

06 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by in Miscellaneous

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Go to the visitor’s center first! That’s our mantra whenever we go to a national park. We actually stop by the visitor’s center throughout our visits. The rangers are wonderful resources, and we always ask them questions about what trails to hike.

When we were in Acadia National Park this past June, we watched a video introduction to the park. In the video, ladder trails were mentioned, so of course, Lily and Emmy were determined to find one! However, it was already late afternoon, so we decided to take a short hike on a carriage road. We were able to see some nice views of the island and the ocean, which only made us more eager to explore in the week to come. (Did you know Acadia is on an island in Maine? I didn’t realize it until I actually started planning this trip!)

The first full day that we spent in Acadia, however, was hiking the famous Cadillac Mountain, which is where the sun first touches the Northern Hemisphere at certain times of the year. Many people hike up to see the sun rise on Cadillac Mountain. We were not those people. It is an easy hike, since you drive most of the way up, park, and then hike up a short trail to the top. The views are spectacular!

The view from Cadillac Mountain, Maine.

Just looking at my pictures again makes me want to go back! Acadia National Park is an amazing place to visit.

 

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Struggling Upwards

15 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in family, travel

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After seeing bear scat on the trail to the natural bridge in Yellowstone, we decided to rent some bear spray for our morning hike up Mount Washburn. Bears scare me, and for good reason. We looked into buying bear spray at the park, but it was $50, and renting it was much more reasonable. All four of us watched a video about how to use bear spray, and Ed and I practiced pulling the trigger with an empty can of bear spray.

chipmunk

Not a bear, but a chipmunk

And we were off to climb Mount Washburn! It is one of the more popular trails in Yellowstone, but since we got an early start, there weren’t that many people on the trail yet. We were basically going to climb three miles up at about a 10 percent incline, and then come back down. Ed and the girls, of course, were faster than I was. Even with all my training for the 2 day breast cancer walk, and working out at the gym, I still felt woefully out of shape. However, I think because I had been exercising, when we rested after a steep climb I recovered faster, and walking on the treadmill at an incline strengthened my ankles, so I felt strong as I was climbing.

halfway-up

We ran into another group stopped at a logical resting place, and started chatting with them. One of the fun things about being a tourist is meeting new people from different places, although if I remember correctly, they were also from Illinois! The daughter was working at Yellowstone for the summer, so her family came to visit her and she was showing them around. She took the picture up above.

At the top of Mount Washburn is a fire lookout tower. We got warm while we were climbing, but then at the top the wind was blowing and it was really cold!

10000-feet

Before we headed back down the mountain we warmed up inside the lookout tower and used the bathroom. (I was so happy there was one up there!) We saw some bighorn sheep in the distance, and also a little yellow-bellied marmot. We spent some time looking at them through our binoculars.

at-the-top

I love how you can see part of the trail in this picture!

On the way down the mountain, we ran into a number of people walking up the mountain. The day was getting warmer, the path was getting busier, and I was glad that we had started so early that morning! Unfortunately for me, however, we still had a lot of time to explore Yellowstone. I’ll tell you what we did next tomorrow.

Keep up with our road trip:

The Great American Road Trip: Badlands National Park
Leaving the Badlands and Entering Wind Cave National Park
Not National Parks: Mount Rushmore and Devil’s Tower
Driving Through Wyoming

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