Winding down in Belgrade

 

View from the Adirondack, 8:30a

One can't really develop a routine in 6 days, but we came close. John-the-elder and John-the-younger took off in the boat to fish at about 7am, I took Jasper for a walk, Sarah went for a run, and then I was back for coffee, the Idaho Statesman and a lake sit until the others got home. It always takes us a while to figure out how to vacation.

Yesterday, we headed to Freeport, home of L.L. Bean at noon or so to see the place, the town, and visit Wolf's Neck State Park for a walk. John-the-younger also wanted to see the ocean in these parts. Jasper lounged in a shaded car while we shopped and ate a little Ben and Jerry's, then we headed out to the park, which is a short drive from Booming Downtown Freeport. The weather started to turn about then, and by the time we were hiking, it was blowing rain and salt water. No crowds! And we had 2 umbrellas and wonderful views. Hard to complain.

Wolf's Neck in the rain

It's hard to see from the images how hard the wind was blowing, but we found a sheltered spot and watched. And watched. It really was beautiful, in that stormy New England Coast way. John-the-elder and I have been here before when the kids were young. We remembered the view of the osprey nest. Yes. The osprey made several appearances in the stormy weather, along with a couple of cormorants (who were undeterred by the weather) and a fishing boat in the bay.

Wolf's Neck view

After the stroll in the rain, we headed to The Maine Beer Company, which was a brewery that Sarah and JTY had researched. Sarah had made reservations, and we had a great table in the absolutely fabulous HUGE brew house. We ordered some pizzas that were wood-fired and delicious. The brew house limits you to 90 minutes at a table, which was just about right.

Evening cast

The weather has been unsettled today, and we're all too aware that this is our last day. Checkout time tomorrow is 10a. When did check out times get this early? We have dinner tonight at The Village Inn and Tavern; a place that specializes in Duck dishes, and Sarah and I have vowed to go for one more swim, regardless of the weather.

Unsettled weather

The house inspection did not go as well as hoped, but for now, all we can do is wait until the sellers get a copy. We leave tomorrow to visit friends in Merrimack, New Hampshire. It's funny how being on the road seems so normal, now. It was soooo nice, though, to unpack for a week, and spend time with Sarah and John.

A Day on Long Pond

 

The view from the house

The bid for the house was accepted. So many details to attend to, but most managed by phone. What a relief. So we set about the work of enjoying our cabin on a lake. John left at 6a to go fishing, though apparently the fish didn't wake up until some time later. Jasper and I wandered down to the lake, coffee in hand (mine) to sit on the dock and soak up the ambience of a large glacial lake. 

Sitting on the upper dock

It was clear and utterly empty. Later in the day, a haze from the Western wild fires would hang over the area, but for this moment, it was clear, quiet, full of coffee and thoughts.

Truth be told, I woke up at 2am and thought "Are we nuts? What have we done?" But as I went over the details of the house, I couldn't find a wrong thing about it for us. We are climate refuges, but as the smoke told us today, there is really no escape. My only consolation now is that Maybe. . . Maybe. . . some percentage of the deniers will be slapping their foreheads and saying "Maybe this is real".

Fly fishing lessons

Tomorrow is the house inspection, so the kids can see it too. And verify our good judgement. Or not. This evening promises some rain, so we'll sit on the deck under a canopy, eat lobster roll and other assorted Maine Delights, finishing up with a Birthday Blueberry pie with Ice-cream (made from the little native blueberries. . . Vaccinium angustafolium. . . that grow here) to celebrate Sarah's birth. Another year.

I'll close with some images of the trees that grow in this part of the world. I didn't know I missed them until I saw them again.

The lake framed by Eastern White Pine

White Birch and Cedar

Belgrade Lakes. . . you can't exactly go home. . .

We arrived at our cottage on Long Pond in Belgrade Lakes on Saturday. Jasper took to the place right away, though to be fair, his bed seems to make every place home. A good thing, since we have been on the road for more than three weeks now.

I had lost heart regarding finding a new home. New Hampshire and Vermont came up empty. How does one explain when a place simply doesn't feel right?

The good news is that this was the real vacation time. Sarah and John-the-younger arrived at 7:30p or so, and we had dinner together, and fell into an easy rhythm. Then, on Sunday, we left them to their own devices with Jasper, and went house hunting with M, our newly found real estate agent. The first house we saw was spectacular, though not a waterfront property. We spent the rest of the day chasing down places that we had seen on Zillow. We were inevitably disappointed. But the memory of the first place kept us going, and by 7p, we bid M adieu, promising to get back to her regarding that first house after a nights sleep. And consideration. We found ourselves so excited about it. We drove through nearby Waterville, where Colby college lives, along with several other colleges and community colleges, reconsidered the solar panels and spectacular layout of that first place, and decided to submit a bid. We did this knowing that 2 bids had already been submitted. Long story short, our bid was accepted, and the wheels have been put into motion. What excitement. What terror. What. What have we done?

Still, it feels right, if overwhelming. And now we can spend some time enjoying this place on a huge lake, swim, eat, drink, be with our family. And make our plans. I have been remiss in documenting this place, and I will remedy that situation tomorrow.
 

Rediscovering Boothbay Harbor

 

A wide creek through the woods

We're staying at a motel in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. This was a bit of a consolation prize, since I had tired of planning for a couple of weeks in February, and then tried to book a dog friendly place-with-kitchen to no avail when I finally got back to it. So I booked a motel. The old fashioned kind. I think this is an American invention, that started with the building of interstate highways across the country. Those must have been heady days. . a time when we, as Americans and as a country, could agree to spend significant funds on something that benefited us all. What a crazy idea. Anyway, motels let us back into a parking space, and unload completely into our own door in a room. Reasonably sized. . .king bed, not-king-refrigerator, microwave, standard tub for a standard shower in a standard bathroom. Very wonderful, really. 

Closeup of a water plant. . I know not what. . .

The amazing thing that we've discovered in this town that we were quite familiar with 25 years ago, is that there are a bunch of Preservation areas with trails to walk. In fact, one is across a small footbridge by our motel. It's called the Penny Lake Trail. I told John that I would love to live next to something like this in our next house, so that I can take off with Jasper on early mornings to walk in the cool of morning, complete with mist and frog and bird voices, and wander about on trails for an hour or so. Jasper, of course, gets lots of smells to fill his dreams, as well as ample time and place for his ablutions. 

The woods at Penny Lake

Fortuitously, we ran into a young man who maintains the trails on our second foray, which was called Pine Tree Preservation Area. He told us about the other trails in the area that he was hired to manage. He was handsome and physical. . . exactly the kind of guy I would have fallen for as a 20-something. Well-educated, as revealed by his speech, too. He told us about other trails in the area, so we walked the Linekin Trail today, which ended in a beautiful vista of one of the innumerable bays that define the coastline of Maine. What a place.

Orange and Purple fungi

But it wasn't just about the big stuff. We saw an abundance of plants and fungi. Here is a purple fungi that I asked a friend of mine to help me identify. She thinks it's a purple coral fungus. Beautiful and strange. The other, more conventional looking fungi was cool as well. 

Tomorrow we head for the endpoint of our Maine visit. . .Belgrade Lakes. We'll get to see Sarah and John-the-younger for a week. Lucky us. As usual.

The view from Limekin Trail

A new Mantra. . or Song

New Hampshire to Maine, with a foray into Vermont

 

Summer park, winter ice rink

We spent 3 days in Nashua New Hampshire. The drive there was really tough. . .navigating around New York City proved more challenging than the route around Chicago a couple of weeks ago. 

But Nashua was an interesting place. Our lodging was pretty dreadful. . . tiny, cramped, an advertised kitchen that didn't exist, as well as AC that didn't cool. Good WiFi and netflix access, though. And the town is pretty cool, in a rough-and-tumble way. We loved the fact that this large park we found to stroll with Jasper is actually an ice rink in the winter. That's how cold it gets, and remains! There were a bunch of nice dog friendly patios, and an absolutely wonderful bakery as well. On our way out of town, we discovered the river walk area in the city. There are huge old factories standing that are being converted to condos. Very old industrial buildings that speak of a pragmatic past.

. . . turned to living space

And walking space. . .

We spend one of our Nashua days driving 3 hours to Mt. Tabor Vermont to see a house that was ever-do-tantalizing on Zillow. It had some wonderful features, but turned out that it was a good thing we got to see it. It was in deepest darkest Vermont. . .beautiful, but close to. . . very little. Manchester, VT is a cute town. . .but a little too cute for us. It was great to drive through Vermont, though. It's not called the Green Mountain State for nothing.

However, we returned home to our not-so-great AirBnb absolutely exhausted, and ate what we could find for dinner. It was ok. All part of the learning curve.

AND! Today, we reached our destination state: Maine. I am hopeful that we will be able to find what we're looking for. We're in touch with a realtor named Marjorie, and will see some homes in South central Maine on Sunday. In the meantime, we had another wonderful dinner on a deck in Boothbay Harbor. These forays are tough on Jasper, so I'm SOOO glad that the weather is cooling so that he can wait in the car, instead of on a deck above large bodies of water. It really was lovely. The food was good.  . not great. . .my second lobster roll and a great glass of California Pinot Gris.

View from the deck

The place, Mine Oyster, offered beautiful views and inadequate staffing. But we had our patient heads on, adult beverages, and all the time in the world. How lucky are we? And then the rain came through. . once again beautiful, and again we were protected by an awning.

Some images. . . .

How the IPhone sees the rain

How I see a yacht

Where your dog takes you. . .

Towpath along the Delaware River

Kintnersville proved to be an interesting spot, in spite of John's having to be in meetings, and the weather often too hot for Jasper and I. We have become consummate heat weenies. But that inspired us to get out early, just like in Idaho. Cooler and moister, but very much the same level of comfort or discomfort. Our landlady recommended a walk on the canal, which runs all along the river, but the entry points are often elusive. We found this one. A lock area that gives entry onto the path, though there is just a small pull off across a very winding two lane road. Shoulders? Don't be silly. This path was so like the paths I used to walk on in DC. . .the canal has a two lane path between it and the river. All lush lush lush.

 

It was warm, but not too hot, and we walked for over a mile before coming to a bridge that went back over the canal, and across the road was a restaurant called The Narrows. It had a patio, so of course Jasper was interested in the menu. It was early (8:30a or so), so we noted the place, and walked back. 

My Dad once talked about flying back from a conference in Omaha. He said that when they flew over the Mississippi River, the land below suddenly looked like a jungle. . .more so as they made the descent into Washington National Airport. I was reminded of that when I saw this old power plant. It looks like it's being taken back over by the vegetation.

 

One of my favorite new memories is seeing the Queen Anne's Lace blooming crazy. Thank you Bob Dylan.We have very little of this in the Boise area. I think it prefers more water, and perhaps more acid soil. We DO have a lot of yarrow, which seems to occupy a similar niche in our high desert climate.

The best part of the day was to come, however. We had some pretty amazing thunderstorms throughout the day, but I took a chance and made reservations at The Narrows anyway. The Narrows Restaurant 

 

For 7:15p, thinking that the weather might settle by then. Ha. 

I had called ahead, and explained the situation, and the staff seemed game. It was cloudy but dry when we got there, but we were the only brave souls who sat on the patio. Jasper got his water, and once again proved he was up for the Urban Life. Inexperienced, but willing to learn. We got our drinks and appetizer (Tuna Tartare), and it was just then that it started to rain. A young man who worked there put the awning up over us, and then the rain really got going. And lightning. And thunder. Oh My.

It was Magic. See for yourself.

The food, by the way, was incredible. I'm thinking the chef must have been a famous city guy who decided to slow down in Rural Eastern Pennsylvania. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I know I'm slow to post these days. . .lots is not happening in Nashua, New Hampshire, but this post is long enough. Nashua can wait. . .

.

The Road to Kintnersville

 

Nockamixon State Park

We made our convoluted way from Horsham to Kintnersville yesterday. If we'd taken the rapid route, it would have been an hour's drive, but we decided to go through New Hope, Lambertville, and a ton of small, cute colonial towns, walking along the canal along the way. Oh. And getting Ice Cream. We were still early for check in at our next AirBnb, so we stopped by Nochimixon State Park for a picnic. 

It was hot, but we found a shady spot by the lake. Jasper is not made for this hot humid weather, though he seems to be acclimating admirably. He has also responded incredibly well to all sorts of new people. When the three dogs who live here barked and barked (and barked!), he walked up to the fence, tried to sniff them, glanced at me, and walked away. Dude. Way to go.

One of the striking things about being in these Eastern forests is the differences in birdsong. I made a couple of audio files, but can't figure out how to upload them to blogspot. It involves HTML, which is way above my pay grade. But if you want to hear birdsong from the Horsham woods and the Kintnersville woods, shoot me an email.

The Conservancy in Kintnersville

This morning Jasper and I made for the Heritage Conservancy Jere Knight Nature Trail, about 6 minutes from our lodging. It was really a sweet find. Because we've been pushing Jasper, and it was already pretty hot at 9a, I opted for a shorter loop. . .about 1.25 miles. There was some climbing, but not a lot, and there was a creek toward the end of the hike. Perfect.

 Wild raspberries were growing all along the trail. . . some ripe. Yum. Just a little tart, but with throw-you-against-the-wall raspberry flavor. A quick note: Harvested raspberries leave the receptacle on the bush when you harvest them, resulting in a cavity at the base of the berry. Blackberries retain that white tissue at their core. It's a big reason why blackberries keep better than raspberries.

The woods were lovely, and Jasper has gotten the hang of going into creeks for a long drink. We headed back, and plan on staying in the cool of our beautiful AirBnb for the afternoon. Cooler weather is coming, though John has another day of conferencing before we head out of Pennsylvania.

Native Raspberries

Raspberries, close up

Forest Canopy

My favorite subject, slaking thirst

Deepest Darkest Horsham

 

Pennypacker Creek Trail

So what exactly is a "Horsham"? No clue. I'm thinking it was the guy's name who first settled this exurb of Philly. To be fair, it is a town that became a bedroom community to Philadelphia. I think.

It is amazing to me how many green spaces are set aside in the Philadelphia area. Sarah and John-the-Younger live in an area that abuts Fairmount Park; which is sort of the Central Park of Philadelphia. We are about 1 hour 15 minutes Northwest of them now in Horsham, and when I googled "Trails Near Me" this morning, several came up. I chose Pennypacker Creek Trail, and Jasper and I set off while John remoted his conference. Hey. I just made up a new verb!

A dog for all places

It's a great spot. A trail along Pennypacker Creek, which is quite wide and branched. It has that very used feeling that many urban trails have, but there was no trash. No dog poop visible. It was about 15 minutes from our AirBnb, and we arrived at about 10:30am. . .which was too late to be cool. The same would be true in Boise, of course, but the temperature was only in the mid 80's. "It ain't the heat, it's the humidity". Jasper has been slow since his foray into urban life, but I think he's doing ok. I realized today, when he carried his food dish to his bed, that he doesn't like eating from the metal bowl on the slick hardwood surface. So smart, that dog. Now he's trained me on That aspect of his preferences.

The forests here really are different than those along the Boise river, or even those on the west coast. For one thing, there is such a wide variety of trees. I had forgotten that, say, Beech trees are everywhere. In the wild. HIckory. Other deciduous trees hos names I have forgotten. And the trees also are so tall. We think of our Sweet Gums in our yard as being huge, but they are small next to some of the yard trees here. There is also a complex of varieties in the undergrowth. . .in some areas so many species (grasses and dicots) that you can hardly count them. In others, the trees so shade the soil below that you can easily walk without a path. There is abundant poison ivy, but also abundant jewel weed; a purported antidote to the poison ivy toxin. Poison Ivy is Rhus radicans. It's amazing what the aging brain brings forth sometimes. 

It's so hard not to quote Frost on this one

I know I've said this before, but it seems like plants leap out of the ground. No coaxing required. Water, sun, soil.

Tomorrow we leave Horsham early to visit New Hope for a stroll and breakfast (before it gets too hot!), and then head north to another Pennsylvania town: Kintnersville. I am seriously wishing that the next 3 days could be spent in Vermont or New Hampshire, but plans didn't go that way. I may check out making a change. New Hope and Doylestown are incredibly cute, but also quite touristy, suburban feeling, and Too Hot for us. Maybe when I'm really old, I could see myself in a townhouse on the river, but that's not NOW.

The path to. . .

John still needs a strong WiFi for his remaining conference sessions (retired? How did this happen?), but we might be able to swing it.

Penn's Forests

Pennsylvania at 65 mph

 I am once again delayed in updating this journal. Once again we were able to be with old friends and I put time with them above time posting. Not a bad priority, but forgive me if I've kept any of you on pins and needles. Ha. 

We have had some wonderful hikes since passing through Madison. We stopped at Indiana Dunes State Park and had a great hike (though not on the dunes) and a picnic there; then traveled on through to Pennsylvania. William Penn's Forest. Words and images can not describe the feeling of belonging that I have for these forests. Plants. . .so many species, heights, colors; leap out of the soil. Weeds do as well, of course, but that's the price one pays for good soil and water falling from the sky on a regular basis. We spent a couple of days with our good friends from our days at Penn State. It has been so good to see everyone. To pick up on our last conversations. . .favorite topics include our children, Jasper, old friends, good memories, new developments, recent and prospective retirements.

First view of Mt. Nittany

Surprisingly, central PA had a feeling of home. Familiarity. I have always loved that ecosystem, and we have been treated to a couple of wonderful thunderstorms, which we missed terribly in Idaho. We also saw fireflies.

A view from K and J's

Jasper, by the way, has been a perfect gentleman. Well. With the possible exception of doing some marking in less-than-desirable places. "No whizzing on the flower pots!". He has met so many people with an open heart, and he is, as always, sweet and gentle with other dogs. 

The pond

After leaving central PA, we headed down to the Doylestown/New Hope area of PA. John has a conference he needs solid WiFi for, and we wanted to explore this area. On the way, he found a hike that entered into the Appalachian trail, so we got to hike on it. A there-and-back. It was incredibly hot and humid, but we soldiered on so that we could all get a little exercise. It was a relatively short car ride, and we were treated to a thunderstorm (or three!), and dinner with Sarah and John. We hadn't realized how close we would be to Inner Philly (deepest darkest?), so it was a surprise all around. Jasper proved adept at navigating the narrow tree lined streets of their neighborhood. We ate at an outdoor pub, where Jasper feasted on a hamburger while we shared food and drink with Sarah and John. I know the John's are confusing, so from here on out, I'll refer to Sarah's John as John-the-younger. Done.(!)

Hiking the Appalachian trail: A Little Bit

I'll finish off with a video of the rainstorm we had after the hot humid day. The humidity remains an issue. But these storms are some vindication.

Catching Up

 

Catherine's House

I've been remiss. Our next stop was at our friend Catherine's house in the wilds of South Dakota. Three dogs, an unknown number of cats, chickens, beautiful place with trees and all manner of shrubs and flowers (Catherine is a fellow horticulturist), children. It was so good to see her, and I didn't want to take time away from her to blather on here.

It was hot. Still hot, though our fair city, Boise, continues to be considerably hotter. We haven't crossed the country in the summer in 21 years.It is hotter.

Best seat in the house

The last day of travel to Catherine's place was quite long. Also hot, and the width of South Dakota is a tough place to find a walk, especially when you need a shaded walk for an old black dog. And oldish White People. While we're traveling, Jasper has the best seat in the house. The protected back seat, with my pillow for his head. He is not spoiled. Merely considered. Well, I'll leave that to your judgement.

One of the Grand Children

Catherine's Grand Daughter, who lives with her, is quite a sweetheart. She's active, but not obnoxiously so. Ha. Do I ever sound crusty.

We spent 2 nights with them in Toronto, SD, and then headed to Madison WI, where John had booked a LaQuinta. LaQuinta's are pretty great. They allow dogs, no extra charge, and this room was out of town, but large and inexpensive. 

Just for a moment. . .

Jasper rarely gets on any furniture, but the Very Long Drive to Madison must have been inspirational. It continues to be hot (90's plus humidity). We unpacked and went into Madison, took a walk in Tenny Park, which is between two lakes. Good news? It is green and has a lot of trees and shade. Bad news? It was really still quite hot at 8p and humid. The lakes smelled like sewage. It must be an algal bloom? Hard to know. We headed from there to the Willy Street Coop to pick up some dinner; a recommendation from my niece who lives in Madison when she's not being a world traveler. We picked up food, and then luxuriated in the hotel room. 

And now, we're in Port Clinton, Ohio, visiting John's sister and her husband in a beautiful cabin on Lake Erie. We're lucky to be able to see so many folks that we live so far from. Still hot, but a thunder storm is promised (not something we see in Boise), lightning bugs are here, and a swim is in my near future.
 

The Second Long Day: Wyoming-South Dakota

 

Waterfall in the Casper Rotary Park

Here's the truth. The first three days of our trip are the hardest. . . about 8 hours each, with stops for hiking, and picnics, of course. We are not the young things we once were, and these days are harder on our bodies than they once were. 

On the other hand, we do see some wonderful places. I have to credit John, here. He generally plans the hikes. . . deviations off the interstates, often to state or municipal parks, that give us green, exercise and help us see our surroundings. This is a shot from the Rotary Park just outside of Casper. It was really amazing for a city park. Large, and tree'd. . . this waterfall was a prominent feature. It was a little too hot to hike the more exposed trails for old us, and for an old black dog. At one point I touched Jasper's fur, and said to John "He's hot to the touch. We have to get him out of this sun!" We did have a lovely picnic at a private site by a stream. A welcome respite from driving.

Wyoming landscape

We do see everything from the dull to the sublime while driving, though. Through some of the landscape in Western and Central Wyoming, the land is just flat (sometimes rolling) desert. But then one passes through an area of strange, beautiful and bizarre landforms. Pointed green hills, rounded rock towers hunched like trolls, columns of  layered rocks. . . all sorts of unexpected land forms. It actually makes me wonder how the geology and climate made this place.

But really, it was the clouds in Wyoming that kept inspiring wonder. Again, it is hard to get an image that does justice. But if I had seen a painting of the same thing my eyes were seeing, I would have thought they were caricatures of clouds. Too "cloud-like" to be real.

Wyoming land forms

As we drove toward Eastern Wyoming, the landscape started to change quite dramatically. The hills were greener, and trees started appearing on the hillsides. The terrain was quite rolling, and as we drove toward our lodging, the hillsides shared space with agricultural land. As always, I crave the green, so it was a welcome development!

Clouds

Eastern Wyoming greens