Acadia National Park ~ 2010 summer vacation

-No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one.  ~Elbert Hubbard

Well, here it is folks, the wildly anticipated and highly acclaimed account of the Huntley family’s 2010 summer vacation. You may remember that last summer, we spent a week in Acadia National Park in Maine, camping and doing all the touristy things listed in the official guides. Well, we had so much fun last year, that we decided to produce the sequel this summer.  And just like almost every other sequel of a box office smash, it was good, but didn’t match the first trip.

Now I’m not saying that we didn’t have fun, or that we won’t go there again. We are experienced Rusticators now, and there is still so much to do and see. Our trip this year just hit a few snags. We believe in Karma, and it certainly seemed to believe in us this year, and as the week went on, things just got better and better.

So sit back, pour yourself a favorite beverage, pop some corn and prepare to read another fascinating account of the Huntleys in vacation mode.

First let me say that we really needed a vacation this summer.  The weeks leading up to vacation had been very stressful. I had used a lot of vacation time already this year, so I didn’t have a full week. We decided to leave on a Monday afternoon, after I worked all day Sunday and Monday morning. Perfect! We would stay in a motel an hour or so from Sewall Campground and arrive in the morning around 9, in time for check out/sign in. Since it was mid week and the last week of summer for most families, there shouldn’t be a problem getting a spot in this very economical, first come first serve national park campground.Well, that was mistake number one.

We stayed at a Comfort Inn in Belfast the first night, and I was a little shocked at the $150 price tag, but the view of the ocean was nice and there was a hot tub, sauna, heated pool and restaurant. One night of luxury before roughing it was ok.

Tuesday

We got up early, ate a complimentary full breakfast in the dining room, and then we were out the door, all before 8 O'clock. We arrived at the campground around 10:00 AM only to find a line of 20 cars and people ahead of us, some of whom had camped in their cars overnight.

Aaggh…no room at the inn, they said.

We got in line and decided to wait for a while and ponder our choices. From talking to a few others in line, I learned that all the private campsites on Mount Desert Island were full and that here, they were only letting people in as others left. We weren’t going to give up, but what to do?

Well… Lady Luck found us! A woman with a family, in line behind us, had talked to the rangers and found out that there were a couple of group camping sites open, but just for the night. If we wanted to sign on with 3 other families, we could have one and then come back in the morning to wait in line. We would be given spots, if available, before the new-comers, but after the renewal people who were just lengthening the stay at their already secured spots. At first we hesitated, but as the prospects for a personal campsite seemed bleak, we decided to go for it.

We found our group campsite, which was actually a much better spot than the single sites… bigger, sunnier, grassy and open.  It really worked out.

We set up just the essentials and then left for Southwest Harbor for Sandwiches and Ice Cream at the Quietside Cafe, one of our favorite stops. Last year the place was listed as “for sale,” and we were afraid one the best stops on the trip would be gone, but we lucked out and it was still there.

After we ate, we went back south to Sewall and spent the afternoon on the rocky beach. We left around dusk, cooked supper in camp, and then had a fire and S’mores with our Site-mates. It was fun camping with and meeting new people!

 

Wednesday

Wednesday dawned early for us. The Ranger had told us to be at the station at 5 AM to get a jump on the line, so the two dads,  Michigan and New Hampshire, (that’s what the rangers called us), hiked down to the station at the crack of dawn… shorts, sandals, messy hair and with out coffee.

We thought we had been duped at first. There were two cars in line already, but no rangers and nobody else around. That changed at 5:45. The cars started lining up and other change-site people showed up, as well as the people who wanted to keep their sites and stay longer. My crew showed up around 6:30. Tracy had woken the kids and they ate, broke camp, packed the car and brought me coffee and a breakfast bar. Is that service or what!

We actually had to wait around until 9 when the ranger station officially opened, then we got our tickets…Michigan was 1 and I got numero 2. Apparently our group stay caused quite a commotion at headquarters, as one of our group, a guy who hadn’t even stayed the night, complained at the ranger station about the lack of sites and the neccesity of group camping. This caused all kinds of problems, as the group site we received was normally not allowed for the likes of us or to be used in this fashion. The Rangers felt bad for our families and hooked us up, apparently against the rules.  No good deed goes un-punished, I guess. I’m sure they got some good Karma out of it… they went out of their way to help us and I couldn’t be more appreciative.  But, in any case, by 10:00, people left, and we had a site, and so went off to set up camp.

By this time, it seemed like most of the day was shot. We drove up along the Sommes Sound, got taco salads and quesidillas at a stand and then went to the Park Visitor Center. It’s a cool place to stop, lots of gifts, a video to watch and…bathrooms! Then we piled in the car again and drove up Cadillac Mountain. We spent the afternoon hiking around with the multitudes on the peak, snapping pics and enjoying the views. Yup…touristy, I know, but the kids had to come here at least once. It’s one of those places you HAVE to visit if you come to Acadia. 

We were going to go into Bar Harbor, but every one was kind of hungry and tired, so around 5 we headed back to camp. As I started setting up for dinner, Tracy went to light the Coleman stove and noticed the fuel tank leaking profusely. We made a quick decision to scrap the 15 year old stove and pick up a newer propane one. We cooked beans and dogs, made a fire and roasted S’mores again, and hit the sack around 10.

Thursday

Thursday dawned a beautiful day! I woke at 5 AM again (for some unknown reason) but I made the best of it and got up and made coffee. I sat by the remains of our fire, sipping coffee and reading “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” until Grace peeped out of her tent.

She loves camping and hiking, but she’s also a bit of a chatty-Kathy, so we decided to take a hike and let the sleepers sleep. We walked to the amphitheater and hiked around the bogs and woods there, then explored the entire campground for next year’s spot. We found some great places and a cool little cemetery, too.

Once back in camp, we ate hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, melon, yogurt, coffee and cocoa. We packed up the car and shot off toward the other side of the island for some hiking along the Sandy Beach/Thunder Hole trail. It’s a beautiful hike along rocky cliffs and beaches. Of course, we went off the trail and hiked the rocks. We spent all day here. 

Later we went into Bar Harbor and got Ice cream at another great stop, Ben & Bill’s. We ate out on the sidewalk and looked in a few shop windows, but didn’t really feel like doing the shopping thing.

We headed back around home around 7. We hit the store on the way and got supper sandwiches, breakfast and day hike snack supplies and then went back into camp and made supper. Sandwiches are key for supper fare! No cooking, little cleanup and quick; plus everyone gets to “do” something. Once again the kids cooked some S’mores at the fire after dinner and we hit the hay early.

Friday

Friday started out a repeat of Thursday. Grace and I took a hike over to Sewall beach this time. We decided that today would be “Bar Harbor day”, although we wanted to do something outside first, so we went south a bit to the Abbe museum and the Wild Gardens at Acadia and Sieur de Mont spring. I loved the wild gardens. All the plants I deal with as a surveyor and wetland scientist are here, planted and set up in little natural communities and labeled. We spent quite a while exploring and playing. Around 1:00 we ate our snacks in the parking lot under some shade trees then headed off to Town.

Bar Harbor is such a cool little town. Every year we spend at least one day here, checking out all the shops, galleries, music and eateries. This time there was a big music festival going on in the common and some funky, jazzy band was playing… so… there wasn’t anything in the way of parking for at least 1/2 a mile.

We were going to park at a spot near the school, and then hike back, but just as we were passing through the center of town, Lady luck blessed us again. We were stopped at an intersection, and I decided to let a couple car loads of tourists and a bus pull out. “Oh well,” I said “They’ll probably find all the good spots, but maybe it’s good Karma.” No sooner had I said that, than a spot opened right in front of us, right on the common. Nice!

So we spent a fun afternoon moseying around town. We all bought something. Jeremiah bought a battle-axe of all things at a sword and knife shop, Tracy and Grace bought wrap around, multi use skirt/dress things and I bought a woven basket for picking vegetables in the garden. So… I’m boring.

The evening was a repeat, too, except we did go to the amphitheater around 8:30 where the rangers were hosting a show put on by the national weather service. After the show we walked back to camp and went to bed.

Saturday

This was Cranberry Islands day. Since I was a kid, coming here with my folks, I had always wanted to visit the Cranberry Islands. Brochures all over mount Desert Island boast of the wonders of the islands, the history, the museums and the cafés. We caught the ferry in Southwest Harbor around AM and went over to the isles. the ferry ride was fun. The weather was beautiful and we saw harbor porpoises, seals and an osprey.

We spent the day ferrying around from island to island, checking off each stop the brochures suggested.

   

The afternoon started to cloud up, and we were hungry, so around 4 we took a very chilly ride back to the main island. We went to this cool place we had been driving by every day, called Eat-a-pita and Cafe2. You can read about our dinner here. Afterwards, we had our traditional last night desert at the Quietside Cafe and then went back to camp. It was a dark and moonless night because of the clouds that had moved in, there were a few sprinkles, and the air was heavy. It looked like rain.

Sunday

Sunday morning arrived and so did the rain. We actually managed to eat and break camp before a drop hit. We even said our goodbyes to the beach at Sewall, and just as we pulled out and headed north towards Southwest Harbor, the full onslaught of the the rain hit. In fact, it rained the entire 7 hour ride home.

 

And for 2011…

Of course, we plan to come back again next year. This time with a few tricks up our sleeve, now that we are experienced Rusticators.

Sunday morning is THE day to arrive. That’s when most people are leaving for the week.  We also found that, starting this year, 1/2 the campsites can be reserved on-line, so we’re not taking any chances.  And… now that we have done about all the touristy things that everybody with a  few days to spend can do, next year we’re going to do more hiking, biking, kayaking and exploring…and I’ll make sure to keep a full weeks vacation available.

Happy Trails!

Berry picking on a summer day…

  Well, Folks, as you probably know, if you have read any of my blogs or follow me on Facebook at all, weekend relaxing for me comes in the form of backbreaking yard work, construction projects, landscaping and gardening. If I don’t have some project, or at least the lawn to mow, I get all hitchy and anxious. I like to do stuff.

It’s not that I don't enjoy chilling out, sitting by the fire, reading a book or hanging at the beach… I really do. I just need to go away to do them. If I’m around home, there is always something that I have wanted to get done. I have an image in my mind of the little Eden that I am slowly creating on our plot of land, a place to get away from the world. A place without “The News”, without “Politics”, without jobs and clients and planning boards, a place where I grow my own organic foods that are nourishing to the body and bring peace to the spirit.

This little dream has a lot of components, and as of yet, they are not all built or in operation, so that is the source of my incessant business (for lack of a better word) It’s getting there. This weekend, I got a good start on our little fruit orchard… 4 apple trees, 2 pears, 1 plum. I would like 1 more plum, 2 peach trees and two of something else, so far planned only as “the last two spots”

But today… I took a break. After putting up another section of fence near our “orchard”, I took a swim and decided to sit on the patio, drink coffee and read. That lasted 5 minutes. I asked the kids if they would like to take a hike up the road from our house to the top of this bald hill and check for berries. The instant change from bored and bickering to polite, enthusiastic and energized was a miracle to behold.  We got ready in a record 5 minutes and headed up to the hill.

We cal it Allard’s Hill, because about 5 years ago, I was hired by a gentleman, Mr. Allard, to survey and subdivide his 100+/- ace parcel.  He had clear cut the entire top of the hill, which was a little disturbing, but he had a vision of a wildflower and berry meadow. It was hard to picture amidst the mud and exposed ledge at the time. The survey was fun, I learned a lot of history about the people and properties on our road and really, we couldn’t solve the mystery of the property line locations until I came across a will written in the 1840’s that described everything.

Today, the place is beautiful. We go there quite often. Mr. Allard eventually sold the property, without subdividing or building a single house, but his legacy of the beautiful wildflower/berry hilltop meadow has become a reality. The place is teeming with berry bushes and wildflowers of all types and there is tons of wildlife. We saw a huge flock of Turkeys with their babies and found evidence of bears eating blackberries all over the place (evidence of course = poop).

Grace and I wandered all over the hill, picking berries from the countless blackberry patches. It is still a little early, in another week or two, I imagine gallons of berries will be ready for the taking, but we still managed to fill up her berry basket. The new owners have set up a weather station, and a picnic spot at the top, with a log book for visitors. Jeremiah did a great sketch of the view from the table and wrote them a nice note.

 

The four of us, George came too, finally ended up at the picnic table and we just sat, stared at the view and filled our faces with blackberries, and still managed to preserve about 1/2 basket to bring home for ice-cream later and oatmeal for breakfast.

So there it is, folks. Occasionally, I do take a break, and this afternoon’s break was a good one!

2010 Garden Journey ~ Finally…The Garden is in!

Every year I plant a garden. Some years it’s quite prolific, others years it’s attractive, but offers less in the way of comestibles, and a few years here and there, it has been the domain of weeds, spiders and bees or left fallow altogether.

After last year’s success with vegetables and what I felt was a very artistic approach, I decided to step it up a notch. I drew up nice plans, back in January and ordered organic, heirloom seeds. I wanted to start everything myself in March, instead of buying seedlings in May. I also wanted to try a green manure.

As luck would have it, we had a super warm spring, and I tilled and planted my green manure seeds, (buckwheat, field peas, spring oats, vetch and mustard) in the last few days of March. An early start like that is unheard of in these parts.

Well, that turned out very successful! By the weekend before Memorial Day, the garden was completely covered, about knee high, with all these wonderful, beneficial little plants.

I mulch-mowed them and tilled them into the soil, as the method calls for, and let the soil set a week before planting (or so I planned)

But then, two things plotted against me to confound my plans. The first was my complete distraction with building… YES, you got it…the chicken coop! The second was a nasty period of rain, every other day it seemed.

Finally, around the second week of June, I had my coop done and the soil had dried out, so I started putting things in. My time was limited to week-nights and weekends, but now, two weeks later, I have everything in. What is amazing to me, is how fast things are sprouting. The stuff I put in two weeks ago has already sprouted and is off to a great start.

I planted Italian plum tomatoes; Poblano, Serrano, Cayenne, Jalapeño and sweet peppers; pole string beans, Romaine, mixed leaf lettuces, pickling cucumbers, black beans, kidney beans, kale, Swiss chard, beets, rutabagas, carrots, zucchini and summer squash, & cilantro. The corners of the beds are planted with marigolds and Grace interspersed all kinds of flowers throughout the garden. Outside the main garden, in the back, and up on the bank, I planted pie pumpkins, hull-less seed pumpkins and French pumpkins, and three types of winter squashes: acorn, butternut and delicata.

Do I really expect a grand harvest in the Fall or lots of tasty vegetables over the summer? Not really. My friend Michael saw me buying some last minute seeds at Agway last weekend (stuff I had forgotten to order) and commented how late it was to plant a garden. For me… it’s not the harvest… that is just the bonus. It’s all the thought and the care; the work and the sweat; the sore muscles; its watching the plants grow and seeing how the “plan” turned out. The garden is kind of a moving meditation for me, and a method for artistic expression. If I’m feeling stressed or anxious, I can go work in the garden (or really anywhere in the yard) and it all melts away.

 

I guess it’s the New England gene in my blood that wants to make sure my art or meditation has some practical purpose, at least on paper. Hopefully, we will get at least a salad out of the garden.

In other parts of the world, people practice art and meditation for their own sake; here on Poocham Road, we like to make sure that the things we do are of use…

The Chicken Coop

If you follow me at all on Facebook, you know that I have spent a good portion of the spring and early summer building a chicken coop. It has been a long journey, but finally, the coop is complete!

This project has been more than just a utilitarian effort to house our new chicks. In fact, in my minds eye, it wasn’t even a 12’ x 4’ chicken coop that I was building, but a 12’ x 24’ post and beam barn with workshops and storage. You see, that is what I really wanted to build. I have always loved old barns. I’ve spent countless hours exploring old barns, at places like Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, Fort Number 4 in Charlestown, NH, The Farmers Museum in Cooperstown, NY, and privately during my surveying career and as a kid growing up. I have spent hours, since I was kid, browsing through books by Eric Sloane about life in the 1800’s, and about old tools and old buildings.

A couple years ago, I bought this book on timber frame construction; my “Bible” on how to build my own post and beam barn. I have always wanted my own barn; a place to house a few animals, to store firewood, to have a woodshop, and a small blacksmith shop… a place to work on artistic endeavors, and a place to keep all my gardening tools and outdoor stuff dry.

Finally, a couple years ago, I decided to build a small shed from scratch, in post and beam fashion, using only hand tools. A first shot model for my future barn. I cut down trees for posts and hewed logs for cross supports, beams, and floor joists. I cut mortise and tenon joints and fastened them together with wooden pegs. By the time I got to the roof, I was a little tired hewing, to be honest, making strapping seemed like areal chore and required so many trees, and my attempt at making pine shingles proved VERY labor intensive and required a lot of practice and a lot of dry wood without knots… so… I opted out and bought rough cut lumber and cedar shingles. I also bought the 12” planks for the floor.

The shed…it’s nice, but it was my first attempt, and I used a lot of round, crooked, & various size woods, without a square angle or edge in the bunch. I still need to put the 12” pine board vertical siding up. Still, it looks very rustic and like an early 1830’s shed. Mission accomplished!

This year, once we started talking about chickens, I decided that we needed a new coop. Our old one was too small, and as I had built it 8 years ago with plywood and 2x4’s without paint or anything… it was beginning to have issues. I could have gone the easy route and bought a coop plan on-line and did the plywood thing again, but instead, I decided to build my barn - in miniature.

I bought rough-cut 4”x4” beams and 12” pine boards from this fantastic local saw mill run by 2 sisters. I based the design on the small barn design in my “Barn Bible”. I decided not to go with wood pegs, but nails. I also went with the cedar shingle roof. Cedar smells sooo good!

Originally, the coop was going to have wooden wheels at the base of the posts, so it could be mobile, with a trap door in the floor and a ramp so the chickens could access the area under the coop, which would be fenced in. As the chickens scratched and ran out of plants, worms and bugs to eat, I would move the pen. Well…I can still move it, even without the wheels, but damn, this coop is heavy, so decided to keep it where it is for now. I’m going to cut a door off the back, once the chicks get older, and fence in an outside pen for them along the bank between the coop and the shed.

 

The chicken wire panels in the front come off for easy cleaning of the coop and for replacement with plexi-glass windows in the winter. There is a main access door at one end and a nest access door to the 3 egg nests on the other end.

This was such a fun project and one I am really proud of. I enjoyed building it and it adds a nice aesthetic to the back yard.

Of course now, I want to tear down my rustic shed and build the full sized barn project from my book. I’m sure there are a few other priorities to attend to before that plan comes to fruition.

And so it begins…

Well… on Monday the chicks finally arrived; 25 tiny, multi-colored, peeping balls of fuzz. We ordered chicks from McMurray Hatchery back in February. We picked all kinds… chickens with fluffy feet, some with fluffy heads, a few rare Spanish chickens, some weird dinosaur looking ones, some half-wild ones, and each kid ordered a little bantam for their own. The kids were out of their minds with excitement. Jeremiah was too young to remember the last batch and Grace was just a baby, so this is going to be a life memory for those two.

They have been waiting for the chicks to arrive with as much anticipation as Santa on Christmas.  Well, Ok…not that much… but they were very excited. I have to admit…me too. Chickens are more interesting to watch that one would imagine, and they each provide an egg every day. What more can you ask? And what are we going to do with 2 dozen eggs a day? Who knows… I told Grace if she cared for them, she could have 4-5 dozen a week of her own to sell. She is such a little entrepreneur!

Within the first hour, we experienced two chicken milestones. The first? Grace named one of the chicks “Steve”; the second? Steve’s health started to go down hill and Grace was in tears. I tried to explain to her that it is normal to lose a few chicks the first day. In fact, when I was a kid, our chick batches of 25 would arrive and by the end of the day there would be only 12. Maybe we shouldn’t name them yet, I suggested. Of course…that didn’t help.  But luck was on our side and Steve pulled through. The rest of the day was chick-mania. We went to Blue Seal feeds and picked up chick supplies, and came home and set up a nice little pen for them. Within a couple hours, all 25 had names. (not that I can tell who is who, or remember any names)

Grace is adamant that her little bantam chick is going to be trainable and learn to do tricks and sleep in her bedroom. I’m just smiling right now… I’ll break the news about chicken hygiene and intelligence another day. 

Jeremiah also had his own trauma. His bantam, Milo, immediately became the lowest on the pecking order and the others pecked its face until it was bleeding. We had to separate it from the others until it healed up a bit. Jeremiah was sure his chicken would die… it’s always his thing that dies or disappears. But again…things worked out, and after the chicks ate and drank, they all relaxed and left each other alone. So now the chicks live in a hamster cage on our window sill. As soon as they are big enough, they get to move outside into the new chicken coop that I’ve built. If you follow me on Facebook, you'll know that for the last month, I’ve been building a post and beam style chicken coop. 

 

More on my chicken coop project another time…

Class trip

Every year, Jeremiah’s class at the Monadnock Waldorf  school goes on a class trip. In fact, every class, third through eighth grade, has a class trip. Next year, Grace’s trips will start. Each year the trip lasts a little longer and the group travels a little further afield.

In the 3rd grade, it was the Farm trip sleepover. In 4th grade, they went to the White Mountains in NH for a couple days.

Last year, Jeremiah’s fifth grade class went to Cape Cod for four days. They slept in cabin’s, roughing it, and they cooked their own food. During the day they went on various daytrips studying the biology and geography of the area. Some days they hiked, others they did bike trips. Tracy went with them last year as one of the four parent chaperons.  I made a short entry with a class photo here… She had a blast!

This year, his class is heading in the opposite direction; westward to New York State. After a little prodding from Tracy, I volunteered to be one of the adult chaperons this year. I’ve gone with the class as a chaperon for the hike we do every year up Mount Monadnock, but never for a four  day trip. It should be pretty fun!

We are going to do a day at Howe Caverns,  a day at the Herkimer Diamond Mines, a day in Cooperstown visiting the Farmer’s Museum and Fenimore Art Museum, and a day exploring the Heidelberg Escarpment (a limestone region of 100 foot limestone cliffs and underground rivers). This all ties in with the geography and geology the kids studied this year.  We will be living in rustic cabins again, and enjoying campfires, music and stories at night.

We leave early on May 24th and return at night on May27th. I’ll be sure to fill you in.