searcyf@mac.com – Page 96 – Travels with Fred

Motel Hell

2 June 2018

Yup, I can pick ’em! Two hours sleep, I think, last night. It was partly my own fault. I went to bed at 10:30 pm and tossed and turned because the motel was busy with people still checking in. Also, I-95 is right outside me window.

Traffic noise doesn’t bother me. What bothered me was next door. I think there was a couple in the room but people kept coming and going all night long, whether it was the couple or others. I finally dozed off around 2 am after I used the white noise app on my phone.

At 4 am, someone, I assume either on the other side of them or someone below them pounded on their door. It got quieter then but I was up at 5:30 am and someone left the room again.

It would have been easier if they had put in a revolving door. Whether it was a young lady of the evening entertaining or whether someone was selling drugs out of the room, or whether they had nicotine fits and had to have a smoke break every 10 minutes, I don’t know but the motel staff was strangely uncurious. There are cameras in the hallway so they surely knew of all the commotion.

If I can stay awake on the drive to Shenandoah, I intend to go to bed early tonight. Stay away from Quality Inn in Stratford if you like your sleep.

Cross Country Trip – Day 74

1 Jun 2018

I was up and out of The Yellow House by 6:30 am. It was a fairly short trip over fairly decent roads through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The only strange thing was to be on interstate highways the whole way and having to pay tolls. I paid cash to the tune of $7 total for Maine and New Hampshire. I have no idea how much the Massachusetts tolls will be since they do it only by tag.

When I was at Niagara Falls, they gave you a web site you could log onto and pay the toll. There was no ability to do that for Massachusetts. I have to wait for an invoice. That has to be expensive. I’ll probably owe $100 for tolls.

I made it to the so-so Quality Inn in Stratford, Connecticut and immediately started a load of clothes. I think I’ve washed more frequently on the trip than at home, but then again, the hiking clothes need washing after one use. They don’t pass the sniff test after a hike – then again, neither do I.

It was overcast the whole trip today with intermittent rain showers but nothing to hinder the travel. I think Massachusetts drivers are the most impatient of the states I passed through today. Speed limits are obviously only suggestions to state residents.

After washing clothes, I wanted to hit a Subway for dinner (and keep the half left over for lunch tomorrow. Unfortunately, TripAdvisor was not up-to-date and the Subway shop was no longer there. I then opted for the #1 recommended restaurant in Stratford: The Lazy Dog Tavern which was bar food. That means fried and I’ve about had it with fried food – a horrible thing for a Southerner to say.

As I pulled up to the tavern, I noticed a Polish sandwich shop and opted for their selection. I chose the meat lovers sandwich on a Polish roll. I now have half left over for lunch tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I wind my way to Shenandoah National Park and Big Meadows Lodge. I really do like staying in national park lodges when possible. Hopefully, the weather will hold so I can do some hiking. The ankle brace seems to be working its magic and I haven’t had any twinges with the ankle today. Keep your fingers crossed!

Cross Country Trip – Day 73

31 May 2018

It was a busy day! I also had one of the highlights of the trip today. More about that later.

Breakfast at The Yellow House has been excellent. They start out with a small bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola. Then they bring the entree. The first morning it was French toast with orange zest and almonds. Today was a leek frittata with home grown herbs and a great orange/cranberry scone (home made). I may delay my start tomorrow in order to get their breakfast.

My goal was to hit the visitor center before any hiking. That turned out to be a problem. The main highway into and out of town is ME-3 and it’s under construction and one way for part of the way in and no way on the way out. The problem is the visitor center is just off ME-3 and it’s the “you can’t get there from here” story. You have to take alternate roads.

After about 45 minutes, I finally found the correct road, and then found the visitor center. It pretty much was a waste of time. I usually like to get the park map (already had that) and their newsletter which amazingly, is pretty informative. This national park doesn’t produce a newsletter.

Off I went to start my first hike. I decided to try to hike The Bubbles. Both the South Bubble and North Bubble are short hikes (0.5 miles each) and I was wearing the ankle support under my boots, so I thought it would be no trouble. It wasn’t. My ankle held up fine but the problem came when the trail split to each bubble.

I decided to hike the South Bubble first and then retrace my steps to the split in the trail to the North Bubble.

Once you got to a certain point on the South Bubble trail, it had a sign that indicated “Bubble Rock”. This was pointed out to me on the tour yesterday and I wasn’t interested in seeing the rock again, so I continued on the trail.

The trail started down to a section described as the Bubble connector. It wasn’t. It was also some of the most difficult downhill I’ve done because it was over a boulder field. Once at the bottom, you were no where near where you thought you’d be. Instead, you were at Jordan Pond.

My choice was to either go back up the boulder field or circle around the pond to a short trail back to the parking lot. I opted not to climb the boulder field. After getting back to the jeep, I found I had meandered 2.4 miles. It was beautiful along Jordon Pond with a great breeze.

My next stop took me to the southwestern end of the island to Bass Harbor and Bass Harbor Light. There’s a steep set of steps that lead you down to the water’s edge where you can get a partial view of the light.

You can then backtrack and walk to the base of the light. As usual, all U.S. Coast Guard lights are now automated. It would have been cool to have been the light keeper with the view of the Atlantic from the lighthouse. This ended up as 0.4 miles.

My next stop was Ship Harbor which seems to be an area open to the ocean that some small ship could possibly get into. I think a better name would have been smuggler’s cove. It looks idea for rum running.

There are some stunning views of the cove and then of the ocean. I clocked in at 2.0 miles on this hike.

My last stop of the day was the best – and not for the hike. The trail is called Wonder Land and it turned out to be exactly that for me. The loop was 1.5 miles and there is some great coastland but what made this significant for me was I finally, finally got to see a pink lady slipper in bloom.

I have been looking for lady slipper orchids my entire trip along the northern tier of states and had given up hope of seeing one in bloom.

Pink Lady Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium acaule Aiton)

There, on an outcropping (and fenced off by the park service) were several in bloom in an area I would have never expected them. To be honest, the entire trip of 81 days has been worth it for me just for this find . I’ve looked for these orchids for years, as a graduate student, a college professor, and as a hiker these last four years. Finally! Life is good!

Total mileage today was 5.9 miles. My ankle began to act up and I decided to call it a day after the Wonder Land hike. I actually found my way back to Bar Harbor with little difficulty.

Tomorrow I head for Connecticut for one night before I hit Shenandoah National Park!

Cross Country Trip – Day 72

30 May 2018

Today was my first full day at Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I decided to do the tourist thing and take Oli’s Trolleys for their 2 1/2 hour trip along the Park Loop Road and Cadillac Mountain Road.

I walked down to the waterfront from the B&B and purchased my ticket and then walked to the departure point on West street. I was 45 minutes early and fell into a conversation with Andrea who works with the trolley company and who proceeded to show me on the map great hiking areas within the park. The 45 minutes went fast with pleasant conversation. Andrea moved to Bar Harbor from NYC four years ago and laughingly related she saw her very first moose on a trip to Yellowstone this year. The moose is the state mammal of Maine and there are plenty on the island.

Bar Harbor is called Bar Harbor because of a sand bar leading to Bar Island that is exposed at low tide. You can actually drive across it if you are 1 1/2 hours before and after low tide. Woe unto you if you get stuck in the sand or caught with the incoming tide. Todays tidal surge is listed at 11.7 feet so you, you vehicle, and your cargo box would be underwater.

Perhaps an apocryphal story is a lobster fisherman noticed a kayak afloat. Upon investigation and trying to get it out of the water, he found a car attached. Andrea was very insistent it was not a good idea to try to cross other than walk across.

The tour guides (Sindy and Gary) said you were ok 2 hours on either side of low tide and encouraged everyone to drive across it. I think I’ll stick with Andrea’s suggestion.

The trolley made three stops: Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, and Cadillac Mountain. All three were interesting. Sindy was breaking in as driver and tour guide and you could tell she had trouble memorizing her spiel but she was game and kept at it. Gary filled in when she drew a blank. It was a little disconcerting but the talk was full of history of the island.

John D. Rockerfeller was a major mover and shaker on the island and there are miles of carriage trails (he hated automobiles) still in use today. You can stop at the stables within the park and take a carriage ride through the park’s trails.

The rich and super rich made this their playground in the summer and built “cottages” for them and their friends. The cottages, of course, are small castles. Sindy used the term “conspicuous consumption” over and over on the trip.

Thunder Hole was the first stop but unfortunately for us, it was not thundering. The ocean was fairly calm and there was virtually no wind so we didn’t get to hear anything.

Thunder Hole – which was not thundering today – too calm

View of the Atlantic from Thunder Hole overlook

Next was Jordan Pond which is a massive freshwater lake that provides drinking water for Northeast and Southwest Harbor. It is also sometimes called “The Bubbles” for two mountains at one end of the lake. I’m surprised, with the French influence in this area from French explorers, they were not called Les Grandes Tetons!

Our last stop was the most impressive_A Cadillac Mountain at 1530 feet above sea level. You got expansive vistas of the Atlantic Ocean, Cranberry Island and Little Cranberry Island, Sutton Island, Greening Island and Baker Island in one direction and in the other direction, Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor.

The weather was cooperating and it was crystal clear so you view was only limited by line of sight.

After the tour, I walked to the local post office and sent off some post cards, then purchased a wildflower book on Acadia National Park (very well done) and then headed to Galyn’s again to partake of Holley’s suggestion of a blueberry martini.

Gayle, the bartender, said I had two choices: Sky blueberry vodka or a locally brewed vodka of native Maine blueberries. Of course, I opted for the local version.

I think I mentioned before I had been in the Boundary Waters canoe area three times in the past. My first trip happened to hit the height of blueberry season and we had blueberries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I got tired of them. Only recently have I been able to eat fresh blueberries with cereal in the morning and don’t ask me to try a blueberry muffin, pancake, or bagel.

To my amazement, the martini was excellent. I was the only one in the bar so Gayle and I had quite the conversation. I may even order another for happy hour when they are half price.

In exploring the downtown area, I found Cadillac Mountain Climbing, a sports store. I walked in and was just looking and ran across an ankle brace for the left ankle. I decided to spend the $40 for the brace. I got it back to the B&B and was about to try it on when I found an antitheft device still attached. Strangely, the alarm did not sound when I walked out of the store. I had to trudge back to the store to get them to remove it. The brace seems to work and I can fit my shoe over the brace. I’ll try it out for the day and see if it helps my ankle.

Tomorrow, I intend to head to the park visitor center, pick up some information, and perhaps do some short day hikes around the areas I saw from the trolley. I then may head to Southwest Harbor – where Martha Stewart has a house – and do some short hikes there. Maybe I’ll get to meet Martha!

Cross Country Trip – Day 71

29 May 2018

Damn birds! They roused me at 4:30 am. I was on the road by 6:30 and in Bar Harbor by 4:30 pm. I can tell you that upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire need to spend some money on their roads.

I programmed the gps to omit toll roads and it took me the back roads through back country, small towns, hamlets, and villages. I didn’t know they still called places hamlets and villages but it’s in their name.

Norman Rockwell country is very much alive and well. Sometimes I think I could see myself in one of these little hamlets but then again, I think I would go more stir crazy than I already am in Fort Lauderdale.

I’m staying at the Yellow House B&B about 300 feet from the harbor in Bar Harbor. Why it’s called the Yellow House, I have no idea.

Yellow House Bed & Breakfast – Bar Harbor, Maine

I’m on the ground floor with my own little private porch. The bedroom is huge – I think it must have been the dinning room at one time and the bath is equally large.

Jack’s Room at Yellow House. Haven’t found Jack yet.

Chris was sitting on the front porch and greeted me as I drove up. After a brief introduction to the inn, and a brief survey of the town, places to eat, and trolleys to take, I decided to do a walk-about. That’s basically Main Street.

I found a Chris recommended restaurant called Galyn’s and had their carrot-ginger soup and a $20 lobster roll. To be honest, Kelly’s Landing in Fort Lauderdale is better and much cheaper. However, I was seated on the glass enclosed patio and had a perfect view of the harbor.

Galyn’s on Main Street, Bar Harbor, Maine

I then decided to walk the 1/2 mile shore path that traces the shoreline of the harbor. All the rich muckity mucks who own property on the shore agreed to allow the path to be made for tourisms’ sake.

I confess to walking down to the rocks below and looking for rockweed – the genus Fucus about which I taught for 34 years. I loved this particular alga and got off on talking about how it reproduced based on the tides of the harbor. I also had students come back from trips to Maine and tell me how it was indeed very slippery when wet. It secretes a slime coat over the surface to protect it from the sun’s rays and desiccation at low tide. For the first time in my life I got to see it in its natural habitat. I take my joys where I can get them.

The darker material is rockweed attached to the rocks at low tide.

Rockweed – the genus Fucus. It has air bladders that hold it up in the water during high tide. At low tide, it collapses on the rocks and the reproductive structures are extruded. When the tide comes in, the sperm are released and swim in the water to fertilize the eggs.

I’m debating whether to take the Chris recommended 2 1/2 hour trolley trip of Acadia for $40. I probably will. I’m not sure I want to do a lot of hiking in this park but I do have my eye on one or two short hikes. I figure the trolley trip may be a good way to get an overview for the first day and then hike the second day. Then again, I may just chuck the trolley tour and do the hiking the first day.

Apparently the weekend was a massive tourist splurge. Most people have now left the island and it is much quieter now. I think I passed have the Memorial Day tourist trade as I was coming in and they were on their way out.

Early to bed tonight because of the damn birds!

Cross Country Trip – Day 70

28 May 2018

First, a salute to all us veterans!

OK, I lied, they have WiFi. I didn’t ask earlier and after I returned from dinner, I found out they do have it.

Today was a banner day. I checked two bucket list items off: Niagara Falls and the Adirondacks.

I was directed by gps to shuffle off to Buffalo. I had no intention to go to Niagara Falls but it is only 20 miles out of Buffalo and I decided it was too close not to go. The same thing happened the first time I visited the Grand Canyon. I had no intention of visiting the Grand Canyon but at a conference in Scotsdale, I determined it was stupid not to go.

There’s a pot of gold at the end – the only problem is you have to go by barrel.

When you get to the city of Niagara Falls, you are guided to the state park. Appearances can be deceiving. Finding a parking space is tough. Once you are close enough to the falls, you are directed towards a money making garage at $20 a car. I found street parking for $3.

Niagara Falls (American falls) and Maid of the Mist

Everything is well done. It no longer looks like the movie version Niagara with Marylin Monroe, Jean Peters and Joseph Cotten. I love that old movie. Instead, everything is up to date and ready to take your money.

I did the cheap tour and simply walked to the falls overlook. I didn’t pay for the observation tower or the Maid of the Mist. I stuck to the American falls, mainly because I didn’t bring my passport. I understand the Canadian falls are much more picturesque but I was satisfied just being able to see the American falls.

To be honest, I expected them to be a little higher than they were. Still, I wouldn’t want to go over them in a barrel.

The drive up to and through the Adirondacks was great. I passed places that looked like they could have been the set for Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House with Cary Grand and Myrna Loy. I also saw places that looked like they could have filmed Dirty Dancing.

The Adirondacks have fascinated me since my days as a Boy Scout at Camp Kickapoo outside Clinton, Mississippi. They had a secluded area in the camp for special occasions called the Adirondack shack. It was a simple three sided shed for camping.

Then, there was The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.

Later, I was introduced to Adirondack chairs. Much of the area does remind me of parts of the Smokeys as well as areas of Camp Kickapoo. Let’s just say I am an avid “tree eater.”

I pulled in to the Alpine Homestead around 5:15 pm and met Barry and Peggy, the owners. I’m in the Tannery room with a king bed. My private bath is down the hall. There is no breakfast with the B&B but that’s OK since I need an early start tomorrow for Bar Harbor. It’s a 9 hour drive.

Alpine Homstead B&B – owners Peggy and Barry

Tannery Room at Alpine Homstead B&B – private bath down the hall.

Again, I’m amazed at the accuracy of the gps. It’s self corrects along the way, but eerily, it seems to provide an accurate estimate as you begin even though it cannot predict the stops. Perhaps it has learned my bathroom breaks.

No Signal

Olmstedville has no cell signal and no WiFi. Will post tomorrow from Bar Harbor.

Cross Country Trip – Day 69

27 May 2018

This has to be the quietest motel I’ve ever stayed in. I’m not sure if it is because I am on the top floor (3rd) or if there aren’t that many people on the top floor, or if it is extremely well insulated. In any case, I am much appreciative. I’ve gotten two solids nights of sleep because of it.

The day started out foggy and it progressed to looking like it would rain any minute. By the time I made it to the park and started to load my pack, the sun had come out and it was a beautiful day for hiking.

I think I mentioned in a previous post I wanted to hike the Ledges. This is an area of the park that overlooks the valley floor and it has a loop of a trail that meanders along overlooks.

It is an easy trail to hike (the loop is around 2.2 miles, depending upon who you believe or which sign you believe) and you can veer off the loop like I did and hike the 2.2 mile loop called Pine Grove.

The trail starts from a parking lot next to the Ledges Shelter. From there, it descends onto the forest floor and then goes back up to the overlook. Neither the descent nor ascent is terribly steep. This is a very walkable trail.

The parking lot was mostly empty when I pulled in with maybe 10 cars. By the time I left, it was nearing full.

I particularly wanted to walk this trail as it was recommended for wildflowers. It was not to disappoint. I suppose the average person would not think a lot in bloom, but if you know what to look for, there was plenty of stuff to photograph in bloom.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott)

As I progressed through the hike, I kept hearing feet behind me. This seems to be a very popular running trail. I probably had about 20 runners either pass me or meet me on the trail, and some I met or passed twice.

It’s also a popular dog walking trail. Thankfully, everyone had their pets on leash.

Black Fox Squirrel. Both the Eastern Squirrel and Fox Squirrel have black varieties.

I finished up both trails and was done by 12:30 pm. I debated whether to hike some more but my ankle suggested it was time to call it a day.

I was back at the motel by 1:30 pm after a quick lunch at McDonald’s. I hoped into the shower and removed some trail grime. For some reason, the trail was muddy and I got more than a little on my pants and me.

Tomorrow, I head for Olmsteadville, New York for a one night stay at bed and breakfast called Alpine Homestead. From there, I head to Acadia National Park. The drive to Olmsteadville is around 9 hours with about the same drive into Bar Harbor.

Spring Wildflowers of Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Squawroot (Conopholis alpina Liebm.) – parasitic on oak and beech roots

Hazelnut (Corylus americana Walter – also called filberts – yes, that hazelnut you put in your coffee.

Solomon’s seal (Poloygonatum biflorum (Walter) Elliott)

False Solomon’s Sea (Maianthenum racemosum (L.) Link)

Eastern Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginanum L.)

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis L.)

Cross Country Trip – Day 68

26 May 2018

I have very mixed feelings about Cuyahoga Valley National Park. On the one hand, when you actually get to a trail and walk it, it’s quite. beautiful, tranquil, and much like the area in and around Tishomingo State Park in northeast Mississippi where I did my graduate work.

The air was perfumed with the scent of Black Locust. It’s the largest stand of these trees I’ve seen and they were all in bloom at once.

Then there is the mishmash of towns and private land intersecting and interweaving the park. There’s Garfield Heights, Sagamore Hills, Bedford, Macedonia, Northfield Center, Cuyahoga Falls, and Richfield. I think I passed through every one of these communities while trying to find bits and pieces of the park scattered among them.

Add to that the very touristy train through the park (a fake engine pulls Pullman’s through the park albeit pushed by diesels) and you have ready made traffic jams along a major artery of the park.

When I did get to get on a trail, it was great. I got some great wildflower shots and got to see some interesting waterfalls.

My first stop was the visitor center. Or I tried to stop at the visitor center. The website says it is open – it is not – it is under renovation. I did find a temporary visitor center (not labeled so as you could tell – just a building sitting off the side of the road. I picked up a map and The Valley Guide (each park names their guide).

There was a parking lot for the train and it was almost filled. I would suspect this is one of the busiest parks in the National Park Service. There were park personnel, police, and volunteers all directing traffic and there was a huge concession area for while you waited for the train.

My first hiking stop was Brandywine Falls. I did the short 0.5 mile hike down to the falls which was a mostly boardwalk and steps down. After that, I decided to do the 1.4 mile loop called Brandywine Gorge which takes you by the falls again. It was a great trail and I enjoyed it tremendously.

Next up was Blue Hen Falls. The sign points you to a parking lot (already full by mid-morning) which is actually the overflow for the falls parking lot across the road (and unmarked). I found a place down the hill from the falls to park the jeep, walked back to the parking lot and walked a short section of trail (unmarked) that turned out to not be the trail to the falls.

Backtracking along the road, I finally noticed the across-the-road drive that led to the falls. It was a 0.5 mile roundtrip to a very attractive little falls. I’m not sure why it is called Blue Hen, but there were more people there and on the trail than could have possibly parked in one of four locations near the falls. I have no idea from where those people came.

Lastly, I decided to head to Bridal Veil Falls – listed as a falls within the park but is actually a Cleveland MetroPark. The park suggests the best time to visit is after a rain storm but I didn’t have time to wait for one, so I headed to see it anyway. Once you park, you again wonder where is the trail? It is across the road from the parking lot. These were not spectacular falls but were attractive enough for the short 0.5 mile round trip hike.

With the loop, the falls, and incidental walking, I think I must have made 3 1/2 miles today. I noticed my ankle warning me so I called it quits and headed back to the comfort of the Comfort Inn in Independence.

There is a trail I would like to hike tomorrow (2.2 miles) called The Ledges with some spectacular overlooks of the valley below. It is also supposed to be excellent for wildflowers.