Shenandoah National PArk

We left DC and went out way south to Virginia. Our destination is Shenandoah NP. There are four campgrounds in the park. We entered from the north end meeting our first challenge. We weren't sure we were going to be able to get through the entrance as the overhang looked low. I walked up and checked with the rangers there. One of them said we should be able to get through on one of the sides. One was too low and we made it through with an inch to spare. However, they told us there was a tunnel ahead that was 12'8", one inch too short. There is a campground before the tunnel and another entrance station we could use if we wanted to go farther down. We first drove to the visitor center and talking to one of the rangers there decided on Loft Mountain, which is the farthest one down. We decided to drive back to the entrance we came and go around and enter back into the Park down there. It would be a beautiful drive but lots of windy roads and low hanging branches. We got to Loft Mountain and got the last of the pull through sites that had somewhat of a view.It is lovely.

From the sitting area you can see a little bit of the mountain and there is a short path to a point where you have awesome views. This is also where you can take a hike on the trail that goes around the park. Actually it is part of the Appalachian Trail.

One day while there we did hike on the trail. The area we walked went through the heavily treed path with flowers, ferns and even some mushrooms.

After our hike we took a drive on Skyline Drive. It goes from one end of the NP to the other and where the south end stops, it becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Hard to believe looking at the views that there was a huge battle that took place over 150 years ago during the Civil War.

Then to complete the day we got a beautiful sunset that we could see on the overlook right down from our site.

Jordan Pond Walk and a Visit with Friends

We love Acadia NP and spent another day exploring. We went back to the lake we had stopped at the day before but this time had our lunch there.

We  drove on down the loop stopping at Jordan Pond for a hike. The Jordan Pond loop is 3.5 miles and is a leisurely easy walk on a gravel path along the pristine waters of the Pond.

What an idyllic place with beauty at every turn.

Part of the path was over some rocks with water on both sides as the above three pictures show.

The path ends at the Jordan Pond Restaurant which has lunch and tea time with their famous popovers. It was very busy and you should get reservations in advance. We will have to check it out next time we are her

Joe had been in contact with our friends Larry and Orene, whom we met and spent time with at the last two Mexican Connection trips we took to San Felipe and Ensenada. They live in Arizona now but they have a "camp" in Enfield and when they heard we were in the area, invited us over for the day. It was about 1 1/2 north of where we are staying.
They have a lovely cabin. Orene's grandfather bought the land which is right on the water and built a small one roon cabin. Later additional rooms were built including a bathroom as they once had an outhouse on the property. The house has been passed down among the generations and five generations have stayed at the cabin.

We had a great lunch of fried chicken, potatoes and peas and a pasta salad. We drank beer and some wine we brought that we got at one of the New York wineries. What a great afternoon. We all have a lot in common and could talk about any subject, including politics and religion which you can't always talk about with a lot of people.  We will see them again at the next Escapade in Tucson and the next Mexico trip next February.

We were happy to see Ella again. She is a beautiful English Setter who they have taken care of for the last two years while Orene's sister was overseas. She will be back in a few weeks and will be taking Ella home to Washington DC. Larry and Orene will sure miss her.

Our last full day in Maine was spent back in the part of Acadia that we went to on the rainy day. This time we had sunshine. We had lunch at a small restaurant and sat outside with haddock sandwiches which were good.

A lot of the houses in this area had a lunch of lobster traps in their yards.

We walked around at another lovely beach area. I loved the saying below. So true.

 We have really enjoyed this area and the National Park and definitely want to come back again and spent even more time in Maine. We now continue our journey, with a stop in Rhode Island and onto Washington DC.