The Video

We've been back about a week.  Lawn is mowed.  Laundry done.  Client projects worked upon.  Finally time to edit something for us.  Here's the vacation video and the official close to the blog.

If you are trying to view this on a mobile device (phone or tablet) the YouTube agreement does not cover the music I used in the video on those platforms.  Sorry.  It's out of my control.

The Vacation Video

See you next vacation

Time to Go Home

It's been two weeks.  We've reduced our possessions to what fits into our suitcases and it worked.  Salt Lake City, Idaho Falls, The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Salt Lake City (again), Portland, Maine, Bar Harbor and Acadia.  We got up before dawn to see sunrises.  Went to bed after sunsets.  We ate energy bars in the car, a plate of nachos that rivaled Grand Teton, climbed to the highest point in Old Faithful Lodge, watched geysers gush, deer, antelope and bison roam.  We saw eagles keep stately watch and lobster boats checking their traps.  Eventually, it comes to an end.

Tonight we took a carriage ride up to the top of Day Mountain.  Our horses, Doc and Duke are brothers.  Like many, they have their share of quarrels and our team did so on the way up the mountain.  Nothing they couldn't resolve.

They didn't mind posing for pictures after the journey.

Here are some video clips of our day (because I wanted to see how they publish):

Sunrise

The first picture is from the balcony of our room at 3:45 AM.  The rest are from the top of Cadillac Mountain with sunrise happening at 5:08 AM.  At least three hundred other people joined us.

Sunset at Sand Point

Here Comes The Sun

 The day started like this.  With a dense fog shrouding the bay.  But by 10 the fog burned off and the sun started to prevail.
 Acadia still pays tribute to the wealth which created it.  Down one of the hiking trails you get a view of the typical, rocky, Maine coastline.  You also get to see this house, perched on that cliff, with its own harbor.

 Since most of the shore line is rock, a beach made of sand is a big deal.  There is one large one inside the park.  Today, the notice at the beach warned visitors that the bacteria level of the water in the bay exceeded National Park Service safety levels.  A day at the beach became a day in the sand.

 In the afternoon we boarded the Margaret Todd, a schooner, which ended up using its engines most of the trip (really all of the trip) because there was virtually no wind.

 There is a baby bald eagle in the middle of the tree.  It's almost ready to try flight, but it did not happen when we drifted by.  Instead, it practices posing for patriotic messages.

 We know the black blob is marine life.  We think it is a gray seal, but it disappeared before we could get a closer look and a better picture.

Along with the very nice houses around the park, there is are some pretty nice boats in the harbor.  Pick one.

It rained. Then it rained. Then it rained some more.

Like most of the northeast, Bar Harbor got its share of rain the last 24 hours.  Sometimes a mist.  Sometimes a down pour.  Sometimes a persistent soaking rain.  No matter which variety, it was not ideal for enjoying the beauty of a National Park.  We used up one rain activity last night by visiting the Reel Pizza Movie Theater to see Belle.  The pizza was fine.  The movie was much better.

Today many group members worked on yet another jig saw puzzle.  This one is called the Bridges of Acadia and it looks challenging.  Lots of the pieces are dark.  No matter what the puzzle must be finished Friday night because Saturday morning we have to leave.

There was also a visit to some very large antique place.  I heard the figure 21,000 square feet used and then my eyes glazed over.  I preferred to wash bed linens.  Matthew came into contact with poison ivy.  So far it is only his forearm.  The washing helps reduce the possibility of spreading it to other limbs.

This evening I drove out to Abel's Lobster, about 20 minutes from where we are staying.  It's a huge operation.  They built a restaurant at some point in their business plan, but it started as a wholesale lobster supplier and lots of activity still supports that part of the enterprise.  They had at least a half dozen boats.  I brought back the lobsters, cooked and ready to eat for four of us.  We also made corn on the cob, because what's a lobster bake without corn?

The weather forecast is much improved over the next 10 hours.  By 10 AM tomorrow, the skies should begin clearing and some sunshine is in the forecast by the afternoon.  Pictures will resume accordingly.

Wake Turbulence

We were in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.  Here's what's happened:

1. A woman and her husband were on a guided climb of Grand Teton.  She fell off and perished.
2. A private boating party (unguided) on a float trip down the Snake River flipped the raft, killing one aboard.
3. Heavy rains in Yelowstone caused a mudslide temporarily closing a road.
4. A combination of heat and chemicals in the ground closed a road leading to a geyser basin in Yellowstone.  It's since reopened.
5. A bus full of Chinese tourists flipped onto its side, skid about 10 feet and closed the road between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
6. A driver put his black pickup truck well into the woods in Yellowstone, but no one is certain how.

When a jet flies through still air or a boat cuts through the water it creates wake turbulence.  The effect is disruptive.  So far, except for heavy rains today, nothing consequential has happened in Acadia.