We went away for a week's vacation leading up to the 4th. The first day consisted mostly of noodling eastward towards northern Maine/Canada. Those familiar with the east coast know it is practically impossible to drive due east or west, especially on a major road. You are faced with the decision of driving southeast an hour and then northeast for an hour on the interstate, or a couple of hours of smaller zigs and zags via small roads, small-town slowdowns, and, if you are unlucky, yard sales scattered like speed bumps.

We zigged across route 4, zagged onto 25, missed a couple of turns, jumped onto I-95 for a bit before another zig over to rt 1 (pick up rt 1 too far south in Maine and you risk changing the face of the entire vacation). We jumped on just south of Bar Harbor and ended up camping at the second campground we ran across: Whispering Pines. This was a car camping trip (w/tent) and we got an excellent, quiet spot at B5.

The next day it was back on rt 1, headed for Canada. We detoured through Acadia park (Schoodic Head) for a little sightseeing and then northward to Quoddy State Park. The park is the easternmost land in the US and consists of a lighthouse (which we missed, you'll see why) and a great little hiking loop, including a bog with raised walkway for viewing. We hit the bog and then hiked to the southern end, about two miles from the truck with a return hike along the coastal trail. The photo is from the start of the hike.

So far this year we've hiked two bogs and have had huge thunderstorms descend upon us each time. If your bog is suffering from drought you might want to consider flying all three of us out. The hike back was punctuated with the rumble of approaching thunder, which quickly turned to the nearby crashing of thunder and eventually the flinging of lightning bolts. When we got within a quarter mile of the parking lot the rain gave up waiting and started falling in big, splattering drops. That was all the motivation we needed to take up jogging. Luckily the full-fledged maelstrom didn't hit until shortly after we were safely back to the truck.

We crossed over into Canada to Campobello Island and spent a wet, mosquito filled night. I have a bunch of photos to share along with a few stories and vacation tips and links. Stay tuned...