Maine 2017 – Portland, ME

8/28/17 Monday was a walking tour of Portland day. As is a bit of a theme, we didn’t have specific plans or schedule. We drove into Portland and lucked out with some free parking on the edge of town. We wandered the waterfront docks, shops, etc and then looped up… Continue reading

Maine 2017 – Acadia to Portland

8/27/17 We headed out toward Portland in the morning, opting for the somewhat more scenic route down the coast. Down the coast, in this case, meant highway between small towns instead of freeway. For the most part, I didn’t feel like it was “on the ocean” – not like California… Continue reading

Maine 2017 – Travel Days

8/19/17 We left Grand Rapids around noon on Saturday after taking a bit longer than planned to pack up (aka gather all the paddling gear). We crossed into Canada at the Blue Water Bridge, and then drove pretty much straight through to Thousand Islands National Park and crossed back out… Continue reading

Smoky Mountains 2017 Day 5 – Sunrise and Travel

Most of the last day is taken with the drive home, but we did get up early and go catch sunrise from a new spot.  This time, just after (heading to Tennessee) the Newfound Gap Overlook.  Since we didn’t do much Sunday, I’ll use this post as a wrap up…. Continue reading

Smoky Mountains 2017 Day 4 – Grotto Falls, Laurel Falls, Cade’s Cove

We started early on Saturday and went up to Clingman’s dome for a chilly (as expected) sunrise. After that, we headed over to the Roaring Fork Motor Trail to the Grotto Falls trail head.  It’s a moderate hike and climb at 2.6 miles round trip with 585 ft of elevation. … Continue reading