Enveloped by mist

Another day of not following plans

It's my turn to write today. I haven't been pedaling, but I've been helping, keeping an eye out for interesting things along the road, subjects for photos. And Denise has been buying me really good dark chocolate, so I decided that I would help some more by writing today's journal entry. Oh, if you didn't figure it out already, this is Rover writing.

Denise was thinking of getting up early enough this morning to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain to see the sun rise. Luckily she checked the forecast last night, because it just wasn't a good day for that. Fog... It was much nicer to know that last night instead of getting up early to find the wall of mist and fog that was outside of our window this morning.

It was another good food and breakfast conversation morning. Evin made pancakes filled with those wonderful Maine blueberries. There was an egg dish too, a frittata loaded with veggies. Yum. That gave us a good start to the day. And Denise discovered a great place to pick up fresh-baked snacks for our ride, a community market called The Alternative. The blueberry scones there are a great on-the-bike snack. Yes, she did bring a stash of energy bars, but I'd much rather munch on scones.

Wisps of fog and mist decorated the morning. Last night the weather wizard predicted that the fog would lift by 10 AM, so we headed out on our bike anyway. Instead of driving to the Schoodic Peninsula through the fog, Denise decided to try a different loop here on Mount Desert Island. Bicycle wheels were headed uphill and down, pointed to the south. We were going to ride to Northeast Harbor, then follow the shore of Somes Sound back to the north. Of course, even though the map shows that road next to the water, chances are still pretty good that there would be land in between us and the water. We didn't find out though. After we were riding for a while I popped my head out and yelled to Denise that it was getting foggier and foggier and that we probably should turn back. The road we were on was two lanes with wide paved shoulders, but it was getting hard to see, and I was worried that even though Denise was wearing a bright yellow vest that people might have problems seeing us. Maybe I was just being nervous this morning, but Denise listened to me. We turned around.

We headed back and went into Acadia at the Sieur de Monts entrance. The Wild Gardens of Acadia was a good stopping point for a bit. We wandered through the garden, and Denise played with her camera (well, what did you expect?) And then, a very nice frog hanging out on a lily pad posed for some photos. I hope that Denise did a good job of capturing him. That was fun!

It seemed like the fog was lifting, so we went back out to route 3 to restart our exploration. But it was still pretty foggy, so Denise turned the bike again and headed back in to the park. Yes, we really did ride Park Loop Road again. Don't tell anyone, but I think Denise is addicted to riding that road. But that's OK with me; it's beautiful, and it's fun seeing it in different conditions. We talked to a couple from Vermont who visited here in March. They said that part of Park Loop Road was plowed (from the beginning to just past Thunder Hole), and that hiking Cadillac Mountain then was awesome. They said that they were actually standing on top of the mountain with no other humans around. I think that may have planted an idea in Denise's mind, but I have a feeling that when spring rolls around that she'll choose a long weekend destination somewhere with more of a chance of warmth. I loved our trip to Zion this spring; I could happily go back there, and I bet Denise wouldn't mind that either. (Oh, you're right, it's not time to dream of next year's travel yet...)

Anyway, back to our ride... we passed the point where it was possible to head back to Bar Harbor without finishing the ride. The mist was getting heavier, but Denise still wanted to ride. She had to stop periodically to wipe off her sunglasses. The road was wet, and the mist was visible as small droplets of water. It really didn't seem like rain though, just heavy mist. As we pulled back in to Bar Harbor, a blue patch appeared in the sky. Blue, puffy white clouds too, but overall it was still gray out.

Back at the B&B, Denise wiped big droplets of water from her bike, then switched to her wandering by foot attire. It's been a week of wearing lots of layers, both for riding and for walking. (I'm so glad my red fur keeps me both warm and cool; it's much easier than figuring out what clothes to wear every day.) The chill never left the air today, and while the fog finally moved off a little bit, the day stayed gray.

Back in the park, we walked around the edges of Sand Beach, finding some interesting views looking inland. Then we parked the car near Thunder Hole and went in search of birds. Those funny birds that Denise couldn't pin a name to yesterday? They are Eider, a large sea duck. And they really are funny. We stood and watched groups of them playing in the surf. They were diving, and they were riding the waves. I think they were eating something out there too; I just don't know what it was. I would bet that we head out to watch these birds again tomorrow.

I wonder where we'll ride in the morning. I know that Denise wants to get to the Schoodic Peninsula, but I think she kind of wants to do the ride we didn't do today. Tomorrow is supposed to be our last full day here, so I guess Denise will have to choose.

I hope the sun spends the day with us tomorrow.