Month: July 2017

The Flume Gorge is a natural gorge cut by The Flume Brook located in Franconia State Park, New Hampshire. It’s much like a canyon with walls of granite on either side that rise seventy to ninety feet above you. It’s a paid attraction and accessible as there are bridges, walkways and stairs that serve to turn a strenuous hike into a moderate stroll. There is a also a bus that runs up to the top making this attraction accessible to most anyone.

We opted to hike the 1.8 mile loop traversing aside Flume Brook to Avalanche Falls and Top ‘O Gorge at 515 feet. We went on a pretty hot day but the closer you come to the falls the cooler it gets. You can feel a cool breeze blowing downstream and the smell of the forests and flowing water is something truly difficult to describe.

From Top ‘O Gorge we strolled on down to “The Pool” and on back to the visitor center. This hike is definitely worth the admission and your time and it can be coupled with The Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway if you purchase the Discovery Pass. We finished the trail rather late and didn’t have time to ride the tram as they stop heading up the mountain at five so if you’re planning your day, leave plenty of time to get to the tram by four.

Please check out our video below highlighting our hike at The Flume. Be sure to stay tuned as we show you the campground we stayed at next. Thanks for stopping by.

The Bubbles Trails are a popular network of three trails in Acadia National Park. There is a small lot off of Park Loop Road that leads to the trail head. The lot fills quickly and we had to wait about 15 or 20 minutes for a spot to open up. Not far into the trail we encountered the Bubbles Divide Trail which is basically a fork which leads either to North Bubble Mountain or South Bubble Mountain. We opted to visit North Bubble first as we heard it to be the more technical and strenuous trail (the kids are into the challenge).

The summit of North Bubble is 872 feet above sea level and there are great views of Jordan Pond from the top. There also is a trail around Jordan Pond which you can hike down to from North Bubble but we didn’t have time on this trip. We then retraced our steps back down to Bubbles Divide and then on to South Bubble.South Bubble has nice views of the Pemetic Mountain at 766 feet and is also where you can find Balance Rock (known as Bubble Rock) which teeters high above seemingly to threaten to roll off the mountain at any time. Hikers try to push it off but have been unsuccessful to date. You can find video highlights of our hike below:

Stay tuned as we’re off to Franconia Notch next. Thanks for stopping by.

I learned about Diver Ed’s program through guidebooks. Everyone that has gone on his educational boat ride has raved about it. He and his crew educate the little ones while also entertaining them. Yeah, there’s some potty talk involved as Diver Ed is just a big kid but Linda and I also learned a great deal as well. His boat, the Starfish Enterprise, leaves from the beautiful campus of The College of the Atlantic right outside Bar Harbor and takes you about a half hour out to his diving spot. There he dives with an underwater video camera uplinked to a large screen on deck so you can see the process of battling lobsters and crabs while attempting to capture them in his dive bag. Ed then brings them onboard and invites all the children up to view, touch and even kiss the sea animals all the while entertaining with his raucous sense of humor.

He then returns the creatures to the salty depths so they can perhaps participate in another showing. We highly recommend this cruise to anybody with kids and even though tickets might be considered a bit pricey, Diver Ed’s show just may be your children’s number one highlight to their Bar Harbor vacation. If you’re wondering just what the cruise is like, check our video below,

Or visit  Diver Ed’s website for more information. Stay tuned as we’re heading back into Acadia National Park next. Thanks for stopping by.

Gorham Mountain Trail is one of the more popular hikes in Acadia National Park. It’s listed as moderate with some minor rock scrambles. The trail is one mile in length to the 525 foot summit with spectacular views of Sand Beach and Great Head.

I had read about The Cadillac Cliffs Side Trail in a guide before leaving for Maine and I decided to scope it out when we went on this hike. After the kids impressed me with the rock scramble at Great Head a few days back and then them begging me to take this side trail I decided to give it a go. They did great although it did probably take us nearly an hour to traverse the 0.3 miles.

Afterwards we left the Jeep right in the same lot, as parking can be competitive in Acadia, and crossed Park Loop Road and took the Ocean Path to Thunder Hole. Sad to say we didn’t hear the thunder while we were there. The tides were high but the weather had been real mild the days before. Word is if conditions are right (rough), the waves crash into the hole and make a sound akin to thunder, hence the name.

Dad, We don’t hear

any thunder…

Below is a highlight video of our hike, be sure to stay tuned as we take to the water next in our latest adventure. Thanks for stopping by.

 Hadley’s Point Campground was the perfect basecamp for our family to explore Acadia National Park. At just four miles away were could be in the park within minutes and Bar Harbor was just three more miles down the road. The campground was clean and had a nice playground and pool. It was our kids first experience with a diving board and they just loved jumping in. There weren’t many organized activities as the park is your outdoor entertainment but the roads were great for riding bicycles. The kids rode multiple times each day.

While we were in Maine we also visited Bar Harbor, Southeast Harbor and Bass Harbor. We really only passed through Southeast Harbor on the way to Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bass Harbor but took a bunch of natural shots while we were there. While in Bass Harbor we visited The Bass Harbor Lighthouse which I thought would be a bit more majestic as described in our guidebook but nonetheless the children got to learn about the functions of lighthouses and lighthouse keeping.

Check out more in our video below. Stay tuned for our next Acadian Hike. Thanks for stopping by.

Sand Beach and the Great Head Trail were our first excursion into Acadia National Park since  arriving in Maine the day before. In order to access The Great Head Trail you have to walk across Sand Beach. Once our kids saw the waves we thought the day’s hike would soon become history. Luckily enough, we promised them more waves and sand when they were done hiking and they actually went for it.

Great Head Trail is a popular 1.4 mile hike and is listed as “moderate.” We only hiked about a third mile in when we encountered our first rock scramble. Contemplating turning around, the kids begged us to go on. They handled the rocks like champs, calling themselves “Rock Stars.” The more technical the climb became, the more focused they became. And they were actually behaving themselves while posed with these new challenges.

The cliffs were a bit nerve racking for us parents but they listened and everybody made it out alive. The views at the top were stunning. Although I’ve heard this landscape is likened to The Pacific Northwest, Linda and I could only compare it to Hawaii. There are mountains which sharply meet oceans. The views were just breathtaking.

As usual, we had lunch at the top and then descended back down the same trail. The trip down was a bit worrisome, especially since I then had tired kids who wanted to ride in my pack, adding some 60 to 70 pounds while challenging my balance. I should mention that the kids were so into this hike that nobody wanted to hitch a ride on dad on the way up.

Check out the video below, highlighting the beach and and the hike. More of Maine and Acadia National Park next. Thanks for stopping by.