Franconia, New Hampshire (State #28)-Cannon Mountain RV Park, Franconia Notch State Park

AUGUST 9-15, 2015

Just like Maine, this is definitely an area we HAVE to return to someday.

Cannon Mountain RV Park is within the state park boundaries and really is just the edge of a parking lot with only 7 RV sites. There are trees in the back so it's not barren but not a place I would want to stay for long. It did include full hook-ups, which was nice. And it is near an entrance to the Recreational Trail aka Franconia Notch Bike Trail, a 20-mile loop that takes you to many of the great spots to visit.

The worst thing about it was the internet service. It was absolutely awful! Greg made do and we had to rearrange some of our routine but fortunately we did not have to move.

There is really so much to see in this area and with the sampling that we did, we are sad to have to leave so quickly. Here's the recap:

Echo Lake Beach-located right behind our campsites. The kids always love to play in the sand and I was able to just sit and enjoy the beautiful views.

White Mountains National Forest-We drove into the area trying to find some moose but no such luck. We did see some pretty views and did a little bit of hiking.

Sabbaday Falls (White Mountains NF)

Rocky Gorge Scenic Area (White Mountains NF)

The Basin (Franconia Notch SP)-It's a short hike from the parking lot to the pool and basin area. It was all so awesome. The kids went on and on about how much they liked it and how it should be made into a waterpark.  Sadly, these pictures just do not do this place justice!

(This is the one area where you really could swim)

I think we were all reminded of Schlitterbahn ;)

Kinsman Falls- This was about a 1/2-mile hike from the Basin

Here, the trail meets up with the Appalachian Trail.  We crossed the river to it, but decided it was time to turn around for the evening.

Flume Gorge (Franconia Notch SP)-It is a natural gorge discovered in 1808.  At that time, a large boulder (10 ft x 12 ft) was suspended between the walls.  In 1883, the boulder was washed away in a heavy rainstorm.

At the top of the gorge is Avalanche Falls.  It was formed during that storm in 1883 and is 45 ft tall.

There were some other pretty things along the hike to the gorge

(Table Rock)

The kids had fun in Bear Cave.

They climbed to the back of the cave and then squeezed through this small opening out of the top!

There were also some huge glacial boulders to check out.

And we finally found a moose!  But obviously not what we had in mind :(

We're off to Salem, Connecticut...

Bar Harbor, Maine (State #27)-Mt. Desert Narrows RV Resort

JULY 26-AUGUST 9, 2015

Two weeks was not long enough here! There is so much to see! I suppose if you weren't working 8 hours a day, that might be long enough but we can definitely see ourselves coming back here in the future and spending a month or so.

We stayed at Mt Desert Narrows Campground in Bar Harbor. It's located about 7 miles from Acadia and is on the shuttle route to the park (which is FREE). We had a nice grassy spot near the pool and playground but we did not reserve early enough to get one of the few sewer spots. That meant hoofing it to the showers which were hot most of the time but not always.

The kids and I spent a lot of time at the pool during the day while Greg was working. It was heated to a very comfortable temperature and it had a slide!

The playground was immediately behind our RV so I could easily keep an eye on the kids while they played.

And one night, we were able to watch the magic show that happens once a week.

Greg even got to try some FRESH Maine Lobster.  The first was at a restaurant or lobster pound as they call it.

The second time he cooked it himself. (And no, I did not eat any!  No way!)

Only a mile away was the Mount Desert Island Oceanarium. We really enjoyed it. When entering, you are given a schedule to attend three different educational programs. We first visited the lobster hatchery where we saw a female lobster with thousands of eggs under her belly (5000-6000 are typical)! We learned that she would be pregnant for TWO years, carrying the eggs inside for one year then outside for the next.

This mother is regrowing a claw! And if you look closely, the black area on the lobster, just above her left hand, are thousands of tiny eggs.

Only 1% will survive to adulthood in the wild. At the hatchery, the survival rate is 50%. In case you are wondering why it's only 50%, it is because the little guys will try to eat each other!

And that is why they keep the baby lobsters in bubbling tanks like these! It helps to keep them away from each other (the floating specks are lobsters).

From there, we went to learn about lobster trapping. The man giving the presentation was funny but oddly he just didn't smile much when he cracked a joke.  That made it even funnier! Haha. Jacob learned how to band lobsters (I thought it was to keep from getting my fingers snap but really it's to keep them from attacking each other) 

and we got to see a one-in-a million BLUE lobster.

Then we were off to the touch tank. We got to touch and learn about all sorts of cool animals. We had seen plenty of sea cucumbers in Florida but on this day we got to hold one. Thankfully, it did not get stressed because one of its defense mechanisms is to vomit out all of its' internal organs!

There were also starfish, snails and a big horseshoe crab (the girls are bigger)

Check out the kids' eyes!

Another fun outing with just the kids was to the SPCA. The kids have been begging for an animal (they will not win) so I figured it would be a good way to get some animal time in. I knew the Austin shelter allowed kids to come in and read to the cats and so I contacted the local one in Maine and they welcomed us. They had three cat rooms. Both kids were so proud to read the cats a story and then they played with the more lively ones.

And not too far from the campground was the Pirate's Cove Miniature Golf which was really cute and fun.   We had to check that out one evening.

Most evenings and weekend days would of course be spent at Acadia National Park. Our first visit was to Thunder Hole. We went twice trying to time the tide correctly so that we could hear the thunderous clap of the waves against the rock. 

There were so many boulders to climb on and explore along the waterfront. So one evening we headed off in one direction

and in the other direction the next evening.

But after that second time our rockclimbing and hiking would be postponed...

While out on the rocks, Greg took a step down from one level to another when one knee buckled and the outstretched ankle twisted. The result was a torn tendon. Poor guy had to hike back across the rocks and out of the area and then endure the jostling, bumpy ride back home. And of course the instant ice pack in our first aid kit had gone bad. So we had to take it a little easier for about a week before healing enough to get back out on the hiking and biking trails.

Our weekend plans changed a little due to the injury but we still found some awesome adventures. On Saturday, we went on a whale watching boat. It was mighty cold out on the water and very choppy but we made it to the feeding grounds and were totally rewarded. We saw AT LEAST 6 whales and it was awesome! The boat captain said there were about 12 out there but I can't really tell them apart ;)

Many of them showed us their huge back fins and we could see moms and calves swimming alongside each other. I also saw one blowing far out against the horizon.

On Sunday, we drove to Schoodic Point. This place was breathtaking which why I have to put so many pictures. We took our lunch and just sat on the rocks for a long time. The kids played on the rocks, watched the waves crashing and checked out some of the tide pools.

On our way back home that evening, we saw a sign for Tidal Falls and decided to go check it out. It was so cool!

The rushing water was beautiful itself but then as we got to the edge of the water we found even cooler stuff. There were so many starfish and mussels! Jordan even found a sea cucumber. The kids (and us) thought it was just awesome.

Other things we did at the park were:

lunch and popovers at Jordan Pond House

bike ride around Echo Lake and then to the Upper Hadlock and Cedar Swamp Mountain Loop on one of the carriage trails

hiked to the South Bubble Summit (absolutely gorgeous)

 (Doesn't it look like this is ready to fall at any moment?!)

hiked around Jordan Pond

went to Cadillac Mountain (when the fog was abundant)

(fortunately, it cleared a little to give us a peak at the grand view)

and explored Little Hunter's Beach

We REALLY enjoyed our stay here. And we even found some of the BEST ice cream I have ever had (Sorry BlueBell!) at a little place in the town of Bar Harbor called Jordan Pond Ice Cream.

Here's our view while we sat and ate that delicious ice cream.

We will definitely return to this amazing place one day!  

For now, we are heading to Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire.