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A little bit of Arkansas and my summer welcome to Dallas

[npmeanderingway]

Holy Crap I’m back in Texas Yall

A shorter trip than originally expected but still - over ten weeks on the road!  Quite a road trip.  So many sites seen, so many parks and people visited.

My last park was Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.  The park itself really isn’t much more than a road with several spas along it.  Since I already visited a hot spring spa in colorado I didn’t patronize any of the spas at the park but did wander around briefly and take a gander at the buildings.

I camped out nearby at Lake Catherine State Park.  Pretty lake and piney woods but unfortunate clientele.  I think my last night camping might have been the worst night of sleep I had the entire trip - the cast of deliverance was camping 100 yards away and they were up yell-talking and cursing at each other until well after 2AM.  Not sure where any of the park rangers were which is unfortunate.  There were posted “quiet hours” but they were not remotely enforced at all.

Summer has definitely caught up with me!  TN and AK were hot and sooo insanely humid and now that i’m outside of Dallas I am baking in the good ‘ol >100 degree heat.  Hello July/August in Texas!  

Its strange to be back..  During my travels I always had a next goal, a next destination, a planned hike or drive.  Now...  nothing.  I have to figure out what’s next.  Sitting idle isn’t something I do well and I know after a few days of being a vegetable I will be antsy and have to get my act together.  Guess its time to start the job search soon!  Will hang out in Dallas for a wee bit, then another drive to Beaumont to see the fam, and then back to Austin to stay while I job hunt hunt HUNT.

[npmeanderingway]

Not my photo - but had to show Congaree National Park's mosquito sign.

[npmeanderingway]

Great Smoky Mtns and Heading West

Humid, humid, humid but oh so pretty.

The clouds really do mist over the mountains and make them look like "smoky" hills. GSMNP is very similar to Shenandoah- some scenic overlooks here and there but most trails are shaded and never leave the trees.

Nearby attraction I highly recommend: PARI- the Pisguah Astronomic Research Institute. NASA has a research site in the Pisguah National Forest a little over an hour south of Asheville. You can roam the campus, hike, tour the museum, and participate in telescope viewings and astronomical parties. Only $10 to get in. Fascinating place. You wind through mountain roads, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, no cell service, and then the campus unfolds before you. A fun way and day to hike and get your nerd on.

Kudzu is crazy in N. Carolina. :( Whole swaths of forest are nothing but a literal blanket of kudzu covering and smothering all plant life below. Looks unreal. Like the alien plant life in a horror movie that would reach out tendrils and pull a body underneath the under growth. Acres and acres completely covered- so very near the GSMNP. I'm very curious about how they patrol and keep it from encroaching on the park. Has to require an extreme effort.

Moving through TN and towards Hot Springs National Park now. Decided to skip Congaree as the mosquito warning is "war zone". For real. I suspect it's similar to the Everglades with mosquitos forming living curtains surrounding hikers. I think fall/winter would be a much more pleasant time to visit!

[npmeanderingway]

Below the Mason-Dixon Line

Shenandoah is very pretty. I can see why the main attraction is the sky line drive, so many overlooks giving views of miles and miles and miles of rolling green hills. And the road itself is very pretty in places- completely encompassed by a cave of trees and foliage along one stretch, and then bucolic and bordered by a low rock wall in the next, and then repeat. The trails are nice too- simple meandering wooded paths with rocky traverses interspersed here and there.

The park does have what I have named 'phantom gnats'. Great circling clouds of hundreds of gnats that appear out of no where while you stand still, bombarding your face making breathing and existing as difficult as possible, and then just as suddenly they're gone. And then ten minutes later- back. But if you step away to look at where you just where and where the gnats "are", there's nothing there. No cloud, no swarming mass- phantom gnats!

With the heat picking up I prevailed at not being lazy and did a few early morning hikes. Pros: trail nearly completely to myself; dappled sunlight; cooler temps. Cons: by the end of the hike I was garbed in the emperors new clothes made entirely of spider gossamer.

Currently in Cary, North Carolina visiting an old friend. The sounds at night are so lulling and peaceful. Takes me back to camping at Camp Niwana, a childhood Camp Fire Boys and Girls camp I went to every summer. From all sides- the trill of crickets and buzzing/clicking (I really don't know how to describe the sound) of southern cicadas, and in the background the occasional bull frog call. The perfect, calming white noise of summer bliss. Adding to it is the enveloping 72 degree warmth of the southern summer night. Perfect.

[npmeanderingway]

Urban foray then back to nature

Visited Boston for a few days. Figured I can't be in that area without at least trying to see some history. Checked out a fort, the Adams historic site (the presidents and their families homes), a 'plumbing magnate's' estate because that's a thing, several monuments, and a park or two. I did miss out on checking out Salem and the witch craft stuff but it was further north than I wanted to back track. Bostons a cool city and has a lot going on- so many suburbs and little towns and schools crammed around it, hard to know where one place stops and another stops.

West jersey- there are trees in jersey! And actual farms and mountains. Nature exists! Who knew?? I'd only see Newark and the urban strip along the coast before. Head west towards Pennsylvania and it becomes farmland and mountains. I can actually say I was pleasantly surprised. If you ever find yourself in jersey with time to kill I recommend heading west, 1) to check out some bucolic farms because why not? And 2) to check out the Sterling Mining museum and its tour. This mine and it's sister mine have fluorescent minerals and ores that glow under UV light. The tour takes you through the mine, shows you different minerals and how the mine worked, and also shows your their periodic table of elements cabinet. It has as many real samples of elements as possible- including even thallium (poisonous chemical of spy-death fame) and blocks of sodium and phosphorous in oil (they spontaneously ignite in air). The tour is educational and interesting- I highly recommend.

Onward to Shenandoah National Park! Summer is here and the heat and bugs are out. Gonna be a sweaty week or two as I heard back west!

[npmeanderingway]

Acadia National Park

What an interesting park! Almost a whole peninsula onto itself. It's not my favorite but I understand why it is for so many people. Beaches, rocky shorelines, lakes with scenic hikes, scrambling ladder-requiring hikes, easy strolls, woods, and a bumpin tourist town all rolled into one.

I spent a few days here and explored parts of the park accessible by the free shuttles. The shuttles are very crowded in some instances and sometimes too full and not everyone whose waiting can get on. Acadia is popular!

The two main "adventure hikes" were closed for peregrine falcon nesting but I was able to hike up difficult scrambling trails that required iron rungs and hand holds. I do enjoy those! Their only downside, I have to admit, is the trail itself, even in areas that aren't scrambling, is usually too rocky to traipse across without constantly scanning the ground before each footstep- meaning your eyes are down on the ground the whole time and you're not looking at anything around you while moving.

I also explored the Jordan Pond loop and otter cliffs trails as well as the southern harbor area. Such varied scenery you really can spend several days checking out a "new" thing each day.

I think I've finally outlasted the cool weather and things are getting warm. The last few weeks of this trip (holy crap I can't believe I'm about to be winding back to Texas already) are going to be hot summer days.

I brought a heat wave with me to Boston too. Above 90 for a few days in a row = hot hot hot in this neck of the woods. Almost feels like Houston; 90% humidity and 93 degrees. Just gotta learn to accept the sweat!

[npmeanderingway]

[npmeanderingway]

Back to ‘murica

I’m in Bah Hahboh (”Bar Harbor”)- woo hoo!  I have literally driven from coast to coast to coast (gulf coast included in that).

Maine is apparently the state of lobsters, blueberries, and..  whoopie pies?  At least judging by the souvenir shops and restaurants.  All three are everywhere and the whoopie pies especially - people are very proud of the different flavors and daily selection they produce.

I’m checking out Acadia National Park for a few days and then will be winding my way south.  I was hoping to visit people in my old company’s Boston and New Jersey offices but the occurrence of the 4th of july holiday (I forget all about those pesky holidays without a job to make them special) and everyone’s varied schedules/working from home routines its going to be tough.  Gotta figure out a way to kill some time I guess without wasting too much money or too much extra driving time.  Any suggestions will be appreciated!  Anything in the coastal maine, new hampshire, massachusetts, northern new jersey areas would be appreciated. 

I did buy my first souvenir whilst noodling about bar harbor. Some locally made, artisan, wild maine blueberry, bloody mary mix nonsense.  I’m sure I looked an awkward site, wandering around with my beat-to-hell hiking back pack, dirty clothes, coated in sunscreen, and carrying a bourgeois-y ridiculous craft bottle.  It’s going to be a pain to lug around for the next few weeks but ah well, decision made!

[npmeanderingway]

Tumblr is killin' me :(

I've tried to make a post three times now but apparently Tumblr is incapable of uploading pictures today. Sigh

Trying to be better about posting more often and the software just isn't cooperating. Dang

[npmeanderingway]

America's Tophat

Canada oh Canada!

Word to the wise- Canada does not appreciate the transportation of pepper/bear spray into their great lands.

At the border they asked if I had any mace/pepper spray and I indicated I did have something similar for bears. And well.. despite handing the spray to the guard since I admitted having contraband they had to search and question me.

They were very nice but I had to pull over, stand behind a barricade and get questioned by a guard while a second guard searched through my car. My car is full of crap and has the boards and platform in it so this took quite a bit of time. Then when he was done he came over and re-asked me the same questions about my trip, my job, where I'm coming from, where I'm going, etc etc that the first guard asked me.

After that I had to drive around to an officey building and sign an affidavit indicating I was surrendering my contraband to the crown. All in all, not an unpleasant experience but it was time consuming. Ha, and now the bears will get me. It's what they've been waiting for all along..

[npmeanderingway]

Niagara

Ok, I know it's cliche, but Niagara is spectacular. I did not go on any boat rides or pay for the trolley or anything like that. But I hiked the trail in the gorge (canyon?) and hiked over to the falls from the Devils Hole State Park.

A few things surprised me. 1) the river flows in the opposite direction than I thought. I expected it to flow towards the Great Lakes but it flows away 2) the water color is beautiful. It's probably what makes it as special a locale as it is. The river is the color of glacial runoff - the sky blue you see in high alpine lakes of the Rockies near Canada 3) the river is big! Ha. I know I sound like a country bumpkin but the little I've seen on tv shows and what have you, I did not picture an immense river.

[npmeanderingway]

Flying J Truck Stop

Just have to announce. I slept at a truck stop and did not die.

It was actually not unpleasant. Well-lit, clean, 24 hour access to bathrooms, water, and food, and and showers if I wanted.

It did rain all night, and that always makes being bundled in a sleeping bag feel cozy, so I might have slightly rose colored glasses about the experience but hey- not dead AND well rested.

Hahah the only odd part is when wandering around the gas station in the morning you do bump into very groggy truck drivers who ask about you and then try to recruit you to work for their trucking company "since you're already living the lifestyle might as well make money". Think I'll pass on that ;)

[npmeanderingway]

Beset by raccoons, tick skittishness, and escape from the Bible Belt!

I am going to try and post more often as these long posts are probably boring, sorry! (Though I doubt anyone reads these anymore- partly due to tumblrs awful interface and partly due to my rambley-ness).

Story time- laid down to sleep in my tent in a fairly secluded area in a state park. Suddenly hear a large dog sniffing around- where did that come from? And then a very-non-dog paw is pushed against my tent. I yell, sit up, and whatever it was runs away. I can still hear things moving around nearby and inspection of my tent shows four little claw holes. Hmm.. I figure probably raccoon but so weird that their sniffing noises are so very loud.

I wait a minute or two and sure enough, two raccoons come out of the undergrowth and bee line for my tent again. They should not be so bold! Someone has obviously been feeding them. I have no food in my tent but I do have toiletries (toothpaste and deodarent, etc). I yell at them to scare them off and lay back down. They come back AGAIN. Tenacious buggers.

So I packed up and put everything in my car and slept in it for the night. In my car I actually do have food and had to have the windows rolled down so I didn't sweat myself a puddle, so the raccoons came back. They pawed around and climbed on my car at least three times that they woke me up for. Persistent bastardos!

Hah, I can now say I have likely become a strong voiced advocate for DONT FEED WILDLIFE!

Tick skittishness :(

Found a very large dog tick crawling on my leg whilst relaxing at a picnic table in Missouri. Mentioned it to a ranger and he said they've had more tick reports this year than in the last 3 to 4 combined! Yeesh

That coupled with a woman I met at Zion, who was from Maine, telling me the tick density was so high this year their high school canceled their senior outting for the first time in over two decades made me go down a rabbit hole of tick news and stats. This year is bad! 1/2 of ticks collected in the Hudson Valley carried Lyme disease and in one county (Orange County) 8 out of 10 ticks were carriers. Tick densities (the number of ticks found in a given area they raked nets through) are waaay up and some places are recommending being covered head to toe before hiking. All natural areas in New England recommend performing full tick searches of yourself after all hikes. That sounds very uncomfortable and/or stressful. I am debating whether Acadia can be relaxing with those prohibitions in mind. :( I have a few days to decided but I may postpone Acadia until I can come back during non-prime-tick-season.

Escape from the Bible Belt! Hahaha I am so glad to be in Ohio. Driving through the small rural towns feels like I am in upstate New York already. Greenery, winding roads, small ancient cemeteries, and all towns seem to have been built from the same starting mold. In the center of each is usually a very large roundabout that's big enough to encompass a quarter to half acre of land. On that plot of land are several tall trees, a manicured lawn, and either a gazebo or a war memorial obelisk or both. It occurs everywhere and has a distinct New England rural flair.

Driving through and stopping in the Bible Belt gave new meaning to the term. Technically I grew up within it (I think?) but we never had declarations of "Fetal Life Sanctuary County" (what does that sanctimonious BS even mean), and while every twentieth billboard might have had some religious element, literally every third billboard I passed was some anti-abortion rant or church/jesus saves/you'll burn advertisement. Ohio is a nice change of pace from that, whew.

I'm continuing to move eastward and will soon be all the way to New York. That is crazy! I've almost driven across the US.

[npmeanderingway]

South Dakota

Bad weather abounded for me in SD so no hiking unfortunately. Which really is too bad because the land scape looked beautiful from what I could see through the rainy mist.

Since I couldn't hike I drove to a few tourist attractions and succumbed to my first night in a motel so I could throw my tent and tarp over furniture and racks and let them dry out.

I stopped at the Dinosaur Park in Rapid City to see the dinos in the rain, went to Mt Rushmore but could only occasionally make out Washington's face through the clouds, went to a few sculpture parks, and then toured the "Worlds only" Corn Palace.

The Corn Palace is a trip. I had to give them a nod- for a place with such a corny name (har har) they put an extreme amount of meticulous effort into decorating the building. Every year try re-mosaic the entirety of the outside walls and one area of the inside with a theme made entirely of corn husks and cobs. The amount of pride they show in designing the motif of the Corn Palace makes me proud for them.

[npmeanderingway]

Hahah whelp.. me thinks I'm not going to stick around and try and hike around South Dakota for the next four days like I had originally planned

[npmeanderingway]

Rocky Mountain National park and Lory State park