Chicago: A Photo Essay

Tribune Building

Carbide & Carbon Building

Beautiful Chicago

Millenium Park

Skyline from Michigan Avenue

Rabbit Ears

Photo of the Day: Guarding the Border



"You want me on that wall!"



Great Lakes Tour



Little Canada Man

The Great Lakes are less like lakes and more like massive inland seas. Glaciers carved the Great Lakes during the last ice age. The Great Lakes contain 15% of the world's fresh water and include Lakes Ontario, Erie, Superior, Huron and Michigan. We are told that Lake Superior is the largest by volume and could contain the water from the other four lakes. Our tour started in the province of Ontario, Canada, along the Georgian Bay, which forms a part of Lake Huron. After picking up a supply of gourmet groceries in Huntsville, we stopped for lunch at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park, a tiny campground on the shores of the Georgian Bay. It started to rain soon after lunch, so we didn't get a good look around, but we started to get a feel for the large masses of water we were beginning to encounter.

We continued north along the Georgian Bay and then headed west along the Northern Channel of Lake Huron. As we progressed the scenery got wilder and wilder. At one stage along a remote highway, a black bear passed the road directly in front of us! We were quite shocked after our lack of bear encounters in Algonquin Provincial Park and surrounds. We rang our bear bell with all our might and the bear stayed away from us. Phew!

Also along this stretch of road in Canada - my Mum and Dad will be pleased to know - we encountered several Amish people either walking along the road or driving in their buggies. I wonder if the Amish are allowed to carry bear mace?

Prior to European Settlement, the Indigenous Peoples of North America inhabited the Great Lakes region for eons – likely coming across the Bearings land bridge from Asia towards the end of the last ice age (although many Native Americans disclaim this theory as it stands in contradiction to some of their religious beliefs relating to their origins on this land). The first Europeans in the region were the French voyaguers who arrived in the early 17^th century. The voyaguers were primarily explorers and fur traders, but they established missions and settlements over time. This French connection is reflected in the names of many of the towns along the Ontario side of the lakes – Rosseau, Sault Ste Marie, La Closhe. It seems that the Canadians were less successful in eliminating the influence of the French settlers than the Americans. Obviously in Quebec there is a strong Francophile atmosphere, but this extends across Ontario and along the Great Lakes.

Before we reached the border crossing at Sault Ste Marie, we stopped at Blind River, a small town on the Northern Channel of Lake Huron. There we had our first taste of Whitefish at the Marina Cafe and a whiff of the freedom coming across the border from the USA.

While crossing the long bridge in Sault Ste Marie that serves as the border for Canada and USA, we saw Lake Superior on one side of the bridge and Lake Huron on the other. This channel has the busiest lock system in the world. Much to my surprise, it turns out that Alex is an expert on the topic of locks. He explained the entire lock system to me, how it works, the physics and engineering involved, etc, etc. Unfortunately, I can't remember any of this information to share with you now. Perhaps when we return from our travels, you can ask Alex to share his expert knowledge on this topic with you. In the meantime, for more on locks see http://roadslesstraveled.us/SooLocksMI.html (but don't look for too long, because I think this blog might be better than ours).  An interesting fact about the city of Sault Ste Marie, which crosses both sides of the Canada/USA border, is that it is the third oldest city in the USA, being founded in 1668. Probably not the oldest in Canada. For more on that, see our earlier blog on Montreal.

Once properly being made feel like we were terrorists by the border guard at US immigration, we made our way into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (State Motto: “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.”). As far as I can tell, this part of Michigan serves as a buffer zone between Canada and USA proper. It is rugged, remote, forested, surrounded by water and inhabited by unique individuals (they refer to themselves as “Yoopers”). We spent the night at the Chipewa Motel in Rudyard. For $30 per night it was clean and the television had four channels, including one channel showing the local news. Headlining stories for that evening were: (1) The proposed new carpark in town has passed the final administrative hurdle required for its construction, which now may commence as early as next year; and (2) The two local youths who shot a farmer's cow were sentenced to spend six months in prison and pay $7000 reparations to the farmer. Both of us had a sinking impression that we were a long way from our skim milk lattes and friands at this point...

Nonetheless, the Upper Peninsula is incredibly beautiful and scenic, filled primarily with National Forests. After our night in Rudyard, we headed south through the middle of the peninsula to the second long bridge of this tour – the Macinac Bridge (known by locals as “Big Mac”) that separates the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan.

We stopped at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan, so spectacular that it deserves its own blog post. Stay tuned for our summary of this highly recommended beach.

From Sleeping Bear, we made our way south along the coast of Lake Michigan, stopping in Grand Haven to marvel at the waves in Lake Michigan. It was the first time either of us had ever seen proper waves in a lake and Alex was so overwhelmed he jumped in for a swim. I sat on the shore and ate an apple and responded to locals who were bemused by his efforts.

We made our way further south and camped the night at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana (State Motto: “Crossroads of America”). This campground had nice facilities, but was a little noisy with a train passing nearby every half hour or so. The beach here isn't too bad either, but for the nearby factories set along the same foreshore on both sides of the National Lakeshore.

From Indiana Dunes, we made for the last stop on our Great Lakes Tour – the shining beacon of the midwest – Chicago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTcDGnVqmjs

The Moose Myth – The Darkside of Canada

No doubt many of our readers have heard of a strange animal called “the moose”, purported to have long spindly legs, massive bodies, big irregular shaped horns and long horse-like faces.

But, I ask you dear readers – Have you ever seen a moose with your own two eyes?  As a diligent blogger it is my duty to bring all legitimate conspiracy theories to the attention of our readers.  And one we stumbled upon this week is the “Moose Myth”.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=33841

Are moose real or do they exist in the realm of the Yeti, Big Foot and the Loch-Ness monster?  Are they a conspiracy perpetuated by the Canadian government, in a secret alliance between the executive government, the department of homeland security and the national parks department to make their country more interesting?  Perhaps all Canadians are in on the joke and enjoy seeing foreigners to their country stumble about looking for moose. Who can say. All I can add is that we did not see any moose on this trip, nor on any trip into Canada, other than the fluffy toy kind at airport gift stores.

For more on this topic:

http://www.barelypolitical.com/post/9632/sarah-palin-saturday-night-live-moose-rap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAsYwW7pt7o

Photo of the Day - Reflections

Cool reflection on Grand Lake

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario (Provincial Motto: “Loyal She Began, Loyal She Remains”) is an environment dominated by lakes, rivers and forests. It sits at the intersection between the deciduous and boreal (pine/fir) forests – please see below for an explanation of this sharp diversity of flora. Since walking in boggy forests is pretty frustrating, Algonquin is best appreciated from the canoe or other lightweight water vessel. Although there are a number of walking trails in the park – including the 88-km loop of the Western Uplands trail – the majority of backcountry (North American word for “bush”) exploration in the park is done by canoe. The lakes and rivers of the park are connected by portage routes (trails that connect navigable sections) and are dotted with the most serene and isolated campsites that we've ever encountered. For reasons that become evident when you read about the history of the park, the Eastern and Northern parts of the park are far wilder than the Southern and Western sections that are dominated by the Parkway Corridor Road. Algonquin is an enduring, serene, massive and pervasive (not to mention empty) wilderness. As compared to Acadia National Park, we were struck by the size of the park (some 7,630 square kilometers), the ease with which you can escape all traces of other park tourists and the calm stillness of Algonquin.

History

Algonquin was established in 1893 as the first provincial park in Ontario in what appears to be an alliance between beaver-lovers and loggers against farmers. The proclamation of the park refers to the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Forest Reservation and National Parks that the land be set aside as a forest reservation and national park in order to preserve and maintain the catchment areas of a number of important Canadian water systems and to preserve the forest for scientific investigation (mostly for the logging industry) and as a habitat for birds and wildlife (in particular - beavers). All of the resources we picked up in and around the park emphasize that the park was not established to stop logging, and indeed, that the eastern side of the park remains one of the most important sources of lumber in Ontario (apparently this logging is carried out in a sustainable fashion, but you're not allowed into the areas that they log). Conveniently located midway between Ottawa and Toronto, and less than 3 hours from Montreal, the park was 'discovered' by fishermen and the naturalist artist Tom Thompson – who, if he lived, would have been a member of the Group of Seven (making it the Group of Eight), an artistic movement that founded the first and best-known Canadian art movement, the Algonquin School - at the beginning of the 20^th century. (Thompson's painting, “Jack Pine” was painted near Achray Campground http://www.artchive.com/artchive/G/groupseven/thomson_jack_pine.jpg.html). Google “Group of Seven” to find out more about this fascinating art movement, but don't confuse it with the other “Group of Seven”. They are way more boring:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Seven_(artists)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G7

No one is exactly sure what the word Algonquin means, though the interpretation usually given is “the place of spear fishing from the bow of a canoe.” Although somewhat fitting, this is not the name for the region used by the earliest inhabitants. This derivative of the name is from the Micmac language, a tribe located 930 miles east of the park, in the Maritimes. But in the language of the Etchemin tribe (who acted as translators for Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer who encountered the Algonquin people at a time of celebration) “A'llegon Kin” - the closest word to Algonquin in their language - means “those who are doing a dance.” De Champlain accordingly labeled all of the 30 tribes in the Northeastern part of Ontario with this misnomer.

Flora and Geology

The Western side of the park, on a dome of the Canadian Shield mountain range, gets more rain than the Eastern side, which is at a lower altitude. In addition to this “rain shadow” effect, because of the lower altitude of the Easter side, melt waters from the receding glacier washed away much of the silt from the soils of the Eastern side of the park, and these sandy soils support the pines of the boreal forest, but not the maples and beeches of the deciduous forest.

The melt waters of the last ice age created much of the geology of the Eastern side of the park. A string of large lakes (including Grand Lake, Stratton Lake, St Andrews Lake, Lake Travers, Radiant Lake and Cedar Lake) form part of the Fossmill Drainage Outlet, which was the geological system that drained the massive Algonquin Lake which formed behind the Canadian Shield mountains as the glacier that once covered Canada and part of the U.S. retreated north. At the narrowest point, waters flowing through this Fossmill Drainage Outlet carved out the Barron Canyon, now a dramatic, 100m gorge that is the feature of the Barron Canyon trail.

What We Did

Our first Algonquin campsite - keen readers will recall from the previous entry – was Achray, located in the Eastern park amongst a stand of fine white pines on the calm shores of Grand Lake. Achray remains the gold standard for campsites on this trip, its generously spaced campsites are all close to flushing toilets, sweet fresh water and are equipped with new tables and braai / bbq pits. In the morning we swam in the lake off our little private beach – our courage bolstered by the assurances of our neighbours that “the river snakes aren't venomous.” To add to this edenic picture of Achray, as we packed up camp, an otter trotted across the same beach and we were constantly accompanied by furiously active red squirrels and chipmunks.

Our wildlife-spotting efforts began with the Berm Lake Trail, an easy afternoon stroll around picturesque Berm Lake. The free trail guide that you pick up on the trail itself provides a lot of information concerning the plant ecology and geology of the Eastern part of the park – much of which we have shared above. We had ample opportunity to read this trail as our animal spotting efforts were not rewarded with any sightings.

Our foray into backcountry camping was via the Eastern Backpacking Trail, which is a very manageable overnight trail to High Falls at the end of St Andrews Lake and a short distance up the Fossmill Drainage Outlet from Barron Canyon. High Falls is the obvious highlight – a series of granite pools connected by excellent rock-slides and ending with the spectacular 10m waterfall (a trap for the unwary rock-slider) of High Falls itself. You can camp at High Falls, although when we went the four campsites there were occupied, so we took one on nearby Stratton Lake. Again, the sites were well set-out amongst a comfortable pine grove right on the shores of the lake. We built a nice – but conservative – fire, strung our food and toiletries in a bag between two trees in observance of “proper food management practices,” and Lish cooked us up a magnificent variation of campfire chilli featuring the remains of the Schwartz' smoked meat. Needless to say our wildlife spotting efforts were not rewarded with any sightings other than the odd duck that swam by on Stratton Lake.

Upon our return to Achray, we rented a canoe from the friendly, youthful ranger ($35/day including paddles) and set off around Grand Lake. First time in a canoe for either of us, we were pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to paddle, despite being rudderless and flat-bottomed. We were instantly awakened to the joys of canoe-camping with the vastly increased carriage capacity (in terms of volume and weight) that it accommodates – we could probably have unloaded the entire Prius into our canoe. The best thing about the canoe, though, is that it gives you much more flexibility of route to discover the entire lake. It can be completely silent, and so we believed that our chances of spotting an animal were greatly improved from the hiking. We stroked around the lake, venturing almost to the northern end, for 3-odd ours. We saw many empty beaver dens and one that was most definitely occupied. On our return leg we heard the slap of a beaver-tail on the water (apparently a warning to its mate) near this den and saw trails of bubbles leading to the den. Unfortunately, despite such close attention, we were not rewarded with an affirmative sighting this time. We did see plenty of loons though, which are a duck-like bird that seem to fascinate Canadians (although in their defense, the loon does make a very un-birdlike call which is more like a howl).

To top off a very active day, we dropped off the canoe and then rushed onto the Barron Canyon Trail which follows the rim of the canyon a few hundred meters – and of course has its own trail guide featuring the geological information faithfully reproduced above. Another interesting feature of the Fossmill Drainage Outlet is that it has resulted in the presence of ancient crustaceans in the Barron Cayon River and the other lakes and rivers that were part of the system, which crustaceans are otherwise found only in Arctic regions.

In a last-ditch – some may say desperate – attempt to see any wildlife (read - moose or beaver) at all in Algonquin, we dashed over to the Parkway Corridor that evening. This entails a 3-hour drive out of the park, through some sleepy Northern-Ontario farming towns and back into the much more popular Southern section of the park. One of these sleepy farming towns is home to Beauchamp's Bunnies, which is featured in our food section below.

We chose Canisbay Lake Campsite on the Parkway Corridor, largely due to its proximity to the Mizzy Lake Trail, which is a walking trail designed specifically for spotting animals and all but promises a sighting of moose, beavers and otters. Indeed, guidebooks even guarantee a moose sighting on the Parkway Corridor itself. We saw no moose on the Parkway Corridor heading into Canisbay.

Canisbay Lake Campsite is typical of the Parkway Corridor campsites in that it affords far less space between sites. Facilities there were top-notch though, and include spotless warm showers and even laundry facilities. Our first night at Canisbay featured our first encounter with a mammal – a tenacious raccoon with a penchant for Vegemite. He was undeterred even by a (somewhat regrettably sharp) poke with the walking stick and only moved on once the Vegemite was in the airtight food box in the car.

The following morning we trekked the Mizzy Lake Trail. It is 11km long and directs the hiker through boggy marshlands which apparently the mammals of Algonquin frequent. We were promised beaver, moose, otters, blue heron, deer, wolves and bear. We came up with blue heron and some far distant dark spots which we think were otters. Also we saw a pheasant type bird, a woodpecker and some interesting fungi. Possibly we identified a bear-paw print and maybe a moose track, but its hard to say for sure. (For more on this, read our future blog “The Moose Myth ~ The Dark Side of Canada.”)

Food

Algonquin itself is not a foodie's paradise like Acadia National Park. Nonetheless, nearby Quebec is. For us Quebec was all about dairy – full fat creamy dairy. The cheese, milk, butter and yoghurt is all significantly creamier than what we are used too, even the 2% milk. Yum.

Whilst at Schwartz' in Montreal, we picked up an extra pound of smoked meat for our travels. This Montreal specialty served us well in Algonquin, although we finished the pound by the second evening there. Similar to pastrami, the smoked meat is salty, fatty and extremely tasty.

If you visited fair Canada, you've probably heard of “poutines”, a national specialty. Both Ontario and Quebec tout themselves as the creators of the poutine, hot potato chips, covered in chicken gravy and cheese curds. The curds are meant to be so fresh that they will squeak when you bite them. We tried the poutines in Tremblant under the supervision of our bilingual guide Denis, and again at a roadside stop called Beauchamps Bunnies in the Algonquin region. The poutine (pronouced “pootun” or “putin” by the guy taking orders) at Beauchamps Bunnies was pretty amazing, but completely overwhelming. The two of us together only got half way through the small size serve.

Downside

Its tough to write a downside to Algonquin, because it is terrific – BUT – it is also expensive (in comparison to other parks). Camping for us ranged from $30 to $45 per night, depending on the location, including the interior camping. Park permits are $16 per day, but this should be included in the price of your camping if you're staying overnight.

The only other negative is the lack of animals we saw after being promised that we would definitely see heaps of moose. Several smug Canadians pointed out that we were basically retarded if we didn't see a moose in Algonquin. Well, I have a few thoughts about that. Stay Tuned....

Photo of the Day - Algonquin Provincial Park

This little guy joined us for lunch on our first day in Algonquin.

Montreal & Mont Tremblant, Quebec

I'm tapping this one out from our treacly-sweet site at Achray campsite in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. This is a massive, heavily forested park which seems to be best explored by canoe. Most people here arrive with at least one on the roof of the car. Of course, the canoe was the one thing that we didn't bring with, so we're going to be forced to foot it around the picturesque lakes and ponds in search of moose, bears, beavers and wolves. How did we get here? We were told about this magnificent spot by Denis, our new friend and bilingual tourguide – partner to Lish's long-time friend Tanya. Denis showed us around Montreal and Mont Tremblant, bargained and pulled strings for our lodgings, educated us on Canadian history – human and geological – introduced us to Canadian Tire (sic) and remained convincingly enthusiastic about our national parks plans and lame French skills.

The first thing that you need to keep in mind when thinking about Quebec (Provincial Motto: “I Remember”) is it's age. It was first explored by Jacques Cartier in 1534 – just 42 years after that famous Italian, Christopher Columbus, made his journey – and settled by Samuel de Champlain in 1608 (avid readers of Green Blazing will note that it was also Samuel de Champlain who gave Mt Desert Island its name). This settlement has been maintained – initially as a trade-post for the fur trade and then the lumber trade – ever since and hence Quebec City boasts many age-related superlatives such as oldest street in North America, the oldest basilica in North America – the Basilique-Cathedral Notre-Dame de Quebec, oldest stone church in North America - Eglise Notre Dame des Victoires, 1688, and even the popular Shrine of Sainte-Anne-De-Beaupre was built in 1658. (BTW, unfortunately we did not visit any of these sites). This makes European colonial settlement of Canada one of the oldest in the world (India was settled by the Portuguese in 1502). (At any rate, older than USA (1607), South Africa (1652), Australia (1788) and NZ (1822)).

With this perspective, it is easier to understand why Montreal has such a European feel to it. We stayed in small B&Bs in a residential area within the Island of Montreal called the Plateau (one of the obvious differences with New York, ordinary people own townhouses in trendy areas and rent out the bottom floor or basement). Within the French section of Montreal, the Plateau is prized for the variety and quality of its restaurants, bars, cafes and boutique shops. Montreal pioneered the system of municipal bicycles that Paris is now famous for, and biking is generally well-supported in Montreal. I like a city that supports bikes. It sets the right tone. It makes people more visible, reduces road rage, keeps people local and discourages the carriage of excessive belongings and so makes people more decisive and focused. My only complaint is that the system is limited to residents because it only accepts plastic with a local billing address.

So we caught the bus to the top of Mont Royale Park. This spectacular park was designed by one Fredrick Law Olmstead, our man who also designed Central Park in New York City. Mont Royale has a similar feel to it, with rambling tree areas mixed with lawns. There is a lovely panoramic view of the city from one point of the park.

From the top of Mont Royale it is an easy walk down to McGill University, which consists of a series of old stone European style buildings. We then walked down through McGill University to Schwartz' – the Montreal equivalent of Katz' – and then down to the Vieux City. Although the smoked meat sandwiches Schwartz' was probably the highlight of the day (picture below says everything that needs to be said other than that Schwartz the musical will shortly be showing in Montreal), it only just beats out the tunnels. Montreal has a famous warren of tunnels beneath its downtown streets. We explored these, exuberantly and seemingly at random, for most of the afternoon also passing through Saint Laurent Boulevard, Chinatown, Rue Crescent and the uber trendy St Paul Hotel.

We finished up Saturday back in the Plateau sipping French beers (varieties offered by Boreale Brewery), snacking on baguettes and pate made by the bar owner and watching a group of university freshers dance in the Saint Denis fountain in the midst of a torrential rainstorm. As the music of local musician, Leonard Cohen, came over the stereo in the bar, our tour guide Denis pointed out the perfection of this particular moment in time, and I agreed. “Parfait”.

Don't be misled, the life of a blogger is an easy one. We tripped up to Mont Tremblant on Sunday afternoon (1 hour drive) where we sampled some poutine (Quebecoise dish mixing fries, chicken gravy and cheese curds) and some more local beers at La Diable Microbrewery. Spent the afternoon wandering through the village indulging in the architectural cuteness, until our next meal at “The Grill” in the town (as opposed to the village part of Mont Tremblant).

The highlight of Tremblant – dare I say it – is the Scandinave Spa (www.scandinave.com). It shares an idyllic forest setting with the Diable River, has a well-respected complete silence policy and clean facilities without any birch whipping. The spa's philosophy is 15 minutes in an extreme heat environment, then immediate plunge into cold environment, and finish with relaxation session for 20 to 30 minutes. The extreme heat environments include the Finnish sauna, Norwegian steam bath, hot bath and thermal waterfall pool, and another hot bath without waterfall. There are several cold plunge pools including the Diable River itself. Relaxation sessions are to be held in the Scandinavian themed solariums, the best one being the Zero Gravity Solarium. All of the solariums have deck chairs facing large windows that overlook the river or the forest. Just heavenly.

Afterwards we said our goodbyes to our gracious hosts. Parting gift from Denis – a bear bell – to ensure our safety during the next stage of our walkabout - Algonquin Provincial Park. Stay tuned...

New England Meanderings

We spent a little over a week meandering through New England. Here are some of the highlights...

Olneyville NY Systems, Providence, R.I.

Upon the advice of our friends Laura and Scott (check out their website at http://eatyourworld.com/ ) we stopped in Olneyville NY Systems in Providence, Rhode Island (State Motto: “Hope”), for the lauded “best hot wieners in Rhode Island”. We ordered a serve of “weiner dogs” each and a chilli cheese fries to share. The meal lived up to its reputation – delicious American fare - perhaps even the best hot wieners in the world...

The rest of Providence looked a little too like a sense from “The Wire”, so we hot-tailed it out of there soon after we ate our weiners and chilli fries.

Hammonasset Beach State Park, CT

In desperate need for our first swim of the summer (yes, I know, appalling, it took us until September to get in the water), we stopped in for a quick dip at Hammonasset Beach. American beaches can be a confronting experience for foreigners like ourselves. First of all, you have to pay an entry fee to the beach. $15 in this case. Second, they are crowded. Third, you are not guaranteed blue water or even clean water for that matter. Hammonasset lives up to its expectations as an American beach. We swam and it was pleasant enough, but the green-pea soup consistency of the water was a little troubling.

An interesting food item we tried at the concession stand at Hammonasset was Georgia Dogs. These are hot dogs with chilli in the dog and a bun fried in butter. Delicious, but I am now seriously concerned for the health of the citizens of Georgia.

Arcadia Management Area, R.I.

In keeping with our “Acadia” theme, we did a drive through Arcadia Management Area in the east of Rhode Island. The park did look much like an arcadian paradise, but alas the campgrounds seemed to be shut and we couldn't find a ranger or any type of park-sort official. So moved on to nearby Pachaug, which was appropriately staff and had recognizable campgrounds. That is all it takes to get our business these days.

Pachaug State Forest, CT

Pachaug has a similar type of forest to Arcadia Management Area. We stayed in the Mount Misery campground within the forest, which was not miserable at all. The campground was well organize and the ranger was very friendly. He stopped by for a chat and to warn us about Hurricane Earl which was to hit the following afternoon.

One particularly nice thing about this campground is that it is next to a trail exhibiting a Rhododendron Forest. Unfortunately the rhododendrons were not flowering when we did the short stroll along the trail, but it was impressive nonetheless.

An easy camping meal which we had that night was Campfire Chilli. The recipe is as follows:

1 x small onion

1 x small can of tomato sauce

1 x can of beans (kidney beans or something similar)

1 x stock cube

Dried herbs to taste – I recommend basil and fennel seeds.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Fry onions in a little butter or oil till they are starting to brown. Mix all of the other ingredients into the same pot with the onions and let simmer over the campfire for no more than 10 mins.

Serve hot with a side of pasta, rice or bread.

Catskills Park, NY

The Catskills Park in New York State (State Motto: "Ever Upwards") was the scene of our first weekend away from NYC after we started working there in 2007. So it was fitting in a way that we returned there before we left the North East. We stayed at the delightful Clark House Bed & Breakfast, hosted by Michael and Christine. Eclectic paintings and photography don the walls of this B&B and each room is individually and charmingly designed. We stayed in the Marine Room, which was a nice reminder of our recent jaunt to Maine. The breakfasts at the Clark House are a real highlight. This time Michael prepared us a delicious cheese omelet with two types of cheese, along with a course of fresh fruit, proper yoghurt and tea cake. We are still marvelling at the lightness he managed to achieve with this omelet.

Photos of the Day - Mainely Maine

Bar Harbor Campground

Young's Lobster Pound, Belfast

ROUTE 1 - DRIVE SOUTH COAST OF MAINE

We took most of a day to meander down the Route 1 Coastal Highway in Maine. This highway is dotted with charming little New England style towns featuring wood houses with immaculate lawns, colorful summer gardens, white spired churches, charming streets with local shops, ocean views at every bend, lobster pounds (shacks), semi-decent coffee shops, second-hand bookshops and galleries. Some guide books complain about the kitchy-ness of these towns, but I think it is part of their charm.

Our drive took us past the LL Bean Outlet store in Ellsworth (150 High Street) which we capitalized on to stock up on camping socks, a new rain jacket and dry-fit top for Ellisha. If you're short of fishing or shooting gear, then this is a must-stop for you.

For lunch we stopped at Young's Lobster Pound in Belfast, ME (take the southerly-leading road off Route 1, just east of Belfast and immediately east of the large wooden sculpture of “Nutty The Squirrel” - you'll know him when you see him). At Young's we had a lobster roll (best of trip) and the twin special (2 1¼ pound lobsters with matching corn on the cobb). The additional benefit for punters at Young's is a superlative view of the bay from the dining wharf.

BEFORE

AFTER 

Towards the end of the day we took a charming detour to Boothbay Harbor to view the giant yellow fisherman at Brown's Motel on Atlantic Road. We were tipped off about this roadside gem in our guide to Roadside Americana that was thoughtfully gifted to us by a couple of resident New Yorkers. Boothbay Harbor has grown significantly in the last 10 years and is now quite a scene (doubtless, due in large part to the massive depiction of the fisherman). We used the spot to stock up on New England candies, blueberry pie and the “red-eye” at Mooshead coffee shop.

Most of the towns along this coast seem delightful and charming. A highly recommended detour if you have the time.

Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine.

Acadia National Park is set within the boundaries of Mount Desert Island, just off the coast of Maine, although accessible by road. It is famous for its rugged coastline, pine-clothed landscapes, granite rocks and clear, deep blue Atlantic waters. Inland from the coast, Acadia is filled with a brilliant green forest populated with many varieties of pines, birches, hemlock, maples and aspen. Acadia is also a mecca for all outdoorsy types with an array of energy-sapping activities, including sea kayaking, mountain-biking, running, hiking and boating.

The Park was granted to the US Federal government in the early twentieth century by some of America's wealthiest citizens at that time, including John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (whom, anecdotally, also is also known as the son of the richest and most hated man in America). According to “The National Parks, Amercia's Best Idea”, by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, George Bucknam Dorr (after whom Dorr Mountain is named presumably), successfully petitioned the Federal Congress to create Acadia National Park. The bill creating the park was passed on February 26, 1919, and was originally named Lafayette National Park. Ten years later the park's name was changed to Acadia.

From my personal perspective, the highlight and the low-point of Acadia were the 57 miles of carriage road exclusively available to hikers, cyclists and horse riders. The carriage roads were constructed under the guidance of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. on his family's private estate on Mt. Desert Island. The obscenely wealthy J.D. Rockefeller Jr. created the carriage roads during 1913-1940, partly as a reaction to the automobile trend that was sweeping America at the time and which he personally lobbied to have banned throughout the whole of Mt. Desert Island. The roads were carved through the forest, over streams and around the mountains, designed specifically for horse-drawn carriage riding. Local granite was used in the construction of the bridges of the carriage roads and also along the edge of many of the roads (these road-side borders are known as “Rockefeller's Teeth”). One morning we did a spectacular cycle from the bike rental shop in Bar Harbor (Acadia Bike Rentals on Cottage St) to Acadia, where we met up with the carriage road system. We cycled for two hours through the lush forest and along the sparkling, clear, still waters of Eagle Lake, Bubble Pond and Jordan Pond. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the air was cool, the breeze was at our backs and our “comfort” bikes - with 24 gears - glided along effortlessly. This was the highlight. We stopped for lunch at Jordan Pond House, (also pretty good, I had lobster stew, Alex had seafood stew and there were popovers all round – more on that later). At the end of lunch a little drizzle of rain had started, but we thought nothing of it and commenced a 14-mile tour of the southern carriage roads of the eastern part of Acadia. About 30 minutes in, the drizzle had got a little heavier. By an hour in, the drizzle had turned to torrential rains, which continued for the next 3 hours, which is how long it took us to get back to Bar Harbor. Needless to say, we were both pretty fed-up by the time we got back to the bike shop! This was the low-point. We consoled ourselves with a massive seafood meal at a restaurant called “The Chart Room” - we shared Maine Mussels for starters. I had Maine Scampi for main course, which included a large strip of lobster tail and Alex had Macadamia crusted Halibut for his main. We shared a blueberry pie with local blueberries, a-la-mode, to finish. For good measure, we topped all this off with Irish Coffees to warm the hypothermia dwelling in our poor, tired bodies!

General Impressions

 

The coastline of Acadia is an inspiring sight. It is a landscape that is gentle on the eye with its rich greens, deep aquatic blues, colourful granites and sheer cliffs. The lakes within the island are calm, ringed with beautiful pebbles and red-and-green reeds and lilies and clean, deep blue in color. Somme Sound which separates the Eastern and Western parts of the island is similarly stunning, and is often proudly named as the only true fjord on the Eastern coastline of the U.S. The sound bobs and flapps with a proliferation of ocean-craft, from simple dingies and skiffs to opulent yachts.

Mount Desert Island initially became popular with the general public after landscape artists from the Hudson River School – including Frederic Church and Thomas Cole – traveled here in the early 20th Century to paint its wild shoreline. These artists went on to sell their wares in the “civilized” cities of America of the time - New York, Boston, Philadelphia. The contemporary “It” Set then went on to travel out to Mt. Desert Island to see the spectacular scenery depicted in their newly acquired artwork for themselves. They eventually built massive mansions, as is the want of “It” Sets in North Eastern America back then (and still today in some parts). The island is still dotted with these mansions today. This all happened when Acadia was all private land – mostly farmland occupied by descendants of the first European settlers in the mid-18th Century.

Today Acadia National Park is the feature of the island and most of the industry is based around the tourism brought by the park. Outside of the park, Mount Desert Island is spotted with seaside towns, which were once fishing villages but now offer a more touristy flavor.

The forests are very beautiful in a classical sense. There is a great variety of old, established trees and the forest floors and rocky outcrops are covered with mosses and many types of lichen. Hiking is another lovely thing to do in Acadia, and because it is not as popular as some other activities on the island, and also because of the sheer volume of trails in the National Park, you are likely to feel some isolation and enjoy some quiet contemplation in the forest on whichever walks you choose.

Food

 

We ate very well in Maine. Full Stop. The main theme (pun intended) in Mount Desert Island (and all of coastal Maine) in summertime, is lobster – delicious, fresh lobster. I personally ate it in the shell, in scampi, stew, soup and on a roll. No doubt there are many other forms of lobster preparation as well. Freshly caught from the clean Maine waters, it's hard to see how any lobster dish could taste bad in these parts.

Locally-grown blueberries were also big on the menu while we were there. We indulged in a few slices of pie, with and without ice-cream and cream. We also found them wild on many of the hiking trails.

Popovers, a brioche type of baked product was a new food for us in Maine (actually I ate one in Portsmouth New Hampshire as well). These seem to be served hot with jam and cream, much like scones in the old country, but we also had them with lobster rolls and soups. They are lighter and more buttery in texture than a brioche, although of a comparable size and shape. They are delicious with the jam and cream and I recommend you give 'em a go if you get the chance.

Maine is different from other parts of New England in some ways, but in other ways it is the same – it is the same when it comes to homemade ice-creams, old fashioned candies, jams, jellies, chutneys and other good things of this ilk. Tasty, freshly prepared and homemade with extra love. Love it. In Bar Harbor, I recommend Mount Desert Ice-cream Store (7 Firefly Lane, Bar Harbor) for homemade icecream. Three scopes of icecream, cream, hot chocolate fudge, nuts and a cherry on top. All now in my stomach. Also Pres Obama ate here apparently when he went to Mount Desert Island this summer – check it out: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/07/president_obama_5.html

Activities

Acadia is an activities-focused national park. If you like all that good outdoorsy stuff, this is the place for you. Some activities we participated in, include:

• Sand Beach for swimming;
• Park Loop Road for driving;
• Otters Point for lovely picnics, but unhappily no otters spotted;
• Jordan Pond House for lunch and gift shopping;
• Long Pond for hiking (actually, we strolled around the west side of Long Pond);
• “The Ladder” and Dorr Mount for hiking, complete with actual ladders and small crevices between boulders to squeeze through.
• Cadillac Mountain for driving or hiking (I did both) the highest point in Acadia at 1466ft, offering fantastic almost -360 degree views of Mt Desert Island and its surrounding archipelago;
• Eagle Lake for running (completed by Alex only); and
• Carriage roads for cycling, hiking and running.

Other activities include horse rides, canoing, kayaking, golf, cross country skiing – some items we missed out on, but thought looked worthwhile.

 

Camping

 

Lamoine State Park (public) - lovely secluded camping spot with a minimal number of sites. It is not actually on the island, but on the mainland across the bay.

 

Bar Harbour Campground (private) – great spot for camping and RV's. Nicely forested, good rates, clean and easy. You can pick your own site as well which is nice.

 

Blackwood in Acadia National Park itself (public) - Staying in the national park itself is best, but difficult to get a spot in summer. The rangers give presentations in the evening and you feel more a part of the Acadia experience when you actually sleep in the park. Very easy access to the hiking trails as well. No showers though. Seawall campground is also available in the Western part of the National Park, but we didn't get a chance to stay there this time.

 

Highlights

 

As mentioned above the carriage roads are a must.  Also driving the Park Loop.  Hikes are easy to moderate, less crowds on the hiking trails which are immaculately maintained.

View from Park Loop Drive

 

If you get a rainy afternoon or want a break from outdoorsy activities - Argosy Art Gallery in Bar Harbor displays primarily paintings, by living painters, of the Maine Coast, in particular the Mount Desert Island region. This region has a long history of art, and initial attraction to the island was for painters depicting rugged coastal scenes and the like. Amy Stapleton Sidman, the manager at Argosy, offers an education on each of the artists that she is currently displaying, and attests that the landscape school is again finding popularity amongst the established (read high-brow) art scenes in New York and Boston. We had a pleasant and informative hour with Amy in her gallery one afternoon whilst we were in Bar Harbor.

http://www.argosygallery.com/