It’s almost October and those that live in Maine or are heading there for vacation in a couple of weeks as we are, know that this is the best time of the year to see some incredible fall foliage. And what better place to see it and experience the beauty of nature than in Maine’s Acadia National Park.
Acadia is located just outside Bar Harbor Maine and is the most northern national park in the continental United States. As a side note, it is also the place that receives the first light of the rising sun in the United States from the beginning of October to the beginning of March. The actual place that happens is on the 1,532 foot high Cadillac Mountain.
You can drive your car around Acadia National Park or park at the visitors center and take the Island Explorer Shuttle Bus around the park and not have to worry about any driving yourself. Many people spend 3 to 4 days in and around the park so they can see all there is to take in.
Mount Desert Island is the major part of the park and it is where Cadillac Mountain is along with 16 other mountains on the island. The main park loop road which covers 27 miles is also here and plan on taking around 3 hours to travel that 37 miles accounting for stops, taking pictures and just plain enjoying the scenery. If you are into hiking, there are 125 mils of trails throughout the park and if you are a cyclist you will be happy to know that there are 45 miles of carriage roads open only to horse drawn carriages and bicycles.
Other activities to partake in are ocean kayaking, bird watching and some activities in the winter including cross country skiing, snowshoeing and ice skating. Trail hiking is not recommended in the winter because of icy conditions on the bare rock found along many of the trails. Yes, it gets very slippery here on the trails in the winter time.
There are planty of places to stay if you plan on visiting Acadia including Maine cabin rentals, hotels & motels, bed & breakfasts, cottages, vacation rentals and campgrounds all around the immediate area. Unfortunately, the only accommodations available in the park are camping facilities. But hey, you’re camping in Acadia National Park, how great is that?
Unfortunately, Jean and I won’t traveling to Acadia on our trip to Maine this year. We will be spending 3 days in Bangor and then heading over to the Camden, Rockland, Rockport areas on the coast which is about 70 mile southwest of Bar Harbor and Acadia so, we probably won’t get up that way. We will however, be enjoying the great fall foliage and will be blogging about our vacation here at the Vacation Rentals Blog, so stay tuned for a report beginning the second week in October.
Tags: National Parks
Fall is just around the corner and if you want to be out in nature to experence the change of colors, you can check out some of these camping sites in NC state parks. North Carolina has beautiful beaches, scenic interior rivers and majestic mountains that all feature state parks so you can enjoy camping in whatever kind of geologic area you please.
The link above goes to New River State Park that features several primitive campsites that you need to canoe into and I believe 20 campsites that you can drive up to with electric hook ups. Ten of those sites are for RV’s and ten have tent pads.
The best time to plan your camping trip to NC state parks if you want to see the fall foilage is to check out the fall color reports starting on September 19th. The peak time for the higher elevations in the mountains is usually late September to early October, but make sure you check reports on a daily basis during mid September so you don’t get here too early or too late and miss the whole show.
Camping in North Carolina to enjoy fall is great, but if you’d rather stay in a more comfortable accommodations, you can check out some North Carolina cabin rentals here. Enjoy your fall vacation in NC.
Tags: Camping
Gatlinburg TN cabin rentals are a great way to get the most out of your vacation in the Smoky Mountains. If you haven’t had the chance to visit Gatlinburg Tennessee, it has a the feel of a nice little Bavarian town just nestled up in the mountains and it’s the perfect place to take a rest and get away from it all.
For some, the mountains evoke a sense of calm in those who choose to visit and there’s nothing more relaxing than sitting on the deck of a cabin sipping a cup of coffee or tea and enjoying a beautiful mountain vista. Where we live we have plenty of dogs barking in our neighborhood, but the last time we stayed in a cabin rental I remember standing on the upper deck of the cabin and listening to a dog bark way down in the valley and you know what, it was actually kind of relaxing.
So if you’d like to enjoy that kind of a vacation, then Gatlinburg Tennessee is the best place to do so. No matter if you and your spouse are getting away for the weekend, if you are newlyweds, or if you are a big church group looking for a place to retreat to, Gatlinburg has a cabin rental to accommodate you. From beautiful 1 bedroom 1 bath cabins to 2, 3 and 4 bedrrom cabins for larger families to huge lodge type cabins that have as many as 18 bedrooms, you should be able to find a place to fit your needs.
So when you finally get to the Gatlnburg area there is plenty to do including visiting The Great Smoky Mountains National Park where you can go hiking on over 850 miles of trails, go swimming, canoeing, bike riding, camping, or just plain sight seeing in your car. Once you have your fill of some of the back to nature things to do, you can always visit the downtown area of Gatlinburg where you can partake in shopping, finding some great places to eat from traditional country cooking to fine dining, visit a plethora of fun attractions for the whole family or just relax and watch the crowds go by and drink a cup of coffee.
But the best thing about staying in a Gatlinburg TN cabin rental is when the day is done, you get to go back to a wide open cabin that’s just like a home where you can spread out and relax instead of being cramped up in a small hotel room next to noisy vacationers. Believe me, you will enjoy your experience in Gatlinburg and the Pigeon Forge area of the Smoky Mountains much more if you stay in a cabin. You will be so glad you did.
Tags: cabin rentals, Gatlinburg
Ansel Adams met his future wife through his love of music, and although people told him to stick with his music career, he obviously didn’t end up doing that. In 1927, he hiked down to the diving board, which is a part of Half Dome. He took along a camera and 12 negative glass plates. Once he arrived, he photographed Monolith, which is the Face of Half dome, and that photograph is one of the most famous in existence of Yosemite Valley. As he was taking the photos, he could picture how they would turn out, which made him appreciate photography in a whole new light than he ever had before.
In 1936, Ansel’s dreams came true when his wife’s father passed away, leaving the studio and home that he owned in Yosemite Valley to Ansel and his wife Virginia. For three decades, the couple lived in this home, as Ansel practiced his photography and his wife ran her father’s studio in Yosemite. Yosemite Park was home to Ansel Adams, and the park service hired him a number of times to photograph events and visitors for brochures and other uses. His favorite job, though, was going out on his own and taking photos of the beauty of the valley, which he could then enjoy, reprint for friends and family, and sell for an income if necessary.
Because of Adam’s love of nature and skill at photography we can now experience the old world of Yosemite National Park as he experienced it during the first part of the 20th century.
Tags: Yosemite
Yosemite National Park is full of untouched beauty and so many natural wonders, that it is often a site visited by many photographers and artists looking for inspiration or wanting to try their hand at capturing the true beauty of the location. Ansel Adams Yosemite photography is some of the most popular that you will find portraying this incredible park in all of its beauty, mostly because he was a well known photographer during his lifetime.
Adams made his first trip to Yosemite when he was only 14 and immediately fell in love with it. His parents gave him a camera upon arriving at the park, which he used to explore the entire valley and create his own picture journal of his experience.
In 1921, Ansel Adams returned to Yosemite Valley as the curator of the LeConte Memorial Lodge, The Sierra Club building, and the visitor’s center that was recently built before his tenure at the park. He led weekly hikes to different areas of the park and thoroughly enjoyed all the natural beauty Yosemite is famous for. As he became more involved, he began leading backcountry trips and longer excursions, introducing people to the wonderment of the natural wilderness on a clear night and the beauty of untouched high country lakes. During early excursions, Ansel took many pictures throughout the journeys. However, many people don’t know this, but his first dream was to be a concert pianist, not a famous photographer.
More info on Ansel Adams Yosemite photography coming soon.
Tags: National Parks, Yosemite