20 September 2013 Off to New England

We can never know about the finds to come
But we think about them anyway
And I wonder if I'm really hunting a multi now
Or just chasing after some finer cache.

Anticipation, anticipation
Is making me late
Is keeping me waiting

... apologies to Carly Simon.

This was a weird year for vacation decisions. Ali wanted to go to Utah to visit friends. Then other friends wanted to go to Nevada. Then we thought of combining Utah and Nevada. In the end, the friends from Utah said they were headed to Maine. After that, the decision was easy. Our last trip here included Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont with a lot of time in Rhode Island with Connecticut and Massachusetts tossed in. This time promised to be easier traveling focused on Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire with a side trip to Quebec. It's a little strange for Utah and Ohio friends to meet up in Maine, but it worked the last time.

We arrived in Portland, Maine in the afternoon so our first day was going to be limited. There's always that desire to find the first cache of a vacation and break the ice. We made our first stop at Evergreen Cemetery. It's a large, old cemetery with a small pond and lots of trails through the woods. It was a good place to break the ice.

Synchronized sunning

This heron was so quiet, I first questioned whether it was a statue placed by the cemetery. Ali finally convinced me it moved.

These Caissons at the edge of the woods along the side of the trail were an interesting find. They may have been used for old funeral processions.

Yes, there are new england asters in new england.

Our last stop for the evening was the Presumpscot Trail running along the Presumpscot River. It seemed as though half the caches we sought along this trail were missing, but the river was a perfect place to end a first day of vacation. For much of the walk it was a quiet, scenic river with the surprise of a super set of rapids. The trail was popular with the locals and meant most hides required muggle avoidance.

Our last cache attempt along the Presumpscot River was at the rapids. It would easily have been a favorite, but appears to have been placed with a cell phone and has serious coordinate issues. We looked for about 45 minutes with me spending a good portion of the time a foot away from the rapids or climbly the face of the overhang. I'm glad I didn't slip. ;-)