Friday, August 17, 2012

4802, Round Three

We've tried to make hiking Moosilauke a tradition, but we haven't been able to make it every single year. The last time we went was back in 2009, but we've been running and hiking a ton more this year, so it was only natural for us to get our butts up the mountain this year.

The weather was a bit iffy, so we blasted up and down the mountain in 3 1/2 hours in order to beat the afternoon thunderstorms.

As we've gotten more fit, we've been able to keep up with the dogs better. A year ago, we'd have taken a lot longer than 3 1/2 hours for a 7+ mile hike with almost 2500 feet of ascent and descent. This isn't the first time this summer we've defeated the Golden Retrievers, and it won't be the last.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Black Cap Round Two


We actually made it up Black Cap twice this week. My sister wanted to hike it with her family, and it's definitely a kid-friendly hike despite its fairly step ascent of about 600 feet in about 1.1 miles. We spent a little longer at the top this time, since the clear day made for some great photos.

Comet and Jax had a great time looking for mud and other fun stuff to sniff while we sat and enjoyed the view.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Killing Time with a Killer View

We've been up Black Cap before. It has a great view for an easy hike, plus the added bonus of having a trailhead at the top of a windy road that's super fun to drive in my MINI.

We added a few days to our vacation by renting a teeny cottage for a couple of days before our lakehouse rental started. We decided to leave early and then killed some time by hiking before checkin at the little cottage. Jax and Comet were more than happy to be rewarded with a big hike after such a long drive.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Captivity

I've ruminated before on my mixed feelings about zoos. Though that was over four years ago, I still have the same mix of interest and moral confusion when I go to one. Today, I took our niece and nephew to the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, and we really had a lovely time, despite being caught in a cloudburst at one point.

They have visiting tortoises on loan for the summer.

My telephoto lens got a big sploosh of a raindrop right on the filter just after this picture, and I wasn't equipped to dry it properly, so this was the last good shot of the day. This Sandhill Crane was in a small enclosure in between the River Otters and some alligators. He doesn't seem unhappy, and as I've mentioned before, I think zoos probably do a lot more good than harm because of their role in conservation and education, but it's still sad to see a majestic bird behind chain-link.

It's also not too hard to see the dinosaur ancestors when you take a really close look at a large avian. In fact, for whatever reason, I see a lot more dinosaur in the crane than I do in the tortoise.