It's a Miracle!

Bar Harbor, ME    High:  73   Low: 51 (!) Good sleeping weather!

[No great photos today...Too busy practicing with the camera to get any nice ones, so will share a few miscellaneous taken in the last few days.]

Sparky is back to normal, knees are not hurting, she is bounding up and down the RV steps like a 50 year old youngster! (Make that a 62 year old, and you got it right, clarifies E.) Thank you, Eldo! And thanks to three Aleve and a good night's sleep!

Sparky still took it easy today, just in case...but things seem to be fine and dandy. Which is good, because Eldy's sister and brother-in-law arrive tomorrow, and they want to fill the next three days with LOTS of activity...a bike ride, a hike or two, they want us to plan a full agenda. Okey dokey! Can do!
We MIGHT visit Thunder Hole, but so far, in the three times we've been there, not enough wave or wind action to make an impression or the thunderous sound you are supposed to hear. When the wind, the tide, and the waves are just right, the water comes rushing through into a hole under a rock ledge and slams back out with a BOOM! and a HUGE tall splash. Pretty spectacular, they say!

Thunder Hole Watch

Today, we made a trip to Walmart and stocked up for picnics on the trails, tried to find a zero gravity chair that Walmart was selling for 30.00 a piece. They had a bunch of them a few days ago, but today they were sold out-- for the remainder of the summer. Bummer! They have them online, but they are selling for 19.00 more. Hmph! They seemed to be really nice chairs. About the same quality as the ones selling at Camping World for over a hundred bucks.

Sparky took another Canon in the Parks photography class today at a different location in Acadia--Sieur de Monts. It was terrific! Again, she signed up for the beginning class. This time it was a different instructor, Dan Cornish, from Montana. He was funny and a delightful instructor. He had everybody's name memorized with one time around in introductions, and there were several VERY hard to pronounce Asian and Indian names! Sparky can hardly remember her own name let alone a group of twelve people. Dan's the man! Today was the VERY LAST class for the Canon young people. You could tell they were ready to wrap it up. It has been a long summer for them, traipsing all over the country teaching many workshops at each national park they visited. It's a terrific program with free rental equipment, and most of Canon's lens and camera line there for workshop participants to try out for FREE.

Lots of lichens and mosses in the woods

Dan went over the basics, which was much needed again for Sparky....She is still a little rusty on F stops and shutter settings, but she practiced diligently. Dan had some great tips, but Sparky was struggling with the settings on her camera and things not turning out right at the time, so she missed the boat on a few things. Not the first time that has happened. (Sort of like missing a whale breech while fiddling with the camera? asks E.) Sort of...We practiced freezing action with shutter stops, lighting aspects with white balance, and some other stuff. Sparky wished she had attended more classes while the Canon staff was there...But we were away for a few days during some of them, and busy a couple of other days, injured for one. Sparky just wasn't sure how much repetition would happen with staying in the same skill level. But the guys and gals did a terrific job of teaching, bringing their own individual styles and tips to each class, so staying in the same skill level was very beneficial. If Sparky runs across these workshops again, she'll definitely take multiple classes at the same skill level 'cuz she needs LOTS of repetition!

On the way out of Sieur de Monts, Sparky made a wrong turn...(totally expected that, says E.,) and ended up going on the Park Loop Road past the Precipice Trail parking lot. Eldy had the NERVE to ask, "You didn't go the wrong way on the one way, did you?" Sparky is not THAT bad! On second thought, that might be entirely possible and has happened, says she.  But no, she didn't this time. (Woman, you are going to drive me to an early grave, worries E.) Heck, I'm worried myself! says Sparky.

The Precipice is the trail that is STRENUOUS with iron rungs, rails, and drop off ledges and where a hiker died from a fall a few weeks ago. A bunch of paramedics were there, the fire truck, several ranger vehicles. Apparently, there was another fall today. Sparky asked later at the Acadia Sieur de Monts center what happened. Somebody fell, but it was not life threatening....Whew!

Sparky is going to do a BIG HIKE on her own in a few days, but it WON'T be the Precipice. Eldy says she will have to sign a waiver for her family before he lets her go, but it's not that bad a hike, really it isn't! It's gonna be the BEEHIVE and BOWL hike--some iron rungs but a short and sweet climb.  More about that in a few days! Stay tuned! First, a family visit....