5- Week 1 in Maine
If you haven't already, please follow our journey on Instagram at Vacation's Nation
*for daily updates and hilarious pictures/video's of Prairie Dog.
Girl named Cheri and a dog named Prairie. Quite the combo.
Prairie came from a small farm in South Central Kansas. She is part border collie and part Australian Shepard and full blooded energy. When Prairie isn't hiking mountains, her favorite activities include eating human food, snuggling the cat, and giving small kids mouth kisses.
(Baby Prairie Dog- 2019)
(How can you not want to hold this little puppy?!)
Little did I know when I got her how much of a hiking dog she would become. Prairie Dog schools us all the time when we go for hikes. She has hiked in Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado (she is a huge of snow) and now Maine.
(Colorado June 2020)
We have been in Maine for a week. And what a fun week we have had! Living in a fifth wheel is proving to be a dramatic change. Pat has had several RV's in his lifetime and this is my very first one. I am learning a lot. Simple things like "camper showers" (which means you only get 10 minutes max and dribbles for water pressure), and sharing space (Pat is 6ft 3in). Prairie Dog is in heaven. She loves being so close to us at all time. Me on the other hand. I smell like a dog.
As we continue to unpack, we take time out to go visit local areas in Maine and I have several recommendations!
Popham Beach in Phippsburg ME
maine.gov/dacf/parks/water_activities/popham_beach_conditions.shtml
It is $12 for non state resident's to visit. The beach is a short walk from the parking lot. Sunscreen is provided in soap dispenser in case you forget to bring your own! The waves are tidal and at low tide you can walk across the sand bar to some rock island. The waves were beautiful and had a couple dozen surfers. A life guard was present at all times. This beach is super family friendly. The only thing is dogs are not allowed on the beach until after September 30th.
We played frisbee and had a picnic lunch. If I were to add anything, I would recommend bringing a beach umbrella and a towel to sit on. We stayed for about 3 hours, and that was plenty of time for us. DON'T FORGET YOUR SHADES! It was super sunny.
(Huge fan of Uncrustables (strawberry))
Cranberry Peak (3213ft)- Bigelow Range Trail
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/maine/cranberry-peak-and-cranberry-pond-via-range-trail
Love All Trails. It is an app and website you can use for free (paid version has some great features). This app is great for viewing near by hikes. It also shares the length, hardness level, and elevation gain.
We hiked Cranberry Peak in the Bigelow Range Trail. The start of the trail shares the same path as the Appalachian Trial for a few miles. We met a few hikers. Some started hiking in March beginning in Georgia and are doing the full trial. Others are section hikers. A girl named Bailey, (we actually gave her a ride to the town 2 miles away), is doing a spilt hike (Maryland to Maine, then Maryland to Georgia) solo before she goes to Med School. It was super cool to meet people and everyone of the hikers were really friendly.
Prairie Dog did this hike with us and she was in love. There was plenty of water for her to drink along the way which is always a plus. The trial has a few rock scrambles. Its no big deal for our dog but for less agile dogs, I wouldn't recommend bringing them.
I've done this hike twice because I love it so much and its a great day hike. However, if you are not an experienced hiker, this trial may not be the right fit for you. It is labeled as Hard.
(Happy Dog.)
Here's what's coming up!
I am going to be a volunteer at Traverse Coffee Shop in Hallowell ME! I use to go there occasionally to get a cortado before work, and that is where I met Kyle. Kyle is originally from Texas and went to school in Oklahoma! I saw him the other day and asked if he needed a hand around the shop. Kyle added me to the schedule and I am going to learn how to be a barista!
With over a 100 google reviews, Traverse has a 4.9 star rating. I am beyond stoked for such an incredible opportunity. I'll let you all know how it goes!
Check out their website at: https://www.traversecoffeeco.com/
Pat is out of town for the week. He is an industrial press mechanic for shell presses and cupper presses. So he gets gigs on occasion. This week he will be in Southern California, leaving me with the RV, the dog, and the cat. Lets hope all goes well (fingers crossed).
Until the next post!
Cheri