MaMaLiRZ

The freedom that came with having a rental car was comforting, however it didn’t come without a level of pain. My intention from near the beginning of the trip’s planning was to use public transportation or taxis to get us around. You might ask why? Well, the idea was that it would alleviate the need for an access pass to drive Cadillac mountain. In high season the tickets sell out in minutes. Being already late to the driving game on a holiday weekend I was concerned there would be no more tickets.

Taking action as quickly as possible paid off. Immediately after renting the car, I went to the recreation.gov site to reserve our entry to the tallest mountain on the east coast, Cadillac Mountain. Thankfully and beautifully remaining were reservations late morning.

The Maine Landscape

The entire landscape of Maine, to include the clouds, was the complete opposite of the landscape of South Dakota. I know I have mentioned it before but it bares repeating, each park has its own beauty incomparable to another and obviously profound compared to its surroundings to be marked a National Treasure.

The conversation of the clouds began on the drive with Nancy, I was commenting about my recollection of the clouds as we landed in Bangor. The clouds were fluffier, the trees a different shade of green. A cacophony of deciduous and conifers, sea green, army green, dark green and emerald greens mixed together with a surprising early red leafed tree that clearly decided it would celebrate autumn’s arrival even while its neighbors were still in enjoying summer. Nancy and I must have chatted for 20 minutes during our ride together about the clouds and trees.

Even our drive into the park to the first visitors center was different. We parked and explored the nearby trails and took our first pictures. The visitors center was a short climb up natural steps. Along the way we discovered rock cairns built by early hikers over 100 years ago as directional guides. The rock cairn is a stack of rockets generally with a pointed rock that sits on the top, the point being the direction of travel.

As soon as we had our junior ranger pamphlets and map in hand we were off again to explore the park. As I drove through uninspiring areas, the boys worked on their junior ranger book. We stopped at all the vistas and ultimately made it ever so slightly late to our Cadillac Mountain timeslot.

Note to reader* download your entry ticket before you enter the park. Cell service is worse inside the park than on the outside. I thought that was poor enough outside but was further surprised when I was unable to open my reservation. Thankfully the ranger working the station pulled it up on her computer and granted us entry.

Cadillac Mountain

As we mounted Cadillac Mountain, the pink granite surfaced along the mountain top providing a playground for both children, and our eyes. One vista after another our brains busily tried to define the limitless natural splendor.

The park and its trails quickly moved up the favorites list for the boys.

Privately ;) between you and I reader, I think it also had something to do with having our happy-go-lucky pup along with us. I witnessed the joy on the kids’ faces and they in turn experienced the joy through Munja’s escapades.

Munja bounded from bolder to bolder, leading our path throughout the park. He was equally overcome by the smells and sounds of the park. The ocean waves crashed and the birds soared through the air calling to one another. His little head jerked from side to side afraid of missing something. The ocean’s waves teased him as it advanced and retracted. The waves rolled and crashed. He playfully barked and hopped towards it like a bunny as it retracted and ran from it as the waves crashed itches from his forward advancement. His paws were damp from the sand, and his nose now sand brown rather than its normal black.

My three boys danced and chased one another back and forth across the sandscape while I watched on as a spectator, my mind recording video memories.

In these moments I feel like I am in the right place at the right time. Sure, we had our ups and downs. A lost microphone, found. A lost receiver, searched for and found. Tears came after finding it, but realization, a cautionary tale, reminding me of what we are doing and why. It isn’t about recording the trips, it needs to be about the video memories we are each recording in our minds.

As long as I stay focused on my true intent, everything else will come or will fall into place. When I am being most authentic to our cause, which is time together, I discover the Nancy’s of this World and my own joy. It is not just about the journey but also about each step along the way.

Lest we not forget.