2017 - Year in Review

14 States. 12 Months. 1 Big Adventure. 

2017 was packed full of long days and hard work, but it was rewarded with huge adventures and countless laughs.  We tackled 14 states, spent time with the raddest people, and made timeless memories.  

January

Want to read more about our trip to Maine? Check it out here.


February 

March

Spring Break - Arizona
Read the posts from the trip here



April

Two formals and a whole lot of craziness! In the best way possible. 

 

May

May was filled with final exams and last minute adventures! We were officially done with Junior Year. 

June

 

July

 

August

Leah Surprised me with a trip to D.C. for my birthday! 

 

September

 

October

 

November

 

December

2017 was a crazy year and one hell of a ride! We worked hard and played harder. Here's to 2018 being filled with even more adventures. 

-Rachael & Leah

Great Wass Island Preserve

Great Wass Island Preserve | 8.17.17 | Maine | 44.4707° N, -67.5824° W

 

Great Wass Island Preserve is located in Beals, Maine and is run by the Nature Conservancy, so cool! There are two trails in the Preserve, each connecting to form a giant loop that's 4.5 miles. The parking lot isn't hard to find and has plenty of spots. Everyone starts their hike from the same place and after a bit of hiking the trail splits. You can go left to the Mud Hole Trail, or go right to the Little Cape Point Trail. Here's a map of the preserve to give you a little picture.

We chose to start on Mud Hole trail to Little Cape and do the large loop. The trail starts in the woods and eventually shoots you out onto the rocks. 

The trail is through dense woods, rocks, and sections of boardwalk. The trail variety is really, really, amazing. The way the trail cuts through nature was my favorite part.

This was my first time being in the woods of Maine. It was incredible how dense the woods here are and how green everything was. Hence all the pictures!

Not long after this view, the trail ends and you're now out on the rocks. Heads up: your pace will slow down. The rocks are flat; Then all of a sudden you're on all fours crawling up them, a ton of fun though! When the trail meets the rocks, the wood line will be marked by lobster buoys.

As your walking keep your eye on the shoreline! There's tons of fun stuff in the trees. We found endless lobster buoys, traps, and fisherman's gear.

There came a point where the clouds were creeping in and you could smell the rain in the air. We had been hiking for a while and thought we were almost done. We picked up the pace but finally stopped to figure out how far we were. Turns out we we're only 1/3 of the way done! 

We kept on trucking and finally when we were close we had to climb onto this point and to get down you had to use a rope tied to a tree. This hike was so cool. 

As soon as we ducked back into the woods the sky opened and the rain started falling. Lucky for us we were actually almost done with the hike this time! 

This was one of the most stunning hikes I've ever done. Hopefully these pictures do it justice, and if not you'll have to go see it for yourself! If you enjoyed this post and like to support keeping places like this wild consider donating to The Nature Conservancy here. The Nature Conservancy runs Great Wass Island Preserve. Thanks in advance friends! 

After your hike treat yourself! Beals Maine is home to the #1 lobster roll and it definitely doesn't disappoint (PS they also have ice-cream). The name of the place is Bayview Takeout, they don't have a website but here's the address: 20 Shore Rd, Beals, ME 04611. 

Acadia

National Park 4/59

Acadia National Park | 8.13.17 | Maine | 44.3386° N, -68.2733° W

 

Acadia National Park has been on my list for a while. This is the first national park without Leah but the boys and I were on a week long trip to Maine and had to tackle it.

We had one day in the park and wanted to fill it with as much as possible. Our first stop in the park was the visitors center. Your best insiders guide to any National Park is always to talk to the Rangers. These folks know the parks inside out and will tell you how to see and do the most with the time you have.

The ranger we talked with told us that the best hike to do with the time we had was The Great Head Trail. The majority of the parking is along the road and the spots fill up fast.Acadia and parking do not go along- we saw so many cars with tickets on them! On the map look for Sand Beach - you're going to want to park as close to the sign as you can get.

After you embark onto the trail it will take you on a rural road for a bit. Keep on keepin' on until you hit the other parking lot! Then you'll be on your typical dirt trail and there will be more trail markers.  

After you reach the other parking lot this is what your hike will start to look like! Waahhoo! Nothing like dirt crunching under your feet. 

Once you get past the rocks above the views start! I was amazed that there was a beach in a National Park, so cool!

After the beach view make sure you follow the blue marks! The trail turns from dirt to rock and it gets a little tricky to figure out where you're going.

After hiking in the woods for a bit the trail breaks and you're hit with another view of the ocean

The hike didn't take long and we were done by noon. After, we loaded back into the car and drove around the park checking out some more views, and then stopped for a quick bite! 

After lunch we decided to head to Cadillac Mountain and check out the views everyone raves about, they definitely didn't disappoint.

Acadia was a blast! After exploring the park we headed into Bar Harbor, such a cool town. We walked around, grabbed a bite, and finished the trip off with some ice cream.