Tumbledown Mountain Hike (29 Sept '07)

If you ever want to go for a terrific fall hike, then Tumbledown mountain is it. The beautiful foliage, steep rocky climb and mountaintop pond make this one of the best hikes in Maine. I just love this mountain, Tyler and I have hiked this mountain a few times and every time I enjoy it, but I think that this weekend was the best. Not only did we go with a group of great friends, but we also hiked the loop trail for the first time. I don't know if you like hiking or not, but I can tell you that I hate hiking up stair mountains, you know the part of the mountain that is a bit steeper than those old basement stairs that you are afraid of. Well, the loop trail on Tumbledown skips this step. Our hike started really easy like a walk on a nice wood path and then instantly ascended to near vertical. We went from a walk in the park to having to use arms and take huge steps up rocks. Near the top we went through what we called the lemon squeeze (or fat man's misery), which was just a hole in a couple of rocks. This was a great adventure with the kids. In our group we had three children 4 and under, and a couple of kids under 10. Most of them made it up the mountain just fine, but we did have to pass the little ones up the lemon squeeze hole, of course, they enjoyed it. We were welcomed to the top by a sign that stated "Loop Trail: Not suitable for children or dogs", Oh well, too late now. The wind on top of the mountain was so cold, Josiah and Elijah were in child carriers and wearing fleece coats, but were determined to let us know that they were cold. Needless to say we didn't linger on top, but headed right down the brook trail. The brook trail is the trail that I have always taken up the mountain. It is basically the steep staircase trail, I hate the elevation, but what is horrible to ascend actually makes an easy descent. I have so many things to be thankful to God for concerning this hike, one of which is that John chose the loop trail, I absolutely loved this path. Second that my mother and father were so willing to watch Andrew for us, I would have hated hiking this with him on my front.

This Picture is of the view on top of Tumbledown take a look at the beautiful fall colors.

Summer 2007

Why is it that the summers always seem so full of activity and yet I cannot seem to remember what we have done for fun. I suppose that I should start at the beginning. We started our summer with a day trip to Boston. We took Elijah, Andrew, and Alison (the nanny,jk); We visited the aquarium and just had a great day walking in Boston and riding the trains and buses. Karen, Mindy, Karem, and Ayla came to visit in July this year and we had a huge bonfire and good visit.
August started with church camp, I never knew you could have so much fun with a bunch of church folk. We went hiking, canoed the Saco (which I don't recommend doing in the summer), rode horses, and just had a fantastic time hanging out together. It is amazing how well the boys do camping and such.
We ended August by winning tickets to Six Flags New England. So on September 15th we headed to Mass to see Third Day in concert at this extremely overpriced theme park. Let's just say that the prices are not family friendly, and I would not have gone if we hadn't won tickets. We spent Friday night in a hotel and woke bright and early to go to the park on Saturday. Yet again, the boys amazed me with their behavior both sleeping in a hotel and at the park. They danced in the field at the concert, it was incredible.
This fall brings new adventures with the Newboys coming to concert in November and Tyler backpacking Bigelow with John and Josh. The Lord has blessed our summertime fun and not so fun activities, I pray that he has done the same for you.

Let us know about your summertime adventures by leaving comments, or you can learn more about ours by asking questions.
God Bless