To clear my mind

A little over a week ago my wife and myself made a huge step in our lives together. We made an offer on our first house. With the owners on vacation we knew we could be waiting days for a reply. With my wife sleeping, I could no longer circle our apartment in nervous anticipation any longer. I had to go out and clear my head.

It was a beautiful day in the 70's with a slight breeze. Perfect conditions to hit the trails. I decide to check out Arcadia. The last time we were there was in one of my previous posts on letterboxing in the winter. I arrived to see a wedding taking place in the field by the entrance. Out of respect I kept my camera at my waste and continued on to the trails. I had a good chuckle when I first stepped foot on the trail and a Subara was blocking the entire path, with a bumper sticker that says "Share the road". Irony at it's best!

I made my way to the tree house overlooking the wetlands with the thoughts of the house spinning through my head. Incredibly I only passed a couple of people along the way.

I made my way up the spiral staircase and soaked in the peaceful sights and sounds. It's almost impossible to see, but a bald eagle perched itself in the large tree straight ahead. I played the waiting game for him to come out so I could grab another picture, but he won .

A great heron cruised the shallows looking for small baitfish and frogs

I took a few minutes to brush up on local bird names

Maybe it was the eagle waiting for dinner, but there were very few birds flying around in the open air. I took some calming deep breathes and headed back down along the river trail

I hiked for about an hour at Arcadia and didn't put a dent in my nervous energy. I decided to head up to Mt. Tom State Park for some more hiking. I've always wanted to check out the Nature Trail, but for some reason never had. It is a self guided nature tour with signs along the way that provide information about local plants and wildlife. It is a great hike.

This picture of the crawling roots makes me realize how much I need a better camera.

There is a point in the trail that comes to a "t". You can either take the high road or the low road. I chose the high road and was rewarded with a beautiful scene. The opening is small in the summer, with trees smothering the view, but it is still worth the extra effort.

After soaking it in I continued on.

There were some nice wooden bridges that have signs of recent upgrades.

These rocks caught my eye as they stood out in a stacked up row. There was small scale rock harvesting here at one point.

You pass over a few smaller brooks that offer a very calming sounds of breaking water over the rocks. I took a few minutes to sit down and clear my thoughts.

I made it to the end of the trail and felt abit more relaxed. With alot of sun left I set coarse for the peak. It would be a waste to turn around this early. I marched up past the visitors center and headed towards Goats Peak. The park was very busy, with picnics and families grilling and enjoying the beautiful day. I made it up to the old parking area and took a nice snapshot. It's a great view of the Oxbow marina.

I took a few sips of water and headed off again. My goal was goats peak, but I passed the trail and ran into the Eyrie House ruins by mistake. I have hiked up here so many times and have never seen these before.

The remains of a very well built house looks over the path.

The craftsmanship is really amazing to me.

Glad I made the mistake I enjoyed the view and then explored the area.

An old lookout tower is now a prisoner of the modern era, riddled with satellites and radio antenna.

With some daylight left I moved on to Goats Peak

I made my way to a very special place for me. The spot where I proposed to my wife. I took a seat on the bench and felt very relaxed. At that very moment my wife called to see if I had heard any news on the house. Timing is everything.

Right after I got up I received a call from our realtor. She had told me our offer was accepted. I was happy and nervous at the same time. I was thinking "We did it!" and also thinking "What did we just do?" Now with my head buzzing even more then it was that morning I took a minute to think things over on the lookout tower. A beautiful day with big news.

Knowing things will soon change drastically, I took my time getting down the mountain. The five hours of hiking was exactly what I needed to burn out the nerves.