Our Modified Honeymoon Update #2: Chasing Waterfalls
Monday the two of us would’ve been visiting the Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon, Arizona and touching our feet into Utah for just a second. Tuesday would’ve been touring Antelope Canyon and hiking Cathedral Rock. However, due to COVID-19 we are chasing waterfalls in Maine.
Monday, August 17
When the preparations for our modified honeymoon began, we asked Justin’s bosses about what to do around Sugarloaf Mountain. Heather and Abe, who were kind enough to let us use their condo on the mountain, shared with us many food and outdoor activity options. Waterfalls were at the top of the list.
After a long driving day Sunday, we opted to stay more local on Monday. We slept in a bit, made pancakes and sausage for breakfast, rested a bit with the views of the mountains from the living room and decided what to do for the rest of the day.
We packed up our hiking bag, picnic cooler backpack and head in search of waterfalls.
The plan was not to drive far, so we picked the Upper Poplar Stream Falls which was only about 11 miles and about 20 minutes from the condo. After traveling down a dirt road for a few miles, we ended at a small parking area and it was only a few minute hike to the falls.
At the base of the falls there is a small pooling of water that we setup our picnic lunch and enjoyed some turkey sandwiches, bags of chips and some water. Taking in all the beauty of the falls and surrounding area.
On the way back to the condo, we opted to stop along Carrabassett Drive (Route 27) and dip our feet into the Carrabassett River. We are definitely going back.
Taylor made an amazing new pizza at the condo for dinner. Filling and delicious. After dinner we wanted to head out towards Rangeley to see if we could spot another moose. We opted not to finish the trip to Rangeley since it was getting a little dark and wanted to make it back to the condo in some light.
When Justin went to turn around, we pulled into a spot called Quill Hill. After little thought, we said “let’s see what this is about” and continued up the road (see video below). WELL WORTH IT! The views were breath taking. No picture could ever describe the distance and scenery we saw. Unbelievable. We could’ve stayed for hours, but it was getting a little windy and dark.
On our trip back to the condo, we did spot a moose crossing the road. However, it was too dark and too far away for any photos. We hope to go back out on Tuesday night for a little more looking.
Tuesday, August 18
The expectation was that Tuesday would bring us crappy weather all day, but it seemed to hold off for the most part. We had some toast at the condo with homemade strawberry jam from our friend Nicole to start the day off well.
After relaxing for a bit and unsure of the weather, we then decided to grab some sandwiches from D’Ellies at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain. The sandwiches were amazing. To top off the amazing sandwiches, we decided to find a nice spot to eat them and stopped along Carrabassett Drive and ate them on the rocks of the Carrabassett River near a few little waterfalls. The hope was the rain would hold off just enough for us to eat, and luckily it did!
Tuesday we were able to cross another waterfall off our list, this one was in our own backyard (well the condo’s backyard). The falls was short stroll down the road and an easy hike to the West Mountain Falls on the South Branch Carrabassett Valley River. This waterfall was beautiful and dropped into an amazing swimming hole.
Taylor and I hadn’t planned to swim, but we were hot from the sun and the short hike and opted to go for a swim anyway. Justin was in my hiking shorts and wasn’t even a crazy thought. Taylor was in yoga pants on the other hand and just decided it didn’t matter. The mountain water was a tad bit cold, but it was nice to get in a slight swim.
For dinner we made homemade cheese enchiladas at the condo and played scrabble before heading out to look for more moose. Unlike the one we spotted on Monday night, Tuesday night we struck out.
The weather looks great for the next few days and we hope to look for more waterfalls, swimming spots and find more moose!
Check out our Update #1 from the first few days.
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