Maine Thing

I completed 100 rocky Old Dominon miles and then promptly ran away to Maine for two weeks for a work detail with shorebirds and seabirds on relatively remote islands.

View over Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia Nat'l Park

Eagle Lake as viewed from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia Nat'l Park

Dramatic coastline along Park Loop Road, Acadia Nat'l Park

Arctic tern adult, Petit Manan Island, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

Atlantic puffins and a razorbill, Petit Manan Island, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

Atlantic puffins and razorbills, Petit Manan Island, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

Eastern Brothers Island's dramatic topography, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

Lupine overlooking Blue Hill Bay, Mount Desert Island

Arctic tern chick, Metinic Island, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

When in Maine....

Views of Metinic, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

Newly hatched common tern chick, Ship Island, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

A herring gull chick (who was the size of a chicken) about to take out my sunglasses
Metinic Island, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge

In fact, as of this writing, I still haven't even seen my horses (arrived home yesterday), but my BO reports they're looking great & I WILL see them tomorrow.

Two weeks away has been great for Q because she has been 110% left alone to be a horse and it has been great for me, too, because I have been able to take time to wrap my head around the entire crazy feat.

It was so surreal for the first 7 to 10 days post-completion! It really became a reality as I began my trip northward. First, when I was at the local watering hole in Davis and all of my outdoorsy mountain biking friends all individually took a moment to come over and congratulate me on the ride. They're endurance athletes of another kind and they recognized the feat for what it was. Answering their inquiries and thanking them for their interest really drove home the whole, "I completed a 100 mile ride" thing. Then, the following night I was in DC with Austen and Emma and other new-to-me horse girls. Austen and Emma's enthusiastic questions about the ride plus an evening of horse-talk with the ladies cemented things even further.

Visiting with some of the DC-area bloggers
Austen's recap here
Emma's here

I'll certainly share the typical "what worked/didn't/needs more contemplation" in a following post, but for now, know all are healthy and well following the OD 100. The two week reverie through work in Maine has helped settle my mind in more ways than one and I'm eager to get back in the saddle (on Griffin, Q still has more vacation ahead) this week!

And, because there are never enough photos of baby birds, I leave you with this little nugget.

Arctic tern chick, Metinic Island, Maine Coastal Islands Nat'l Wildlife Refuge