Kim McMahill

February is a month filled with days of note. Here’s a quick look at a few significant, fun, or interesting days in February. February 2 – Groundhog’s Day February 3 – Feed the Birds Day and Superbow 53 February 5 – Chinese New Year February 12 – Lincoln’s Birthday February 14 – Valentines Day February 15 – Singles Awaremenss Day February 18 – President’s Day February 22 – Washington’s Birthday

“It is a wilderness that is beautiful, dangerous, abundant, oblivious of us, mysterious, never to be conquered or controlled or second-guessed, or known more than a little. It is a wilderness that for most of us most of the time is kept out of sight, camouflaged, by the edifices and the busyness and the bothers of human society.” Wendell Berry

We started out our day in Bar Harbor with a leisurely stroll along s rocky and windswept coastal trail. Despite the gray skies, the scenery was absolutely stunning. Before leaving for Acadia National Park we enjoyed a lunch of whole lobster and steamers – can’t visit Maine without doing that, can you? But the highlight of our visit to this area was Acadia National Park. I have a special place in my heart for our National Parks and Monuments, and Acadia did not disappoint. The scenery, especially the rugged coastal area was breathtaking. Thunder Hole lived up to its billing, but the entire coast was stunning. I would love to return on a dry and sunny day to better explore more of this magnificent park.

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado There will be five entrance-fee-free-days in 2019. The first will be Monday, January 21, 2019., Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The remaining days to keep in mind are: Saturday, April 20 – First Day of National Park Week/National Junior Ranger Day Sunday, August 25 – National Park Service Anniversary Saturday, September 28 – National Public Lands Day Monday, November 11 – Veterans Day For more information visit https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm

“Wilderness is an anchor to windward. Knowing it is there, we can also know that we are still a rich nation, tending our resources as we should—not a people in despair searching every last nook and cranny of our land for a board of lumber, a barrel of oil, a blade of grass, or a tank or water.” Clinton P. Anderson

For those of you who have been following me here very long, you may have noticed that I enjoy educational tours, whether it’s glass blowing, pottery demonstrations, tequila or scotch manufacturing in their countries of fame, brewery or winery tours, or a crash course in vintage automobiles at my favorite author, Clive Cussler’s, car museum. Recently I realized the Celestial Seasonings tea factory isn’t that far from home, so we decided to check it out and we were pleasantly surprised. The tour was interesting and educational, including a stopover in the unventilated “mint room,” which was aromatic enough to clear the sinuses. They also had a wonderful tasting room with unlimited tea and one of the best factory tour gift shops I’ve visited. 

I generally don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. If I don’t have enough will power to carry through with something I should do on July 1, I doubt making a “Resolution” on January 1 will have any better results. However, I’m not saying it isn’t good to have goals, so here are mine. I’ll join much of the nation and say I’d like to drop a few more pounds. I haven’t spent much of my life worrying about it since it hasn’t been a significant issue for me, but as I get older, I’ve decided it might help ease the aches in my knees worn out from a youth spent downhill skiing and riding horses. I’m down about twelve from where I started out in 2018 and wouldn’t mind twelve more by the end of 2019. My second goal is to be more patient. This may be another result of aging, but I’ve noticed lately that I don’t have near the amount of patience as I used to and I’d like to do better new year. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2019, and good luck on any goals you may set.  

Here’s a quick look at a few significant days in January. Enjoy the new year! January 4 – Trivia Day January 5 – National Bird Day January 6 – Three Kings Day (Three Wise Men) January 21 -   Martin Luther King’s Birthday January 26 – Australia Day