Walden Pond State Reservation
Transcendentalism, sunscreen, and a beautiful day. Or as Thoreau might have said, "simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!"

(three down, 49 to go!)

• Tucker’s Rating (if he could give one, dogs are not allowed) - 2 wags (and we’d give it a 3 since we got to actually see it)
• Admission Fee - $5 per car (less if you’re 62 or older and they do ask at the gate with a request for ID) Admission limitations - 1,000 guests. In the summer get there early so you can get in, in the Fall get there early so you can enjoy some of the peace and solitude that made this location the favorite of Henry David Thoreau. Later in the day that mood is missing
• Pets - NOT ALLOWED. As a matter of fact, there’s a $50 fine if you try to sneak your dog in.
• Accessible - Yes. This is a citified park. There were even people there in skirts and loafers walking the Healthy Heart Trail . In season they have a beach wheelchair available for assistance across the beach and into the water and they have FM listening systems for those who would benefit for the park interpretive programs.
• Other Activities - swimming (and people WERE doing that in early October!), fishing, non-motorized boating, hiking, picnicking, snowshoeing, interpretive programs, Shop at Walden Pond and the Tsongas Gallery. Please note - NO BIKING on the trails. So if you wanted to do a bit of mountain biking, this is not the place.
  

After spending a full day yesterday in Maine with my quartet, and Beth spending the full day visiting parents in nursing homes, we both decided that in spite of the house needing a major cleaning and organizing, we needed an escape. Checking our list we knew it needed to be a park nearby since we were due again at the nursing home to visit my mother this afternoon. Walden Pond State Reservation seemed to be the perfect option. It was nearby, a place we’d both been to but not at this time of year, and after a few days of rain and cloudy skies, the sun threatened to appear. What better way to catch the early color of Fall against some beautiful clouds and a bright blue sky! Good choice! Although our rating may point to a different story.

We drove out on back roads from home, stopping at Dunkin’ Donuts for bagels, water, and juice. Beth had some new binoculars to try, and we had charged up the camera, so we were ready to go. Taking Rt. 4 out through Carlisle again we drove past our favorite Great Brook Farm State Park, and headed towards downtown Carlisle. We smiled when we noticed Ferns Country Store is just getting decorated for the season with giant spiders on the roof, pumpkins all around, and a heavy dose of Halloween fun! The store has been on that same site since 1844. Primarily a deli, bakery and grocery store, they also sell locally made gifts, and it’s another option to stop if you’ve forgotten something for your trip. And its SO photogenic (although we didn’t take a photo!).

Continuing on out to the park we noticed some leaves that had turned but not as many as we’d hoped. Driving through Lexington and Concord we realized how many places there are for people interested in literature and the group of authors that lived in the area, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and even Margaret Sidney who wrote, "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew". The area is rich in history and literature and certainly deserves more than the brief time we had to spend, but we'll be back. We also drove past Main Streets Market and Cafe, a favorite place of ours for dinner and live music! Friends of ours sing here occasionally and on a couple occasions we've actually joined in the performance. We also noticed A LOT of people on the road. Given that the park has a maximum guest number we were hoping that wouldn’t be the case today. Happily, there was room!

We sat in line waiting our turn to purchase a pass and got a quick taste of what the day would be like. We heard annoying beeping from behind. Beth looked in the mirror and noticed a large van trying to pull past us on the right. They held up an annual pass as they drove quickly past the line… RUDE! We pulled forward and again got beeped at while a larger vehicle tried to sneak past us to get into the park because they were holding an annual pass. This is NOT a two lane road, and the wait isn’t more than a few minutes, but we strongly urge the park to establish an access-road for annual pass holders because they obviously don’t have time to wait for us non-passholders to pay the $5 per car fee! The lot was filling fast so we quickly found a spot and began our exploration.

First task, checking out the replica of Henry David Thoreau's log home. Like I said, this is a citified park, and the fact that this replica is actually sitting IN the parking lot makes me think that not everyone is prepared to walk half way around the pond to see the actual site. If it were me I might have built that replica out there, just to get more people to walk, but there you go. No one asked me! The replica itself is complete with woodstove, small cot by the window, a writing table and chair. Very sweet. Thoreau had a great quote about liking the simplicity of his little retreat. There are quotes displayed around the site and one notes how happy he was with the cabin's simplicity, as opposed to other homes that were like walking about in a furniture store. Another of his quotes, “I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust. ("Economy" Chapter in Walden). Me, I would have just left the dust there, if his mind was undusted and worked so well, why not continue with that approach. Plus, I can’t imagine he didn’t dust anything else, what with a wood stove and 3 large windows providing plenty of access to dust and pollen. But I suppose throwing them out the window just placed them in his “other room”, the place that is now known as Walden Pond State Reservation. In that same chapter of Walden, he wrote, “I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion”, leading me to believe he enjoyed his own company best. I’m thinking he would NOT have enjoyed the number of people jogging, walking, snapping photos and in general soaking up the essence of Walden Pond. Ironic that the park itself, the source of one of his best known books about solitude should today be such a crowded and interactive type of place.

After taking photos of the cabin and the statue of Thoreau himself, we walked across the street and down towards the beach. We were surprised to find children and adults in the water swimming. Some seemed to be preparing for a triathlon and were swimming in lines across the pond (not allowed per the park rules, but it appears when lifeguards are not on duty people do as they feel.) The beach provides public restrooms, a first aid station (only in the summer) and notices regarding activities being held in the park. In the next two weeks there are foliage walks, a Thoreau Ramble and Thoreau’s Garret. The announcement board and their web site include a calendar of events , so definitely check it out if you’re headed that way. We had limited time and wanted to just wander so we refrained from any organized activity.

We hadn’t brought our bathing suits (being October those are LONG stored away) so we headed onto the Healthy Heart Trail. There were many signs about park erosion and we saw immediate evidence. The beginning of the trail is closed, with a detour to the right and up the hill a bit due to erosion. In fact at one point the old trail just disappears into the water, and some site markers are actually IN the water! But after a short time the trail moves back down to the water’s edge. There are frequent stone stairways that lead to the water itself. Some are in good shape and are a nice place to stop for lunch, or to just sit and watch the water in the sunlight, and today some swimmers were using them as a way in and out of the water. We had fun trying to figure out what type of fish we were seeing at each spot. For the most part they’re just minnows but we know the pond is stocked annually and there are perch, sunfish and small mouthed bass.
The bridge that crosses over Thoreau’s Cove is pretty and the cove itself is a beautiful spot to catch the autumn reflections in the water. Just beyond we found the site of Thoreau’s actual cabin. Its marked out with granite columns, and includes a plaque to mark the chimney foundation. Thoreau was one of the American Transcendentalists. I’m not going to do a lot of research into that -ism for this blog, but the gift shop at the park carries many good books about the practice and its definitely an important piece of what Thoreau’s experience and way of life was all about. At the cabin site itself we were mildly annoyed by two women who stood there reading aloud about Thoreau's life from the park display and commenting on how he had “moved so far away” (actually only a half a mile from his parent’s home) and that his mom STILL took care of him, doing his laundry, recommending books, etc. In their eyes, “isn’t that just like a man… make a big deal about being on their own and his mother is still doing his wash!” WHATEVER! If you come all the way to Walden Pond and bother to walk out to the cabin site, why then make nasty comments about the man??? He was obviously talented and an individual thinker of his time. There is a pile of stones next to the cabin site which grows ever larger since followers of the Thoreau society and other like minded people leave behind their own stones… lots of stones, lots of people who appreciate the idea. Let’s respect that and go from there. Not stand around spouting off, trying to sound cerebral and superior while others are trying to appreciate. Again, RUDE!

We checked the map and at this point we were close to half way around the pond so decided to continue on. Beautiful views of kayaks slowly paddling, ducks v-ing their way out of the shady spots into the sunlight. It wasn't long before we came upon an opening in the woods fronting on the railroad tracks. These tracks were here back when Thoreau lived in the cabin and he writes of them, and the sound of the train's whistle. Now they’re part of the Fitchburg commuter line and while we walked, we twice heard the whistle warning people to stay off the tracks. We braved them ourselves for a few minutes to snap a shot or two…. Then continued our trek around the pond. On this side we noticed the distinct scent of aftershave, sunscreen, bug spray, and the public restroom… not very nature-like at all. With all the autumn leaves and the freshness of the air we expected more seasonal smells… in summer I can only imagination the pina colada smell of sunscreen is even stronger! Oh well, we’re not far from the city and as I said, this is a citified park. Many of the walkers were out there to get their fix of nature and fitness… never looking around, not smiling... to be honest I felt as though they could pour some gravel on their living room floor, open a window and power walk in place and they’d get the same experience, but here they were. No doubt they were in a park they considered their own backyard, and they weren’t happy to have to navigate around us sightseers with our cameras, maps and binoculars. Alas, narrow trails, a beautiful day, and lots of people in a fairly small park CAN be tough if you’re on a mission. Happily we really weren’t, so we strolled back by the beach, watched some kids fishing, took more shots of the clouds and sunlight on the water and then headed back across the street to check out the Shop at Walden Pond.

As I said previously, the shop is a great place to purchase books, prints, posters, and some really cute t-shirts with Thoreau quotes, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” and many more. We bought two walking sticks because early in the walk I learned the danger of walking flat dirt trails in October…. Acorns!!!! Its like walking on marbles, and in some areas we felt the need for hard hats! LOL Just be careful! So now we’re outfitted with some great walking sticks, an appropriate souvenir for our day at Walden Pond, the home of the Thoreau Sauntering Society! Back at the car (and again commenting on the olfactory impact of the nearby restrooms), we decided that this is a park you should definitely see as early as possible. The trails open at 8 AM and we would recommend you try to get there that early if possible. While the park has over 460 acres, they have a huge problem with erosion and so ask that ALL hiking be restricted to the trails. The trail system is not extensive, but definitely nicely maintained, very clean and clear. There are very few trash containers so as with all public parks, "pack in-pack out" is the best way to go. Dogs are NOT allowed, and they are vigilant, so we recommend you not try to tempt fate. This is a great destination if you’re in Boston for a few days and looking for a quick nature fix with a literary bent. You can also find the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson (a fellow transcendentalist) and other literary greats in nearby Concord. There were definitely friendly people here. A lot of tourists from other countries, families, etc. many willing to help with a group photo or to chat about the pond itself, but it also seems to be a favorite location for a first date or a daily constitutional, so don‘t expect every walker to be a fellow nature lover.

With cooler weather heading in we’re looking forward to winter hiking and hopefully going to parks that are further outside our area. Check back soon! And I can’t resist one more quote:

"Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores. Do not stay to be an overseer of the poor, but endeavor to become one of the worthies of the world." from the chapter "Economy" in Walden.
I've got a very old copy of Walden and something tells me at the very least I should go back and read that chapter!

Great Brook Farm State Park

Great Brook Farm State Park
Ice Cream, Horses, Dogs, what more could you want?

Pet Friendly – YES! Dogs and horses. Tucker gives this one 5 wags
Accessible – Yes, most dirt trails, but very even and while there is some steeper areas, parking lots are paved, and the trails to the picnic areas and the pond are an easy walk from that second parking lot (not the one next to the ski barn)
Special Note – This park includes a Healthy Heart Trail
Admission - $2 per car, other prices for students, seniors, etc

On Track with our 52!
We heard the day was going to be sunny but weren’t sure whether to take a longer drive, or stay close to home. It didn’t take long to decide, Beth’s Dad having just settled into his new space to finish up rehab, and our deciding to bring Lillian along for the trip, closer was better. And what better than to return to our local favorite, Great Brook Farm State Park, right in Carlisle, MA. Not more than a 20 minute drive from home. The other really great feature of this park is dogs are welcome!!!!! Tucker was wagging his little tailless butt in anticipation! A favorite park of his to meet other dogs, get patted and ooh and aahed at by little children, and LOTS of things to sniff! Any park with food, shade, water, picnic opportunities, trails and other dogs is a big deal in his book.

By late morning on Sunday, with temps edging into the low 80’s we decided to pick up a few sandwiches and drinks at a local butcher shop (our new favorite place to get sandwiches) and head over to the picnic area, then on to the trails. The Alpine Butcher in Lowell is a GREAT place to grab lunch! Right off the highway, and even on weekends they make custom wraps, plus have lots of great gourmet additions, salads, cheeses, wine, mustards…. Also a great place for meat and fish, and pre-marinated selections, we keep telling ourselves we’ll be back during the week on one of those “in a rush” evenings when we just need something ready to go.

A Park for All Seasons
Anyway, with sandwiches, drinks, and utensils now in hand, the four of us rolled on to Carlisle and Great Brook Farm. As we pulled past the main parking area up by the ski barn, we noticed the abundance of horse trailers. Did I forget to mention that not only dogs, but horses are also welcome… and mountain bikes, bocce, lawn bowling, and in winter snowshoeing and cross country skiing. The park has ski rentals in winter out of a big barn known as Great Brook Ski Touring Center, that usually also sells hot cocoa and has a nice fireplace going. Certain evenings during the week they offer skiing by lantern light, with kerosene lanterns lighting, what else, the Lantern Loop trail! The park also offers locally made ice cream (like 30+ flavors), and their own honey sold out of the dairy barn, where, in the spring, you can see the new calves and the milking room. Outside they have various farm animals to pet and feed including goats, pigs, calves, sheep and a random duck or chicken. They sell feed for the animals, and we’ve been at the park in the colder months to find some of these animals out enjoying the winter sun. The other nice touch is hand sanitizer so when you’re done petting and feeding you can get your hands cleaned up and ready for your ice cream. Picnic tables are plentiful up by the ice cream barn, and there are a few by the pond as well. If you want to bbq, check with the park ranger. We’ve done it on occasion, but fire dangers are real, so check first. The park also offers guided barn tours, and varied interpretive presentations about the wildlife, the farm itself, etc. Check their website for more information. Plus, they have a canoe put-in at one pond, so self-propelled water vessels (canoes, kayaks, etc) are welcome, but no swimming.

Back to our trip. We'd recommend you print a trail map at home since a number of times we've found that the Interpretive Center is out and the Park Ranger has none. Get one now! We pulled in through the second entrance and drove down the long entry to the next parking lot, smaller, and quite crowded, but its amazing how there’s always room for one more. Quite picturesque on this Sunday since the lot is backed up to a huge "If You Build It They Will Come" style corn field all fading golden in the September sun. The park offers plastic bags for dog owners in case you’ve forgotten yours. Special note - If you don’t like dogs, this is probably not the park for you since it seems every 2nd or 3rd visitor has at least one dog in tow. Tucker rates this park FIVE WAGS! Especially for the nice mowed grass fields and the shady spots to take a nap. But after settling Lillian in her folding chair near the pond for some peace and quiet we headed out to find “The City” historic site which is off the Garrison Loop and near the log cabin. Tucker looked longingly at a few shady nap spots, but he knew they’d be there when we got back.

A Few Missing Trail Markers
Unfortunately for us, we took the Pine Point Loop (really nice trail and well marked) through the forest on the other side of North Road from the ice cream barn. It leads you back out onto North Road which is VERY narrow and includes some turns that don’t allow oncoming cars to see you, so be very careful as you walk. Tucker stayed on the short lead. Thankfully cars drive slowly in this area. The unfortunate part though, is that we had to find the entrance to the Woodchuck Trail and we walked past one unmarked trail then continued on and on…. Poor Tucker’s tongue was hanging low. We hadn’t brought his water with us, and he would have NONE of the lemon Vitaminwater Beth offered. Eventually (about an hour into our walk) we decided that unmarked trail must have been the one we wanted so we headed back. Never got to the ruins or the log cabin, but now we know, take the unmarked trail! And next time we’ll find it. On the trip back Tucker’s tongue was dragging through the puddles! Note to self (and all you other dog owners) don’t forget the water!!!!! We walked through the field behind the ice cream barn on the way back and the smell of the hay, and warm pine needles was definitely a nice way to finish the day. We decided against an ice cream since the place was pretty crowded, but if you go, definitely take advantage. Its yummy!!! We then packed Lillan up, took advantage of the VERY nice public restrooms, and headed home.

Where To Go AFTER a Day at the Park
There are two great restaurants in the area that we’d recommend for dinner after a day at the park. More on the nice side than a quick lunch spot. Vincenzo’s is a really nice, smallish Italian restaurant. Unique dishes, GREAT Champagne POM fizzes and white peach sangrias, and their bruschetta of the day has never let us down. Its actually also a good place for kids. They’ve got these giant paintings on the wall, and in the rear room, the painting depict some very unique people. One evening Beth and I sat waiting for our meal and decided to make up stories about who these people were and what was going on in their lives. A bit of escapism from two women who have MORE than enough going on in our own lives! The second restaurant is right in downtown Chelmsford, Fishbones. An awesome seafood restaurant and fish market. Not sure I’d bring kids here, but they’ve got a menu that changes based on the market, nice seating outdoors in season (they’ve got heaters so the season lasts past summer and starts in late Spring!) and while it can be crowded, it is well worth the wait.

This week we’ve got Beth’s father starting radiation treatments, and my mother having her second surgery, so life will keep us busy for a bit yet, but we are determined to get back out on the trails and blogging again here soon! Let us know if you want to join us on the next adventure!

The Dry Run - Parker River National Wild Life Refuge and Sandy Point State Reservation

• Pet Friendly - no
• Accessible - yes (except for the dunes getting onto the beach.)
• Restrooms - available
• Fee - $5 per car (less for bikes)

"Outside the 52"
We're a bit ahead of our 52 weeks schedule-wise, but decided to do a dry run today. We also quickly realized the other day that limiting ourselves to 52 parks resulted in us leaving out a lot of parks! And travel during the year, so limiting ourselves to the 100 mile radius might not let us blog about ALL the parks we hit. So we've come up with a separate category that allows us to travel and blog "outside the 52". That way if we head to FL, or MI, or upstate NY or anywhere else outside our 100 mile radius, we can still include it here for what its worth. We'll just include the "Outside the 52" header on those posts.


On with our adventure - In order to beat the holiday and final beach weekend of the summer traffic, and also to get to the reservation before it was full (this park does limit visitors so its best to get there early) we decided to get up at the crack of dawn and head out! State and National Parks are usually open from sunrise to sunset, and these were no exception, so we figured we'd be good to go at 5 AM. Big Surprise, at 5 AM this morning, while Beth, I and the four cats were up... Tucker, and the sun, were not. No sense in heading out quite so early obviously, so we snuggled back in for a bit and headed out just after 7 AM. You'll never hear me argue about a few extra minutes of sleep! Unfortunately we had to head out without Tucker. Poor guy. He got to stay home with Daisey because the parks we visited today do not allow dogs. Probably more because of the wildlife than anything. He's VERY well behaved and even made a special visit to see Beth's dad at the hospital this week, but rules are rules and we follow them so off we went sans corgi.



Sandy Point State Reservation and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge are both located on Plum Island. We took the Scotland Road exit off Rt. 95 and drove past Colby Farm (with local corn and piglets!) and the Alden Merrill Dessert outlet (read CHEESECAKE!!!) on the way to Newburyport. Too early for cheesecake, and Beth tells me I"m not allowed a piglet, (big pout from me) so we continued to our destination. Sandy Point is out at the southernmost tip of the island, and from the bridge we had a good 6 miles to go. We drooled as we drove past the Plum Island Grille (great lunch and dinner, and on this holiday Monday morning it appears they're also open for breakfast!). To get to the Park we drove through the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, which starts immediately with misty marshes on the right (misty from the sun rising on marshgrass wet from a very cool night we had.) It's been a beautiful long weekend and we had gorgeous blue skies overhead and pretty quickly got a sneak preview of the great birdwatching we'd be treated to! At the Salt Pannes Wildlife Observation Area we saw Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and ducks too far away to identify!


Once we drove south towards the preserve I remembered field glasses. Isn't it nice that we hadn't cleaned out the trunk since last year! Cause we found a pair! The park has a bird checklist if you're really interested in seeing how many you can spot! We drove past the boardwalks and the lookout towers of the Parker River property all the way out to Sandy Point. The road does turn to gravel, but is pretty smooth, but once you get to Sandy Point and take a right, be VERY careful of the deep ruts in the road.


We walked the beach for a bit, and got a kick out of a Herring Gull trying to steal someone's lunch out of their tote bag. Beth tried to defend the tote bag but I'm sure as soon as we left that bird was back yanking at that bag! That was the only type of bird we saw on the beach; gulls eating snails and trying to forage for lunch in tote bags. The boardwalk itself is really pretty out this way with a bench and covered area to sit, and there were some beautiful native Virginia Roses mixed in with the marshgrass. On our drive back we stopped at the Stage Island Pool Overlook. There we saw egrets, cranes, cormorants, sandpipers, and a very large swan. We also drove down the Pine Trail viewing area and parked. There were about 5 very serious birdwatchers out there with huge scopes and cameras and they were nice enough to let us have a peek at what was probably the rarest bird we'd see today, the Whimbrel, a bird that migrates from the arctic (Yukon Territory and Hudson Bay) where it breeds to the Carolinas or Southern CA. We watched as the bird crouched low into the grass when the Peregrine Falcon flew overhead. Its amazing how they can know that a predator is flying so far overhead.


We also watched a beautiful Montagu's Harrier looking for prey. It made Beth and I think about bringing bird guides and better field glasses or binoculars next time.



If you decide to visit this park the one thing we'd recommend which we totally forgot was bug spray!!!! Deer ticks, mosquitos, black flies, no-seeums, and who knows what else, were VERY aggravating when we walked out to the Stage Island Pool Overlook. Long pants would be recommended if you're going to walk the trails and watch out for poison ivy, which is plentiful and just starting to turn a nice autumn shade of dark red here and there. One real bonus was that on most viewing platforms there are very high quality viewers that are free to use. Pretty much like the ones you see at the Empire State Building and other places, but much nicer quality and they don't cost a quarter for 3 minutes!

There is also a an interpretive center, and activities, lectures, etc. provided at one of the first marked viewing areas. We didn't stop in but if you have children with you, or anyone interested in finding out a bit more about the park and its history, this would be a good place to start.

On the way home we made a stop at Tendercrop Farm to pick up cider donuts, old-fashioned Canada mints (for Beth's Dad since he's still in the hospital), cookies, something to drink, and swedish pancake mix! Its amazing the things you can find at local farmstands, although this place is much larger than a farmstand. The park is definitely an easy place to fill a day if you're into birding, beaching, walking, and enjoying nature! We highly recommend!

Other activities: You can get a license to shellfish in the flats, pick berries (in season), and do some shorefishing, (all three require permission) and you can even driving your vehicle out onto the dunes for the fishing, but you definitely need the appropriate vehicle for this. The Saturn Aura is NOT the appropriate vehicle! Check at the office for availability of licenses before you head out. The beach at Sandy Point is gorgeous and flat and without that nasty riptide and steep incline of the Plum Island beach. There are rest rooms, basically outhouses, available, but no other commercial influence. Pack in - pack out, and while the boardwalks and roadways are fine for wheelchairs and strollers, to get to the beach you do have to walk through beach sand. Good for the calves, not good for mechanical things like wheels, etc.

Til the next park! This one gets added to the Bonus List - Outside the 52!

The First Steps

OK, so we saw Julie and Julia and loved that idea of setting a goal and blogging about it, and with all the not great health issues going on around us right now (and for the past few years) we wanted to set a goal to do something healthy, and interesting and that would get us out of the house on a regular basis. So what better way than to travel to 52 State Parks within a 100 mile radius of our home, and visit them all before I turn 52, which happens in about a year, which is about 52 weeks! Cool, huh?

Anyway, right now we're researching the State Parks in our "100 mile circle" and selecting the parks we'll visit. We'll take our dog Tucker, and when possible, parents, kids, friends, etc. and we'll blog here on our impressions of the parks, great places to stop nearby, happenings, experiences, and more. A few of the parks we've been to before. With some its been years, and a couple are regular favorites of ours, but we'll take photos, post trail maps, and whatever else might be of interest.

It's a full year before the deadline but we've got winter rolling in in a few months so we'll see how we do. Wish us luck!