Lawrence Heritage State Park - #10

Is it a park? Is it a museum? Is it the birthplace of Robert Frost (like the sign on Rt. 495 says)?

Tucker’s Rating – 1 wag (pets not allowed and there’s nothing there for them anyway!)
Our Rating – 2.5 wags. Although the thought of us wagging our tails at ANYTHING but a 5 is kind of ludicrous. We considered this park an interesting place, but not a "destination park", at least not in winter. Also, the lack of staff and lighting was a big drawback. We’d suggest it as a place to go for those with a particular interest in mill history, Lawrence history, or if you happen to be in the area and have an hour or so to discover some interesting local facts. It's definitely not a waste of time, but not a highlight either. Kids might be entertained by some of the exhibits and they do carry the MA DCR's Park Passports. The Park Passports are part of a program run by the Massachusetts Division of Conservation and Recreation, to promote children visiting state parks. Actually a really cool program we've seen, similar to one where kids earn patches for visiting firetowers in NH! While Lawrence Heritage State Park doesn't have its own stamp (since its not really geared towards children) the passports themselves are available and they do have a stamp that can be used to prove you've visited the park. This site also includes a visitor’s center, and carries announcements about local events, so it feels a little like a tourist information booth when you first walk in, but there are interesting things to see.

Accessibility - ADA Accessible including ramps and elevators. Lillian had no trouble getting in and around!

Fees - Free (even the parking if you hit it on a day that the small lot has a vacancy. It was totally empty the day we visited.) There is also street parking but we'd recommend the lot.

Two weeks in a row! We must be determined this year!
And to answer the first questions we posed, officially it’s a park, in reality it’s a museum, and no, Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. When his father passed away, he DID move with his family to Lawrence, MA around the age of 10. He graduated from Lawrence High School as valedictorian, and published his first poem in the school newspaper. His most famous poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening with it's last four lines, "The woods are lovely dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep-, And miles to go before I sleep" is one I can still hear echo in my head in my father’s voice. Amazing how sound is something we carry with us forever. I even found part of this poem in Frost’s own handwriting on the web . But this isn’t a blog about Robert Frost, or poetry even! It’s about parks and hiking and interesting stuff along the way! So here we go!

Let's do TWO parks!
We started off the day planning to see both Lawrence and Lowell's State Parks. Both were created around the business of the mills, so it seemed like a good combination. Unfortunately, as is usually the case with us, we got out of the house later than planned and couldn’t hit both in the afternoon. They are pretty close together, and located just off Rt. 495 (easy to find), but these parks are not open late in the day. To be honest, except for the fact that the front door was unlocked at the Lawrence facility, you could have convinced me that we’d walked into a building that was really closed for at least the day if not the season.

The Lawrence Heritage State Park is accessible to all, with ramps outside and elevators inside. A person Beth tells me was a park ranger (but who looked to me like just someone from the neighborhood), pointed out the ramps so we could help Lillian into the building. She turned them down, having already faced the icy parking lot and the icy walkway. She felt confident handling the 3 or 4 stairs up into the building. They were very clear and safe, and while the building itself is in among the old mill buildings, and a part of the city that one might think is mostly abandoned, we didn't feel that safety was an issue. The "park" itself is located in an old rooming house next to what appears to be the skeletal remains of another mill building, which has been cleaned up and beautified by a garden area with walks, benches and the roof opens up to the sky above. On the way back to our car after our visit, Beth even saw a hawk sitting on one of the rafters. No doubt taking a break from fishing in the canals nearby. The park building has been made over into an information- and image-filled archive of everything mill-related wrapped with the history of Lawrence in its heyday. What an amazing place it was before the mills started to shut down. We wandered and poked around, finding lots of dimly lit rooms. Thankfully it was a sunny day, so for the most part we could see displays, read signs, etc.

As you enter the building there is a large piece of equipment that we think was a safe. Both the size and design is incredible! The sign on the front says if you’re wondering what’s inside, ask the person at the front desk to open it…. Unfortunately, there was no one at the front desk… or anywhere in the building that we could see. Just off the first large room there is also a small video room where they show various films (including The Great Impostor, a film about a famous resident of Lawrence), and the feature on Sunday was about the Bread and Roses Strike. I would have loved to watch the video, but the sign said to ask for assistance at the front desk and again there wasn’t anyone AT the front desk. Hmmmmm......

What will you find?
The building holds memorabilia on the mills (their rise and fall), the collapse of the Pemberton Mill in 1860 (we were happy to see that it was rebuilt and is still just down the street), the Bread and Roses strike of 1912, and the immigrant population as well as commercial memorabilia from various manufacturing companies in Lawrence including New Balance Shoes, signage from restaurants, letters written by George Washington (I’m thinking this is a case of "George Washington slept here." Why else would they have letters written by him?), school photos of Robert Frost and his wife, and more. It’s a place you could wander in for quite some time if you're into reading display signs and pouring over collages, photos, and memorabilia. There are lighted displays but none of the lights worked and it wasn’t until I’d made my second pass by an area on the second floor that I read the sign stating that they were conserving electricity by keeping all non-essential lights off, so "Please check with the front desk if there is something you’d like to see…" Again, no one at the front desk! You’d think they’d take those signs down when they know no one will be at the front desk. I didn’t bother to GO to the front desk until we were getting ready to leave because I knew no one was there. It wasn't until I stopped there on the way out to pick up various brochures and sign the guest book that I saw the bell and the sign saying to ring it for assistance. aaargh! And how long, pray tell, would it take for that person who is obviously hovering somewhere close enough to hear the bell, take to get back to their post???… now I’m thinking if there was a ranger somewhere in that building (and Beth says the guy who told us about the ramp came in after us and went downstairs) then that ranger is sitting SOMEWHERE in that building…. My suggestion... SIT BEHIND THE DESK! Rather than sitting somewhere else waiting for a bell to ring. I mean REALLY, are they watching TV somewhere? Doing piecework? Handling correspondence? Sitting is sitting, isn't it? Either that, or put motion detectors on the lights so that when you enter the room, lights and buttons are activated. If the room is vacant for say 10 minutes, the power goes out. We did see the bulk of the displays but not all…. And we were wishing we’d been able to view them without having to squint or hope the sun would come out from behind a cloud. If it were a cloudy day I think we really wouldn't have bothered going upstairs at all.

Anything else?
They’ve also got miniature reproductions of the famous mill clock tower (acting as a time capsule to be opened in 2053!), various mill buildings, and life-size statues in a mill room setting. This is a nice museum/park, but unless you’re watching one of the movies available, I think an hour tops is what you’d need, that and a flashlight!

So at the end of our hour, we headed out to explore the immediate area and were amazed at how far and wide the mills spread out. They cover acres of the city! I'd definitely recommend driving around a bit near the canal to get a good feel for how far and wide the mills stretched. Its no wonder that with the loss of both the cotton and woolen industries, Lawrence was hit with a terrible crash from which they are still trying to rebuild. Some of the renovation is very impressive, and you'll find some cute restaurants and shops scattered through the mills as well as some gorgeous stonework in a few. The Immigrant Archive is just down the block from this building and I’m certain would be great for anyone interested in more New England history past and current.

What else is in the area?
As mentioned, this area of Lawrence is still under development. There are a lot of abandoned mill buildings, but more that have been refitted for various businesses including restaurants, manufacturing, doctor’s offices, etc. I'd highly recommend Salvatore's if you're looking for a restaurant with great food, reasonable prices and a beautiful deck that overlooks the Merrimack River. Some of the buildings have also been developed into loft and studio style residences, and if you like antiques you can find Canal Street Antique Center and a few other interior decorating type of businesses in the area, with some great deals on all kinds of things both old and new! At Canal Street we were offered a beautiful solid cherry Asian-style sideboard marked from $895, down to $495 and the owner told us to “make an offer” because he HAD to get rid of it! We did very well by resisting temptation but if you’re looking for furniture, glass, tea cups, lamps, you name it, you’ll find it!

On the way home we tried to stop at our favorite Bradford restaurant, Joseph’s Trattoria/Bakery/Cafe, but they were closed for a company holiday party (in late January I guess they cover lots of holidays). If you’re looking for a yummy bakery or home made pasta, brick oven pizza and fire roasted meats and seafood, this is the place to stop! We’ll make it back there next time we’re out this way most definitely. Instead, we headed to The Loop, which is the redesigned Methuen Mall, looking happy, busy and much more popular than the indoor mall it had been. We poked around in Borders Books, had coffee and vanilla bean scones and headed back home. Altogether a nice relaxing and interesting day for a winter Sunday.

A Garden Park in Winter - Maudslay State Park

Yesterday's Estate, Today's Amazing Place to Wander

Tucker's Rating - 5 wags (we speak for him) This is a dog friendly park. Lots of fields to play in, water to get wet in, and squirrels and chipmunks to play with. We even saw a few dogs off leash, but remember it was the off-season. In the summer I've seen the park rangers threaten citations for unleashed dogs.

Admission Fee - free for the park itself, $2 to park your car. If you bring horses there is a field next to the parking lot to pull the trailers. Never had a problem parking here. Nice restroom open year round. But its the ONLY restroom available in the park so plan accordingly.

Accessibility - NOT ADA accessible. Healthy Heart Trail is considered moderate difficulty. There are a lot of rolling hills and fields, and very good pathways, but in winter they can be ice and snow covered, and in summer some areas are steep. Not sure you'd want to be pushing a stroller, wheelchair or using a walker through this park. Its very big (450 acres) and wild and there's little to no pavement.

Here we go again after quite a hiatus

Well, its been quite a while since we’ve been out on the road. Beth’s father took a turn for the worse in his battle with brain cancer shortly before Thanksgiving (just after our trip to Plymouth) and passed away the Sunday before Christmas. We treasured the time we had with him, and think the women who work at the Hospice House in Merrimack, NH are true angels! And one of the many truths Ed reminded us of as his time was passing was to get out and do things when you want. Don't put it off. He also told us to love each other and the people around us. You never know how much more time you’ll have and we know there were places and things he wanted to do (in addition to cleaning out the garage) which we decided do FOR him because he really wished he’d had that time.

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Women!
To start the year off we planned to go to Martha’s Vineyard's Manuel F. Correlus State Park to snow shoe. But the cost of the ferry ride and a hotel for a night, PLUS the iffy nature of this weekend’s weather had us thinking it might not be the best destination. Maybe next month (we’re putting it off for now but not forever!). Instead we chose Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, MA. This is another park we’ve been to numerous times, although I can’t remember ever going in winter. Nature definitely cooperated for the day and temps were between 40 and 50 degrees!!!! While boots were a necessity, a jacket really wasn’t. We’ve been out of hike mode for a while so forgot our walking sticks and binoculars, and only managed one camera but still it was a gorgeous day. My friend Jim joined us for the walk as well. I haven’t seen Jim in almost 30 years but we’d reconnected on Facebook and had been trying to figure out a time to meet and catch up! Awesome choice, because walks in the woods were something we'd shared back in college. We considered bringing Tucker but because of all the mud and possibility of snow, he stayed on the couch for the day. Good decision. While this is a park that dogs LOVE, Tucker is rather low-slung and would have spent the majority of the walk wet, cold and having to crunch through snow or slip across ice…. He’d definitely give the park 5 wags though, and we’ll be returning in the Spring WITH him most definitely. We give it 5 wags too. Great trails (though not marked the map is pretty easy to follow), really nice people, gorgeous views, and in summer lots of activities. In winter the one activity this park has listed on its calendar is Track-it! on February 15th. A park ranger teaches you about animal tracking, and then you head out into the park to seek out the tracks. Sandy Point State Park also has a program that weekend related to the Snow Owl so it might be a good option for President's Day weekend. In summer they have Theater in the Open, the Maudslay Arts Center featuring arts, dance and music, and more.

Following the Scout's Motto - Be Prepared!
SO with hikers specified, and the sun leading the way, we headed to Newburyport. Parking is plentiful and just $2 for the day. You have to buy a ticket at the kiosk and leave it on the dashboard. We gave our ticket to some other park visitors as we headed out since we HAD purchased a full day pass we weren't using.... sssshhhhhh.... don't tell! This park welcomes mountain bikers, horses, cross country skiers, snow shoers, dogs and just plain walkers like us.

In winter you may want to wear ice cleats on your shoes if you don’t do snow shoes or skis. We just did boots and my ankle is suffering for it. Parts of the park are gated off in winter to protect roosting bald eagles. This is a good thing because it is evidence that the Merrimack River has reached a point of "return" from its dirty past, and can now provide sufficient food to sustain these birds. Yay! We didn’t see any eagles but we DID see a flock of robins (does that mean spring is just around the corner, or did these guys buy a timeshare from the gaggle of Canada geese we saw hanging out on the river ice?).

This park does include a Healthy Heart Trail, although we’re thinking during the winter the “ease” of this trail may be somewhat impacted by ice and snow. There are many ponds, a few waterfalls, some amazing views of the Merrimack River, open fields, abandoned buildings, an old swimming pool, an entire forest of rhodendrons and azaleas, one of the largest stands of naturally occurring mountain laurels in MA (I don’t know if we saw those but we definitely saw the rhodendrons), and 19th century formal gardens. If you’re looking for a gorgeous place for an outdoor wedding, a place to play volleyball or cricket, or just have a relaxing picnic, this would be it! Again though, not in winter! :) Weddings and other large events require a special use permit.

There really wasn’t enough snow for snow shoes, but there was a beautiful hill that would have been perfect for sledding. As a matter of fact we heard kids enjoying it at the end of our walk. We were also followed by a labradoodle who found Beth far more exciting to walk with than her owners who were on skis. The park allows dogs on leash, however it is so large and open that I have frequently seen well behaved dogs allowed off leash. But as with all parks, dogs on leash are usually what's accepted. So you’re on your own with that issue. We wandered down by the waterfall and dam that leads out to the Merrimack River. Lots of ice piled up and we got some beautiful shots of the waterfall itself, partially frozen. Then we continued back up the hill and along the trail that follows the river. There is a VERY steep drop off to the river with no fence or railing so if you bring small children or adventurous kids (and this is the perfect park for kids to wander) be very careful near the edge of the trail. It’s a good 40 – 50 foot drop through brush to the water and there is no fast way to get down there for help unless you're a superhero. This trail features picnic tables and benches scattered around and something that we think was sculpture… kind of looks like waves, kind of looks like a sluice way from a drainage ditch. We didn’t arrive at any conclusions but took a picture anyway. There is a chain link fence at the end of this trail. One you COULD walk around easily since its just a fence on the trail itself, but we assumed it entered the area for bald eagles so we headed back up the hill.

A Bit of History - Turning an Old Estate into a Beautiful Park
The park itself is the former country estate of Frederick Strong Moseley, and was landscaped by Martha Brookes Hutcheson, one of the earliest female members of the American Society of Landscape Artists. Read more about it at the Park Association's site, or wikipedia even has some great history. It became a park in 1985. The trail we chose led us to the formal garden areas! There’s an amazing espaliered fruit tree there, some beautiful sculptured trees, and some old stairs, outbuildings, raised beds and more! This is an incredible place to get ideas for your home garden too. We’re going back in May/June to see the rhodendron and azalea blooming, and even in later June these gardens are gorgeous. Nice place for a Mother’s Day picnic.

Once we'd explored the gardens, we continued on and ended up in a big field overlooking the river. This is the location of one of the original houses, and you'll find remnants of the estate everywhere you look. Just a heads up for those looking to really walk the park. There is only one location with restrooms, and that’s the parking lot. It’s a long walk back, so hydrate accordingly! ‘nuff said!

Time to Eat!!!!
So by this time we’d walked about 2 hours (an hour longer than planned on) and decided it was time for lunch. We headed into downtown Newburyport and parked in the lot by the river which provided way more spaces than the parking lot next to the stores. Look for the parking kiosks again. A while ago this parking was free, but not anymore! $2 give you a couple hours to wander, or eat a relaxed lunch. We headed to the Grog which is a great place for a sandwich, a salad, or something more formal. I LOVED the shrimp BLT I had, and Beth and Jim seemed to have no problem finishing their lunches either. If you're looking for music, this place has live music in the evenings. Other places we’d recommend is The Black Cow, Mr. India, Ten Center Street, Michael’s Harborside, Szechuan Taste, and Caffé di Siena. Plenty of choices for coffee and a snack, a casual breakfast, lunch or dinner, or something fancier. You can even rent a lighthouse and have a gourmet dinner for two (a romantic idea but very pricy!). Basically you reserve the lighthouse and then select from a choice of area restaurants for the catering. Check out the lighthouse site here for more information. Can you tell we’re foodies ALONG with everything else? Maybe the next blog will be 52 restaurants…. We’ll see!

After a few hours for lunch, chatting and reviewing all our pictures we called it an afternoon and headed home. Hiking in winter is definitely a fun time. Calls for a bit more planning, but you really do get a sense of having the park to yourself. We’d recommend this one no matter the time of year! Followed by a trip to downtown Newburyport, or if you’re early enough, a trip out to Plum Island for the beach or another of our favorites, Sandy Point State Park! See you on the trails. Let us know if you want to join us on our next excursion!

A few other links:

Maudslay Park Association site
Adopt-an-Acre at Maudslay

Plymouth Rock and the National Cemetary

Honoring the Veteran's, Remembering the Pilgrims

Tucker’s Rating – 3 wags. While dogs are certainly welcome to stroll the street, they aren’t allowed in the museums in the area, or the shops, so a visit to this park (for a dog) is nothing more than a stroll down a city street. Both Tucker and Daisey joined us for this trip, and did get out to run around the rest area at the Cape Cod Canal… The humans on the trip give the park 4 wags. We’re definitely coming back in-season to explore the museums, and some of the antique shops, and the whole downtown area. Seems like a fun place to spend a weekend.

Admission Fee – free for the state park, $10 for adults and $7 for children at Mayflower II, but they do offer package prices for entrance to Plimoth Plantation AND Mayflower II .Would be a very nice option if you’re a history buff or have children who are learning about the founding of our country.

Accessibility – Accessible to all. There are handicap parking spots a plenty. Mayflower II appears to be handicapped accessible, although the ramps looked steep, and I’m not too sure how accessible the inside of a ship that age could EVER be. Plymouth Rock itself is just behind some stone columns within the memorial and can be seen from the sidewalk. Plenty of benches around and while the steps up to the statue of Massasoit are VERY steep, you can get there by walking up the sloping street on either side.

SO on with the adventure!!!

We were greeted again by a very sunny weekend and set Saturday as a day to drive south to the Cape. With Veteran’s Day just around the corner, and Thanksgiving not too far behind, it seemed the National Cemetery in Bourne and Plymouth Rock and the pilgrims were the perfect focus for this weekend. We packed up Lillian, Tucker and Daisey for the drive south, remembered water, binoculars, cameras and the GPS and loaded up the CD player with favorites for the two plus hour drive. Amazingly enough there are leaves aplenty still on the trees in November. They’ve turned a rusty brown, but against the blue sky it was a beautiful site. Driving through Boston we were happy to note that traffic cooperated and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves heading over the Sagamore Bridge…. Oops, wrong bridge! And they’re doing work on the bridge itself so it’s down to one lane each way…. We scooted off before joining the throngs and drove along the Cape Cod Canal to the Bourne Bridge. For some reason this is usually the less trafficked bridge of the two, and Saturday it was the same, even WITH construction. We arrived at the cemetery in no time. It was decorated for Veteran’s Day, with Memorial Circle lined with flags waving in the breeze. The flags along this drive are donated by families who receive flags from the government when a loved one passes away. Nice way to memorialize someone instead of keeping the flag in its plastic container tucked away somewhere. The flags are lined up like a color guard greeting visitors to the cemetery and bring to mind all the men and women who have fought and continue to do so to ensure that we can live in a world where freedom is a possibility. Veteran’s Day is a holiday that many people kind of just move past without giving it much thought, but at a place like the National Cemetery you quickly realize the respect and honor that is due to so many.

We got out of the car and walked down to my father’s gravesite and in the distance we heard the sound of bagpipes float on the breeze. Memorial services occur year round at the cemetery, and we saw a motorcycle escort leaving with limousines while we were taking pictures at the entrance. The cemetery has grown incredibly since my father was laid to rest here back in 1994. Both the current war in Iraq and the aging of the “Greatest Generation” with all the WWII vets has had an obvious impact. But the facility is beautiful, peaceful and a wonderful memorial to those who have passed on and were a part of past wars, both on the battlefront, and on the homefront.

After paying our respects, we headed out to Plymouth, with a stop at the rest area along the Cape Cod Canal. Tucker and Daisey probably had more fun at THIS stop than the rest of the day. There are monuments recognizing the engineers who assisted with the development of the canal at the stop, and also picnic tables and a beautiful view all the way to the Sagamore Bridge. There’s also a memorial plaque for Monica Dickens Stratton, the woman who founded the Samaritans, USA. It was Monica who got them to place barriers up on the bridges crossing the canal. In her words, “The Samaritans hope that saving people here will give them time to reconsider. To give themselves another chance at living, and at finding some help.” For as long as I can remember there have been signs on the Sagamore Bridge letting people know that the Samaritans are only a phone call away. It seemed appropriate that a memorial to her would be included at this mini-park.

We did get confused by the entrances to the bridge on our way off Cape and ended up driving across the Sagamore (in the construction traffic) then circling around to head back again, so we actually drove to the Cape TWICE on Saturday! But soon we were back on track and reminding ourselves to update the maps in our GPS! Note to all! When you go exploring and rely on a GPS, make sure its got the most current maps and give yourself half a chance of getting to your destination without the words “recalculating route” ringing in your ears at every turn! While our GPS voice is pleasant, on days like this we expect to hear her say, “I’m sorry … what didn’t you understand about KEEP RIGHT!!!!” Or even “Sorry, you’re on your own!”

We arrived in Plymouth after a half hour or so and easily found Plymouth Memorial State Park. There are two parking areas adjacent to the Park and memorial itself, however they provide very limited parking and require you to be able to parallel park… not something we seemed to do very well in the mini-van, so we continued on a short way to the waterfront and there was plenty of diagonal parking with meters, and only a short two block or so walk back to the memorial. The property is very clean and with the tide actually in, the rock sits in about 8 inches of water. Most people comment, “that’s it???” when they see the memorial, as though they expect this gigantic piece of granite to have been sitting on the beach. Whether or not pilgrims actually stepped on this rock can certainly be debated, but this is the story that has been told for generations and we’re okay with that. It’s a very simple site, free to the public, and not commercialized. I’d just like to see more information about that first group of pilgrims without having to pay to get into Mayflower II or Plimoth Plantation.

Way back in the 60’s when I was in grade school I remember there being a lot of talk about the pilgrims and the development of the colonies, but I’m thinking that’s not a huge piece of education today. My reason for this is while we walked around the pier, looking through the fence at Mayflower II, there was one young mother, walking her two year old around the pier and the question was asked, ‘Mommy, where did the people COME from that were on this ship.” And Mom dutifully answered, “I don’t know….” WHAT?!?!?! There are actually signs posted outside the exhibit listing all the people’s names AND the port the Mayflower II left from. The least she could have done is read that sign. The ship on display actually DID sail from England to New England but obviously much after the original pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. The two year old wasn't asking about the original pilgrims, just the people who sailed on this boat. Maybe she couldn't give exact answers about the pilgrims themselves, but it would have been SOME answer. Poor kid. I wonder how many other questions he asks that get answered like that. In any case, you’ve got to love a mother who answers with “I don’t know” rather than trying to find an answer for a question she should already know the answer to, or use it as a learning experience for both mother and child! But don’t get me started….

Across the street from the memorial is a steep set of steps, leading up to the statue of Massasoit. At the bottom of the steps is a sign for the Pilgrim Museum or Plymouth Museum or some such thing and at the top was a beautiful colonial style building, so Beth and I decided to walk up the steps…. At the top there are numerous viewers (25 cents for like 1 minute of time) and on a clear day you can see to Provincetown, but that big colonial building isn’t a museum! Its condominiums… I have a sneaking suspicion it USED to be the museum…. Because we walked up the street behind and saw a few other smaller museums, none of which were open, and NONE of which deserved a sign that big! Aaaaah progress... very sad. We also found the Mayflower Society House Museum. The property houses the library of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. The museum is open during the summer, except during heatwaves, which lead me to believe it is NOT air conditioned! But definitely another spot we’d like to check out in-season.

We’d only put enough money in our meter to last 30 minutes, and Lillian and the dogs were in the car so we had to head back at this point to discuss a late lunch. While buying a sandwich and eating in the car sounded like an easy way to go, we decided to drive a bit further along the water front and stop in at the Lobster Hut for some fried seafood. Located on the Town Pier, and selling some really YUMMY fried seafood, The Lobster Hut is a restaurant we’d recommend. Nice, clean tasting seafood, not overcooked, not greasy, great portions, reasonable prices, and they’re open 7 days a week, year round! We chose to sit indoors since it was very breezy, however there is plenty of outdoor seating as well. We watched through the window as a very large swan paddled in and around the boats moored in the harbor, and lobster boats came and went. This was a really nice and relaxing ending to our Cape Park trip. We already miss the salt air, and the sunshine!

We’ve got a few other Cape Cod parks selected to visit, but I think we made the right choice for this time of year in stopping at Plymouth. Not sure where our next trip will take us, but we’ll be on the road again soon! Promise!

Odiorne Point, Fort Stark and Fort Constitution State Parks

Abandoned Buildings, Lighthouses, and Ghosts! A 52b452 Halloween Adventure

Tucker’s Rating – 1.5 wags for the forts (dogs aren't all that into military buildings and history but there IS lots to sniff) and 2.5 wags for Odiorne Point. Since a lot of the trails run through some interesting woods, and a very nice beach, The Point is nice but still there's no place to lie down, and our guess is when the tide comes in there IS no beach.

The humans give the forts 3 wags each, and Odiorne Point gets 3.5 wags…. A bit better than the forts, and a place we thought we’d like to check out “in season”.

Pet Friendly - No. While we did see dog prints on the beach at Odiorne Point, NH State Parks do not allow dogs on Historic sites or beaches.

Price - Free in the off-season for all. It appears that there is a fee for Odiorne Point, but the other two locations have no booth to collect fees, and since Fort Stark is not staffed, its a safe bet it's free all year round!

Accessibility - None of these are what we'd consider "accessible". Odiorne Point has paved biking trails which would be fine for a wheelchair, walker or stroller, but that's just a path through a treed area next to the road. To get to the beach you'd be pushing or wheeling over rocks, roots, and narrow trails. The beach itself is wide and open when the tide is out. Fort Stark is a dangerous spot for children and the website even includes a warning about open stairways, wet rocks and instructs you to call 911 in the case of an emergency. Fort Constitution has paved walkways for the most part so of the three would be considered the most accessible, but as mentioned in the narrative below, if you wander onto the grass, watch out for sink holes... just the right size to step in and twist an ankle! And the turret houses, etc. are accessible only by climbing stairs.

Special Notes - Odiorne Point has paved biking trails that are very nice. They also have a great boat put-in for motorized and paddle type boats. The tide was out when we were there and the creek that leads out into Little Harbor didn't look deep enough for a regular boat, but if you time it right it seems that is a definite option. Portsmouth Kayak is not too far away and they do rentals although you'd need to check their site for prices, etc. The Seacoast Science Center is also nearby, actually abutting the park based on the maps we saw.

The Adventure (and forgive the length, but remember this is THREE PARKS!!!!
Well, it’s been way too long since we did a park trip. With the very yucky weather we’ve been having lately, we would have been walking in the rain (or even SNOW one day) and with Tucker at our side, all we’d smell is wet dog! Plus, I don’t know about you, but wearing glasses and walking in the rain is just plain not fun! So we’ve had a bit of down time! And now the challenge is to catch up so we decided to visit THREE parks in one day! That’s right, this was to be a whirlwind tour of NH Parks and we knew exactly which three we’d pick. All located on the coast within a few miles of each other, 3 of the 7 forts built to protect Portsmouth Harbor and actually within site of each other.

We set out around 10:30 heading to the Portsmouth area to visit Fort Stark Historic Site, Fort Constitution State Park, and Odiorne Point State Park. All three parks are closed for the season so while the property is accessible to all year-round, there is no admission fee charged at this time of year, no park rangers on hand, and at least for Fort Stark, minimal parking since it seems that the actual parking area is stuck just beyond the chain pulled across the entrance to the site. But since we’re living on a mega-budget these days, free is good, and off we went. As with the last park, dogs are not allowed at these three. In NH dogs are not allowed in any historic sites or beach locations. Check here for a list of pet-friendly parks in NH. Since both forts are historic sites, and Odiorne Point is definitely a beach, Tucker had to stay at home with Daisey for this trip. We did see doggy footprints at Odiorne so obviously off-season people risk it, but you didn’t hear that from us!

On to our adventure. As we set out we realized that we hadn’t thought about lunch, and unfortunately we’d already passed the exit to our favorite Alpine Butcher. But this is an adventure after all so we decided to continue on our way and see what we found! Yay for us! As we got off Rt. 95 in Portsmouth and headed south towards Odiorne Point, we spied Me & Ollie’s café and bakery . OMG!!! This place is awesome enough that we decided it was reason enough to get us to move to Portsmouth! (If there weren’t already enough reasons.) The café has four locations, 3 in Portsmouth, and 1 in Exeter. We stopped at the one located inside the Fresh Market on Lafayette Road and Fresh Market is yet ANOTHER reason to love this area. We’d eat healthy all the time if we had these two establishments in the neighborhood! Low lighting, gourmet everything, organic organic organic, and lots of amazing prepared dishes to bring home for a stupendous home cooked meal when you don’t have time to cook. ME & Ollie's was even given an award by TV Diner and won Best Inexpensive Lunch on the Seacoast, and we agree! Our trip was on Halloween and as we walked into the store we saw a member of KISS grabbing a shopping cart in the parking lot. Produce workers included a cow, and a dominatrix, and the workers behind the deli case all wore prison garb. Me & Ollie’s had a hippie, a fairy and a cigarette girl. The food and that light hearted approach to “casual dress” got us in a great mood.


Odiorne Point

With sandwiches and pumpkin poppers in hand, we drove on to Odiorne Point. Plenty of parking, a great boat put-in (paved and sloped to the river) and very clearly marked trails greeted us. There were no brochures or maps since its off-season (but you can print one off here), so we sat in the sunshine and admired the golden colors of the marsh and Witch Creek as we ate. Then we set off towards Little Harbor. The walking trails are NOT flat. There are a lot of roots, narrow sections, rocks, and brush. Very peaceful and remote, and if you follow the bridge along the marsh, the trail takes you to the beach. Not your typical sandy beach, although it is sand, but it appears that when the tide is high there isn’t much beach left. Large rocks, seaweed, and a beautiful view of Wentworth by the Sea and the golf course across the water. The day we were there was changeably cloudy…. First bright sun, then very dark clouds, and occasionally the sun would be shining on the hotel while we sat in dark cloud so it made the hotel appear to glow across the water. Really beautiful. We wandered down to the point, alternating between the beach and the trail that ran through the woods. Lots of bittersweet strung across the bushes, and we came across an old stone fireplace at one point. Not certain if it had originally been in a water front home, or had always been an outdoor spot. We also found a fox hole. Or that’s what we think it was, on the dunes. I can’t imagine a fox at the beach, but the only other explanation is that the clam worms we read about (there’s a sign at the end of the point) that are supposedly 3 feet long and live in burrows in the beach, actually need a rather large opening to their burrow! I tried to get close to peer in but Beth would have NONE of it! I guess she just imagined some rabid fox or mutant clam worm coming out to attack! The point looks out over open ocean all the way to Isles of Shoals and we could see a light house. We knew it was our next stop, Fort Stark. We continued around the point, partly on the paved bike trails and walked past more abandoned buildings that reminded me of the cinder block booths that used to greet us at the local drive-in (now I’m dating AND regionalizing myself!). Memories of dancing popcorn boxes and Father Time counting down the minutes to “showtime” danced in my head. At one point we walked along the trail beside what MIGHT have been an old bunker. There were periodic cement underpasses with doors that look like they’ve been locked a very long time. This is a very strange park to walk through off season. Lots of things to explore and just past the height of foliage season we were struck by how golden and green everything seemed. It would be a great place for kids to run around in. The park itself is flat, but the trails aren’t stroller or walker friendly, and once you’re in the woods, you need a good sense of direction to know which direction to walk in. But we do believe that all paths lead back to the parking lot (unless you find yourself walking UNDER the road, in which case you’re on your own!).

We read the historic marker to discover that Odiorne Point was actually an old settlement and the site of the first baby being born to European settlers in NH. The settlement included fishermen, coopers, farmers and more. Most of the buildings are long gone, but as mentioned, we did come across various remnants, so we considered this an interesting park. I can’t imagine how busy it would be in the summer, but definitely if you’re looking for a rustic beach on protected waters (no real waves to worry about) this would be a good one. But the parking lot isn’t huge, so get there early. At this time of year though, there’s room for all! The Seacoast Science Center is also nearby and is another great place to stop. Probably something we'll do next time we go!

Fort Stark

At the end of Wild Rose Lane off off Wentworth Road, we almost drove right past without knowing! There’s no signage on the road, but the park really IS at the end of Wild Rose Lane. Parking for maybe 4 cars was all we found, since the entrance to the park itself is chained off. We assume this is open in the summer since it looks like there is a large grass/sand parking area just inside the chains. Fort Stark is an abandoned military property that includes buildings from the late 1800’s, early 1900’s and a very interesting building overlooking the ocean, which was built in the 1940’s.

Again, since we arrived off-season, there were no brochures or maps, and none available on the website. This park is NOT one I’d recommend for people with small children. There are a number of buildings to explore, but no railings on most stairways, and some of the abandoned buildings are open to wander, but dark, and access to second floor open balconies, crumbling concrete and openings to floors below would make this very dangerous. While we were there we came across a few photographers, and on the second floor of one of the barracks it appeared some film students were taking horror or edgy fashion photos complete with draped camera, lights, and costumes. They worked silently, in a fog of smoke that was not coming from cigarettes. We left them alone to their work, and the crumbling floor they were standing on and continued to explore. The views beyond the fort were beautiful, and as we expected, we saw the lighthouse just offshore. The most interesting building we thought was the more modern building. Looking very much like the top of a ship, with a star shaped roof, and curved windows (mostly broken) looking out to sea. The entire building, unlike the others on the property, is gated off with barbed wire along the top. Stairs on the building are exterior with no railings and its difficult to determine whether that’s their original state, but the building definitely intrigued us. The older buildings are open for the most part. With what look like jail cells on the bottom floors (although one cell included a fireplace, and one looked more like an outdoor café, the rest of the buildings are also crumbling. Walking past the modern building, you’ll come upon a building with two levels. An open door on the first floor leads into a dark hallway behind the cells. It didn’t look safe enough to explore without a flashlight and a promise the whole thing wouldn’t collapse, so we continued on, but its obvious this is the way the aforementioned photography group accessed the second floor balcony. Walking around the building and up the hill behind you can look down on the building and see the strange patios, tiered wells (or maybe pools?), and turret rooms. And out to sea we could see waves crashing around the nearest lighthouse. But it was getting late and time to head to our final destination, Fort Constitution, located at the Coast Guard base.

Fort Constitution

A historic site located inside an active military site. There’s a big sign about the property being closed to the public, however on closer inspection there’s a sign telling visitors to Fort Constitution to follow the blue line to the park. So that’s what we did. Following the painted blue line through the parking lot, past the coast guard bell and buildings and on through the portcullis to the older site. It reminded me of walking through Mass General hospital when I was younger, following the different colored lines on the floor to get to the different departments. Coincidentally, we saw a tv show early Saturday morning commenting on this park and how it was haunted. We could believe this! Perfect spot to end our adventure on Halloween! One area, originally known as Fort William and Mary, was built in 1632. Most of the buildings were around during both the Spanish American War and the War of 1812. Most are only viewable through iron bars, but there are a few rooms you can go into. And we found the second lighthouse of the day. Viewable through broken glass windows in one of the turret rooms on the property. As with the other properties we saw no brochures or maps of the grounds. And scattered sink holes in the grass on the property, as well as access to rooms with broken glass windows again make this a somewhat dangerous place for younger children or those prone to twisting an ankle. But its definitely a bit safer and much more active than Fort Stark. there are many educational markers explaining the buildings and history of the site. This is an educational park, and history buffs, or children studying history of these eras would definitely find this park interesting. But care needs to be taken with younger children or people who find it difficult to handle stairs since railings are missing in some areas, and the grounds are well kept but not entirely flat. When it looked like rain was threatening we decided it was time to head home. We may return to Odiorne Point next summer, but probably not again in the off-season.

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!