Fun Stops on our Drive Thru Maine

On our long drive from New Hampshire to New Brunswick, we stopped in Portland, Maine so the kids could play for a bit at Deering Oaks park.

It's the first public park I've ever seen with a wading pool for kids to cool off. The bridge separates the lake from the pool! Such a neat design.

We parked overnight at the Walmart in Bangor. We were set to arrive a bit before dark, so I found a fantastic trail for us to explore nearby. Orono Bog is a special kind of wetland called a peatland. "Peat consists of the undecomposed remains of plants, including mosses, leaves, seeds, branches and even the trunks of trees. During the early stages of decay, oxygen is used up faster than it can travel through the water saturated soil. Further decay is greatly slowed by the absence of oxygen. If plant remains are added to the soil faster than they can decay, peat accumulates." (copied from trailhead sign)

In some sections of the bog, the peat layer is up to 25ft deep! 

Right here the peat layer gets deeper where even fewer plants can grow. You can see a definite change in type of vegetation and size of the trees.

Tawny Cotton Grass- lots can be seen in the 2nd photo below.

Checking the water level with this floating gauge, currently 8ft deep! 

The insect-eating Pitcher Plant can be found all along the bog trail. Rainwater that collects in the plant is tempting for bugs, but once they fly in, they get stuck inside and the plant "eats" them.

They were excited to find some wild blueberries along the trail.

New Hampshire

It's a neat spot. The island, connected only by a little bridge, is a great place to find birds.

Our favorite part of Pawtuckaway State Park was the ranger led programs. The first was an exploration of the marsh. We were given nets and instructed to bring anything we find back to the ranger. Asher and his friend almost caught the snake we kept seeing in the water.

The ranger put the creatures in appropriate containers and told us about each one. We found dragonfly larvae, a leech, a crawfish, a scorpion bug, and three types of tiny fish. A bullfrog tadpole- it was huge, just smaller than a typical chicken egg! And a few frogs, though we returned one less when the class finished as the huge bullfrog ate one of the smaller frogs, whoops!

The ranger caught a couple newts. I was amazed to learn the adults live in the water, but the young ones live in the forest. We had found one earlier in the woods behind our campsite.

The other program we attended took us on a walk around the area to learn about edible plants. One of the most useful is the cattail. The hot dog looking top can be used as a fire starter or as a torch. The thin reed that grows on the very top can be roasted and eaten. A section of the root system can be eaten and the leaves can be used to weave shelter or coverings. 

We learned beech tree leaves make a good salad and found wild blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. Lots of other things too, but I can't remember them all now.

We learned sweetfern smells delightful, makes an interesting tea and a natural mosquito repellant.

At the end of our class, we all tried a bit of the sweetfern tea the ranger had prepared.

Sadly upon arrival we were warned that bacteria levels made swimming potentially dangerous for children and elderly. The water was tested daily and the warning lifted before we left, however we didn't feel it was worth trying.

The island is connected by this little bridge. It's a nice place to enjoy lunch or hang a hammock.

Asher went birding with me one morning while Daddy and Journey relaxed.

It rained the first day we were there, which allowed us to try out Glow Golf. Asher had been asking to play mini golf, but it was 90 degrees and humid in the areas he was asking. This really made his day. Journey loved it too.

Before visiting New Hampshire, I had envisioned people here to be natural, outdoorsy-types. So I was surprised to find many alternative-looking folks with brightly colored hair, tattoos and piercings. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, just far from my preconceived notions.) We were at the mall so there's that. And SO many smokers even at the state park, you just couldn't get away from people's cigarette and cigar smoke. Bummer.