Lake St. George State Park

The swimming area at Lake St. George is accessed by stairs down to the water.

 

Today, we spent much of the day at Lake St. George State Park in Liberty, Maine.  It's located about 25 miles East of Augusta, or 16 miles West of Belfast, right on Route 3.  It's a great little park with plenty of grassy areas for laying out your stuff, lots of share for the hot days and a nice roped in swimming area with a sandy bottom, at least until you get out into the water over your head.

We found a nice shady picnic table down by the water and close to the swimming access.  As you may be able to tell from this photo, there isn't a beach per se (unless you count the one-foot-wide stretch of sand between the day use and campground sections of the park. However, there are stairs that lead right down into the water, so there's easy access to swimming.  I'd recommend bringing inflatable floats to add to the family fun.

The water temperature was comfortable, although the breeze today made it a bit chilly when we first got out of the water.  But once we sat in the sun for a couple of minutes, we were comfortable again.  My son spent a lot of time on the playground.  This is a very modern playground with lots of climbing options, slides, a swingset and sand all around.  Although there wasn't a beach, there was enough space to play with beach toys over by the playground without being in anyone's way.

View of the swimming area from atop the playground.

It's a great little family park because everything is very close.  You can sit by the water and be close to the playground and bathhouse, so it's easy to keep track of your kids.  The bathhouse/changing rooms are brand new and have a total of eight individual rooms that are large enough for a small family to change.  Each has hot and cold running water and flush toilets along with a built-in wooden bench where you can sit to change, and wooden pegs above the bench for wet towels or dry clothes.  The building is handicap accessible, making enough space in the room so my wife, son and I were not bumping into one another while changing.  Outside is a faucet for rinsing the sand off your feet.

Eight modern changing/bathrooms that are great for families.

There was plenty of parking and the cost was $4 per adult and $1 for kids 5-12.  Kids under 5 are free.  There seemed to be plenty of room for people, so we never felt crowded in like we have at some parks, and there's table after table beneath the shady trees along the water, each with a charcoal grill.

There's a group area if you want to have a family reunion and there's a horseshoe pit for those who might want to pitch a ringer.  My recommendation...bring a picnic.  Pick a shady spot along the water.  Take a refreshing dip, and relax and enjoy a summer day at Lake St. George State Park.

There ain't gold in them thar hills

Well, we didn't strike it rich last week when we traveled to Coos Canyon in Byron, Maine to pan for gold.  It was our first time out and the guy at the shop where we rented the pans said that there's only about a 10% chance anyone would find gold on their first try.

I guess the gold "bumble bee" shirt I had on didn't bring me any luck, as we didn't even find a sliver of gold.  However, the butterflies were very attracted to my shirt.  I guess they thought I was a flower or something.

Byron, Maine is about 15-20 minutes north of Rumford, Maine on Route 17.  The Swift River runs right along the road and Coos Canyon is a rocky gorge with some waterfalls and nice swimming holes.

If you want to go, you can rent pans at Coos Canyon Rock & Gift directly across the street from Coos Canyon.  The pans were two bucks each to rent and you have to leave a five dollar deposit per pan that you get back if you return the pan.  They give you a brief demonstration of panning techniques and then send you on your way.  You can either continue up Route 17 or drive up a side road that crosses over the canyon.  We chose the latter and found a quiet spot and proceeded to pan.

The river we chose was a cold, rocky river.  Our eight year old son Ashton panned for about five minutes and then entertained himself in the river for awhile.  My wife lasted a little longer that Ashton, but eventually packed it in and picked up a book.  I continued to pan for awhile, wondering if I was even doing it right given that I couldn't even find a spec of gold.  We brought a picnic with us and ate along side the river, so all in all it was a pretty relaxing time.

Afterwards we wandered back down to Coos Canyon and took a dip in the river.  We thought the river was going to be cold, but surprisingly it was very refreshing.  My son had a great time letting the currents move him slowly downstream and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Bethany and Ashton swimming in Coos Canyon

A shot looking south into the Canyon

The rock formations were very cool, having been carved out by the water over many years.

On the way home, we stopped in Mexico...no, not the country, but the town.  We topped off our day with an ice cream from Frosty Delite right on Route 2 in Mexico and a slight detour to Marden's on Route 2 in Rumford.

We seem to spend a lot of time in the Rumford area.  In the winter Ashton and I had season passes to Black Mountain Ski Area.  Ashton was enrolled in group lessons this year, so we were up their almost every Sunday in January and February.  Even though it's been 95 degrees the last couple of days, I thought I'd insert this winter shot.  Maybe it will help you think cool thoughts.

The base of the beginner lift at Black Mountain

Fourth of July in Vermont

Each July Fourth, the city of Montpelier, Vermont, my old home town, hosts a huge parade and fireworks display.  Actually, they usually do it on July 3rd, probably assuming that people will want to stay up late to watch the fireworks because most people don't have to work the next morning.

For the past three or four years, my family has traveled to Montpelier for this wonderful event.  Since my parents still live there, it's usually a good excuse for us to freeload (I mean stay with them) for a day or two.  The parade generally lasts about two hours, starting near the public library and ending down by the high school.  It includes the typical fire trucks, floats, bands and politicians, but it's rather unique in that it also includes many groups of people touting various causes.

One of the groups that participates every year is the Bread & Puppet Theater from Glover, VT.  Here's a video excerpt of them parading down State Street in front of the State Capitol.  I must say that the six foot-something guy in drag and playing the trumpet was very good.  And it amazed me how he could march in high heels and play the trumpet at the same time.

This year we brought my in-laws along for the ride because it had been many years since my parents and my wife's parents have gotten together, so it was a great opportunity for them to catch up.  Plus, my wife's parents hadn't been to Vermont in even more years, so it was a welcome change of scenery for them as well.

Following the parade, we headed for Stowe where we spend three nights in a chalet at the Stowe Motel.  The Stowe Motel/Snowdrift is a 16-acre property that is great for families.  It has two outdoor pools, loaner mountain bikes that may be used on the famous Stowe Rec Path and it sits along the West Branch River.

Striking a pose along the Stowe Rec Path with Mt. Mansfield in the background

The Stowe Rec Path is about 5.5 miles long.  It begins behind the quintessential white-steepled church in the center of Stowe village and meanders along the West Branch River ending by the Topnotch Resort & Spa.  We found it great for my son because he's just learning to control his bike a bit better, and on the Rec Path we didn't have to worry about cars zipping past us.

The nice thing about the West Branch River is that there are a number of places to stop and dip your feet in the water.  One such places was directly behind the Stowe Motel and our son had a great time playing in the cold mountain fed water.

My son playing in Stowe's West Branch River

My son spent nearly as much time playing in the river as he did playing in the pool.  As a matter of fact, the river water was so cold that it made the pool feel that much warmer.

And who could go to the Stowe area without visiting the Ben & Jerry's Factory?  In addition to sampling their ice cream, we like to visit their Flavor Graveyard and pay our respects to the flavors that didn't quite cut it with the general public.  It sits up on a hillside behind the factory, and in close proximity to the playground.

The Waterbury area (where Ben & Jerry's is located) has become quite a mecca for Vermont products.  A couple miles down the road from B&J's is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.  As you drive along Interstate 89 past Waterbury, roll down your window for a whiff of the coffee being made there, or better yet, stop by their visitor center in the restored 1875 train station in downtown Waterbury to learn all about the company.

Up the road a piece, is the Cabot Annex store where you can get Cabot's award-winning cheese (about the only cheese my family will eat) and other great Vermont products.  Nearby is the Ziemke Glassblowing Studio and around the corner from Cold Hollow Cider Mill.  Cold Hollow is great to visit anytime, but personally I like going in the fall when they're pressing fresh apple cider.

Our little smiling apple at Cold Hollow Cider Mill

  All in all we had a great trip to Stowe.  The two bedroom, two bath chalet with kitchen and living room was the perfect amount of space for my family and my wife's parents.  We watched the Stowe fireworks from across the street on July 4th and started thinking about when we can visit the Stowe Motel again in the future.