for our final week in maine, we were in the middle of the state, also in the middle of nowhere, at a cute little campsite, where the internet was terrible, the air was crisp, and we were the only campers.
we laid pretty low most of the week, except for the first and last days there, when derek was not working.
the first day, we loaded up the kids and went to the debsconeag lakes wilderness area to do a little outdoor exploring. derek had read about some ice caves that were pretty kid friendly, so we decided to give it a try.
pre-hike selfie.
the hike out was about a mile. as evidenced by this photo documentation.
hazel walked a lot of the way out by herself. she was a champ.
but very slow. we have to stop to admire all of nature’s beauty. plus, she always “needs” a walking stick.
some random hiking shots will ensue. i’m not going to narrate them all…
finally, we reached the ice caves. we only had 3 head lamps, so i took the big kids down in the first shift.
hazel bids farewell.
isaac was a little cautious.
but anna loved it.
she wanted to crawl into any tiny crevice she could find.
once he survived the ladder and the climb down, isaac started exploring too.
both kids went into this one little area. i think derek took this pic (and many others) on his shift in the caves.
we actually didn’t see much ice while we were in the caves. it’s probably the worst time of year that we could have gone for optimum iciness. but, it was quite chilly and when we peered down into this one hole, we got a glimpse of the ice for which the caves are named.
hazel was actually pretty grumpy that she couldn’t go down into the caves, but it wasn’t super easy to get down alone, nevermind helping/carrying a toddler.
i documented the safe return of all the cave dwellers.
meanwhile, on the outside, distracting hazel was my main job.
we played drums and then broke the sticks.
on the way back, we let her wear the head lamp, and she thought she was pretty cool.
when we booked our month in maine, we had hoped to see some changing leaves. sadly, we really didn’t see many until we were driving out on the last day. but there were a few random trees and leaves here and there. i’ll take it.
tight rope (log) walker.
hazel was backpack bound most of the way back. for speed. and tired toddler legs.
post hike lidkids shot. grumps.
on the drive out, we stopped for some pretty pictures.
there were campsites along this river. what an amazing view.
finally, back at a little lodge/store/restaurant near the entrance, we purchased ginormous ice cream cones (i may have used bribery to get the kids moving quickly and without arguing). anyhow. maine wild blueberry for me. also, i definitely walked 100 yards away to take this picture, on a bridge over the river, with a pretty mountain in the background.
we had a very chill week after that, staying at the campground, except for an occasional grocery run. on the last day, we would venture out again….