Proud Times at Purgatory Chasm

It's never easy as a parent knowing when to loosen the leash on your child. You always want to protect them from harm or getting hurt. But kids are such adventurous creatures - it's part of why hiking should have some natural appeal for getting them to spend time outdoors!

At Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, there's "danger" at just about every turn. Maybe that's why it's about the most fun yet I've had hiking with my 5-year-old daughter, Jordyn. But it wasn't easy. I had to keep telling myself, "It's OK, let her go - there's no way she's not leaving this place without some scrapes."

Purgatory is one of the coolest natural wonders in Massachusetts. It would certainly rank high if there were a vote. The main attraction is a quarter-mile corridor of granite rock formations and stone walls as high as 70 feet, perfect for kids who like to hop, climb and scramble over the potentially treacherous terrain. And I'm lucky enough to live about 15 minutes away from it, only I hadn't been there in seven or eight years. On a day off from work during school vacation, I took Jordyn there.

The place's popularity was evident by the packed parking lot and swarm of parents, teens and kids on the trail. There are actually some quieter peripheral trails through the woods, but I was particularly looking forward to feeding Jordyn's fondness for rocks. Plus the trail was truly cool -- there were a half-dozen or so spots whose cave-like features made standing there about 15 degrees cooler than the rest of the way.

The funny part is that Jordyn did her biggest damage before we even began the trail, tripping over a root. After shaking that off, she was good to go, and I did my best to hold my tongue as we trod along. Some of the time I held her hand or arm, but mostly she had free reign and most of the time, she wanted to take the lead -- even when we took a path all the way up to the area that overlooked the chasm (trails lead around its rim, as well, but we quickly went back down).

Well somehow we managed to go through the chasm and back without any fractures, breaks, bruises or cuts. Some minor scrapes and some dirty hands were well worth it for the fun time. I couldn't have been prouder of my little girl! Even though we're trying to hit as many state parks and forests as possible, we'll have to head back to Purgatory soon ... just not during school vacation. (Arlen)

Winding Down the Road at Wells

Sometimes hikes don't turn out as planned. That was the case last weekend when we went to Wells State Park in Sturbridge. Oh, it seemed like a pleasant place to go hiking ... only we tired ourselves out before we got there.

It started out good enough. We met up with my parents and had breakfast at a nearby cafe, and they were ready to join us for our latest Weekends in the Woods outing. I'm very fortunate to have parents who are still in great shape -- and exuberant -- at their age.

And they probably got in a little more walking than they bargained for. You see, when we pulled onto the road that leads to the park entrance, it was blocked off by some cones and a "road closed" sign. It was beautiful out, though, so I figured we could walk to the park. Unfortunately I hadn't checked the map too well -- it was at least a mile, maybe more, down a windy road to get there. We saw a couple of cars pass by, too, which was slightly annoying because 1) obviously some people were just dismissing the closed sign and pressing on and 2) there were a couple of other roads off Route 49 (the major road to get there) that also led to the park entrance, more indirectly.

Still, we were all in good spirits following our version of the yellow brick road. Jordyn posed with Grandma and Papa for an action shot (above). But when we got to the entrance we were pretty pooped. Jordyn was not about to head into the woods for a loop trail. In fact, my dad, Sara and Jordyn stayed behind while my mom and I trekked back up the road and got the car -- the little girl was begging to be carried up the hilly way back, and that wasn't gonna happen.

So the paved road turned into our hike for the day. We did manage to do some frog-spotting just past the entrance, in the marshy area of one of the ponds, a celebratory occasion for Sara since she'd been keeping her eye out for them since we started our outdoors initiative, only to come up empty on every previous outing. We'll head back at some point for the real trails, but for this trip we'll settle for being grateful of the guest appearances, both human and amphibian. (Arlen)

 

Quiet Time at Quinsigamond State Park

I can't say that Quinsigamond State Park is my favorite state park in Massachusetts, but it's definitely my most visited, specifically the Lake Park portion. You see, Lake Park is virtually across the street from our house. There's another portion of "Quinsig" farther down the road, on the other side of where Route 9 divides Lake Avenue in Worcester (and that area, Regatta Point, is essentially just a beach front and head of the many regattas that Quinsig hosts). But Lake Park is on our side, and I'm glad it is -- it's a perfect place to walk laps along the oval that circumnavigates the park about 1 1/4 miles around, with almost half of it a stone's throw off the lake and its pleasant views as you go.



For almost five years, it was the perfect place for me to walk our basset hound Izzy every morning, with full laps on weekend mornings. Many times before work it served as a placid locale for viewing pink-hued sunrises. I've traversed Lake Park hundreds of times, so that alone makes it a special state park destination.

But last Saturday, Jordyn and I took a different path on a morning walk in Lake Park. We carefully tread down the woods path that led right to the water's edge. There's also a beach area at Lake Park, and my hope was that we could "hike" along the edge safely to the beach about a quarter mile away.

Unfortunately, we couldn't. About halfway there, the path disappeared so we took a detour back uphill through the woods. Jordyn wanted to get to the beach, so we kept going on our little journey, and I decided we would work our way back along the water's edge and see how far that took us (I was hoping to reach one of the natural paths that lead from the highland walking trail down through the woods). Again, we started out well but Jordyn decided we should head up to the trail -- only there was no path to do so where we stood. So in essence, we bushwhacked it, on our hands and knees, clinging to branches, roots and rocks as we made our way up.

All in all, it was a quick adventure and our grand total distance didn't even equate to the full loop around the park. But it was a path we'd never taken in a place we visit all the time, and going that much closer to the water and its little islands made this go-around that much more peaceful. Just goes to show, there's always room to explore what's right around the corner. (Arlen)

Sunday Serenity at the Sanctuary

Arlen's and my move to Worcester in the spring of 2004 was a poignant one. We had been living out of state, and I hadn't been happy. Then came a job opportunity in the city in which I had attended college, a city where I never envisioned myself. Yet once we arrived here it felt almost like a rebirth -- a feeling that was echoed in the signs of spring bursting forth on the "country living in the city" property where we rented an apartment. Once we were able to stop swooning over the turtle pond (oh my god, turtles!) at the entrance of the complex, one of the first places we had the pleasure of discovering was a nearby (at 1.42 miles away, make that very nearby) National Audubon Society property called Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary.

These 430 acres nestled in a residential neighborhood on Worcester's east side quickly became one of my favorite places to visit -- though I realized recently it had been quite some time since I had been there. Thankfully, last weekend presented the perfect opportunity to return. With rain in the forecast for our hiking day, we decided to stick close to home. (Indeed, our current home is less than three miles from the sanctuary.)

When we arrived at Broad Meadow Brook at 8:30 Sunday morning, we weren't surprised to find the parking lot empty and the nature center locked. No matter; we were happy to have the place to ourselves. As we paused at the information booth to reacquaint ourselves with the trail maps, I breathed in the crisp early spring air and was reminded why I love this place so much: bright, easy-to-read displays; neatly labeled plants and flowers around the visitors' center; easy-to-traverse trails punctuated by babbling brooks, plenty of benches and the occasional wooden footbridge; and no shortage of beautiful bird songs. Let alone Broad Meadow Brook's power to make visitors forget they are anywhere near New England's second-largest city.

As we descended the path away from the nature center, we were greeted by the sight of lovely sculptures ("Portals" by Carolyn Lewenberg) hanging on trees. Crafted from vines, tires and stainless steel bowls, these quirky creations were nothing short of fabulous. After pausing for photos and a go on one of several wooden glider swings, Arlen and I decided to take Jordyn on a loop from the Holdredge Trail to the Sprague to the Frog Pond Trail -- three of 12 from which to choose. (Sadly on this visit, no amount of searching would yield any frog sightings; but peering into the water with high hopes is half the fun, anyway.) While the trees were still bare, the woods were bursting with greenery that Arlen and I dubbed cabbage (come to think of it, it probably was cabbage). The birds' chorus was as loud as I've ever heard, rivaled at points only by Jordyn's chatter and the rude awakening of a dirt bike motoring (illegally) down the trail ahead of us.

There's much to do at Broad Meadow Brook beyond hiking: indoor art and photography exhibits, the annual bird-a-thon and butterfly festivals, summer camp; and myriad volunteer opportunities. Now that we've rediscovered this local gem, we plan to take full advantage of all it offers. Country living in the city, indeed! (Sara)

Cabbage?

Jordyn found many rocks to climb along the way.