Category Archives: Family and Kids

family life, activities, family travel

A hike to Mount Parker yields clues to a smallpox outbreak

On a recent spring hike, I learned about the joys of hiking Bartlett’s Mount Parker, which offers great views of Mount Washington with far fewer people than many other White Mountain trails. While not not an easy hike at about … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Mountains | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A visit to Arches National Park as it all fell down

On Friday, March 6, Logan Airport was packed with travelers heading out on winter escapes. People crowded together, waiting to board with ski bags and backpacks. But in the bathroom, everyone was washing their hands with a furor I’d never … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Mountains, Travels | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Mountain spring: hike to North Doublehead

Mountains in spring, breath clean oxygen. Listen:  in the spruce, loving birds. I’ve been working with my students on form poems, including haiku. Thus, I attempt to describe a recent hike with a combination of haiku, photos and text. Indulge … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Mountains | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

August days in Death Valley

During the summer months at Death Valley, birds sometimes drop out of the sky, killed by the extreme heat. Would our car die as well? As the car slid down Highway 190 into Death Valley, the temperature indicator continued to … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Mountains, Travels | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Hello to Manzanar

Back in 7th grade, when I read Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s memoir, Farewell to Manzanar, the wind and sand had buried most remains of the Japanese internment camp that Houston described so eloquently in her 1973 memoir. By the early 1970s, … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Travels | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Rangeley Days Redux: Moose, mountains, and memories

Rangeley, Maine – Our first day at the lake was windy and mostly gray, a good one for moose hunting.  We don’t always get our moose, but with the right timing and luck, we’d bagged moose last year and the year … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Maine places, Mountains | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Walking with the mothers at Vaughan Woods, South Berwick

South Berwick, Maine — On Mother’s Day this year, I went for a walk with the mothers in Vaughan Woods State Park. Vaughan Woods is a popular local walking spot, as it includes, along with its three miles of trails, … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Maine places, Seacoast (mostly) History | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Back on the trail to Mount Belknap with Windows to the Wild

On a hot spring day in early May, I met up again with the crew from New Hampshire Public Television’s Windows to the Wild: host Willem Lange and producers Steve Giordani and Phil Vaughn. The resulting show, titled “Hiking with … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Mountains, Travels | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

24 hours/four seasons: a spring hike on New Hampshire’s Mount Lafayette

On that 95-degree Thursday afternoon in May, we headed north from Kittery, seeking cooler air and adventure. But at 4 p.m., when we pulled into the Franconia Notch parking lot for the Old Bridle Path trailhead, the car thermometer read … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Mountains | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jurassic time-traveling in NH: A hike to Mount Shaw

Up in the White Mountains,  winter hangs on long past its official ending date, especially this year, when most of the snow fell in March and April. Even as I write this post in mid-May, iced-covered trails and unstable snow … Continue reading

Posted in Family and Kids, Hiking, Mountains | Tagged , , | Leave a comment