Migis Lodge in Maine is a small resort too—just 35 cottages—at most, 150 guests.We could all use a place like that this summer to get unplugged with the kids, if only for a few days. There’s no glitz or glam, just old-fashioned family time.
What people also don’t realize is that hiking here is far different than hiking in Yosemite or Yellowstone or most other places. There are no defined trails, and no trail signs. You either need to be experienced in the backcountry and know how to use a compass and map or be fortunate enough to be hiking with someone like Brian McCormick who has been guiding visitors for years.
Wood showed us a film after dinner of the building of “Camp” as they call it—hauling logs with a World War II surplus jeep, sawing huge trees with hand saws, giving climbers who successfully summited the largest mountain in North America (20,320 feet!) a free spaghetti dinner.
Maybe this July 4th you’ll be home marching or watching a local parade. Maybe you’ll be visiting the relatives and cheering on nieces and nephews as they march. Maybe you’ll be celebrating some place new, joining in special and unique celebrations.
They said the views from the ridge at the top of the Tiga Trail are spectacular. We ask can we do a “moderate-slash-strenuous” hike (translation: slower). Everyone laughs and the six of us in our family—three nursing bad knees—head off with the naturalists
We’ve already seen a huge Grizzly munching on a ground squirrel, four Dall sheep, Caribou, a moose and two recently born calves, a red fox …and we’d only been in Denali National Park a few hours.
If the kids balk when you get to the front of the line, walk away. Tell your child there’s always next year.
In my new book The Kid’s Guide to New York City, I do my best to make sightseeing in the Big Apple fun for kids as well as parents, with plenty of tips from local (play soccer in the park!) and visiting kids (try roasted nuts from a vendor! )
The kids have already petted a chicken (and learned they’ll eat cantaloupe, as well as worms) met the baby calves Fiona and Danika and the draft horses Joe and Jim. Certain days of the summer, kids, ages 10 to 15, can become a farm vet for a day…
I can’t agree with the “let the market decide” when it comes to forcing parents to pay extra to sit next to their preschoolers. Even worse, we’re talking about customers who may only fly once or twice a year