Picnic at Miles Standish State Forest

K in a group of trees
K in a group of trees

It took a while to find an exotic sounding place to picnic with Uncle Warren.

Ben, K and M looking at the pond
Ben, K and M looking at the pond

I think it’s the name that did it. And it turns out that Miles Standish did indeed hunt in the pine barrens.

Dan by the pond
Dan by the pond

K was tired from the drive, but when the bathrooms turned out to be on either side of a nature center where you could feel fox pelts and handle skunk skulls, she became enthused. Especially when she spied the baby box turtle in the goldfish bowl.

K and M playing by a treestump
K and M playing by a treestump

The interpreter had a bag of bog iron samples, including a 17th century rake head.

B between the trees wearing his blood sweat and duct tape tee shirt
B between the trees wearing his blood sweat and duct tape tee shirt

We wanted to know if our bogs were like the British ones (hence the colonial understanding that they could get iron by smelting peat) did we have bog bodies like they find in Europe?

Chris between the trees
Chris between the trees

The answer was, “No doubt.” But the bogs in question are currently in cranberry production and privately owned.

Chris by the pond
Chris by the pond

Well, I love my cranberries, so I can see why archeology has to wait – even indefinitely.

iris growing at the pond edge
iris growing at the pond edge

We plan to head back with our canoe and the fishing license we will have bought by then, the woods and ponds were lovely, and we had perfect weather for our visit.

M looking at the pond
M looking at the pond

I asked my Mom why we hadn’t explored there before, she and Dad were great at finding day trips. She said she’d been icked out because that’s where the murder victims of a serial killer had been found in the ’80s, but she’s brave enough to hike there with us now.

K caught about to wade in the pond - with permission?
K caught about to wade in the pond – with permission?

Oh. Good reason, Mom.