We are having another child!…oh, and we recently went to Swan Lake State Park. Baby #2 arrives in the spring so with winter here and the 3rd trimester knocking at the door, it was a chance to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. It just seemed like what the doctor ordered. Seriously, if you knew our doctor, she would order it…we love our doctor.

Off we went to Swan Lake State Park during the February holiday weekend. An extra amount of time went into deciding where to go on this cold but sunny Saturday. Now that the list of parks is getting shorter, we don’t have the luxury of getting up and going like at the start of all of this. When you have 30 plus parks to pick from, it doesn’t take much planning. But with the remaining state parks on our list, some of them we definitely want to try and wait for particular seasons. For example, Grafton Notch would be ideal in the fall and Popham Beach seems like a no-brainer in the summer. With continuing to being selective with some, it’s crazy that it’s now leaving just a handful to pick from on the back 9 of our little mission.

This park was at the top of the list as a possible winter spot because we knew it would be a little like our visit to Range Pond State Park, last winter. Actually, it was exactly a year ago because it was once again the Great Maine Outdoor Weekend. We might have accidentally created a family tradition!

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After our normal routine that morning, it was exactly a 2 hour drive to Swanville from Portland. You probably don’t just happen onto Swanville, Maine. Even though it’s only 15 minutes north of Belfast, it’s probably safe to say that it’s out of the way. We didn’t head the usual coastal route into this direction, like we did for Moose Point and Fort Point State Parks. Instead we went to Augusta and took a right, we even passed on the well traveled RT 3, that would have taken us past Lake St. George State Park. We went through some new parts of Maine for us. It’s a big state and we have been lucky to see a majority of it but neither of us had ever been through the heart of Waldo county. It was gritty and beautiful at the same time. There was enough sand on the roads from winter that several parts did not appear paved until you saw a glimpse of a yellow line. It reminded us a lot of driving through sections of Aroostook county, with the pretty open views and rolling hills. The frost heaves made for a roller coaster ride at times, with Eloise in the back saying “whoa” when we cruised over one.

We b-lined it to the park that morning but we had to make one stop along the way, even if this attraction/eatery wasn’t open. And even if it was open for the season, we don’t really have the funds or a chance for reservations lined up anytime soon to make it happen. The famous Lost Kitchen is located in Liberty, ME and it was along the way. Someday we hope to have the pleasure of eating here, but we know that there’s a long wait list. Just pulling up to this former mill, you can immediately feel that it’s not just about eating dinner but enjoying an experience. Knowing that this restaurant has brought thousands of people from all over the world to this less traveled part of Maine brings a smile to our face. Swan Lake State Park was just another 30 minutes east of here. Hopefully someday, mom and dad will be able to return for a date night.

In classic Eloise fashion she started to get sleepy minutes before we arrived at the park but that wasn’t going to fly this time so we kept her awake…parents of the year candidates. You can throw a rock from the Swanville town sign to the state park sign. The park gate was down and no other cars were around, so it appeared that we would have the park to ourselves. It was perfect conditions to snowshoe and also pull a sled so that’s just what we did. It was easy to imagine this park in the summer, flooded with people who live nearby. Probably looking to escape the crowds near the coast and enjoying a dip in the lake. We are blessed to live in an area of Maine that has us surrounded by a many swimming holes, rivers and beaches, so a 4-hour summer round trip out here probably wouldn’t make too much sense for us, unless we were staying in the area, but a winter time visit is another story. While snowshoeing through the park, we kept saying how it was not only the perfect day to be out but also the perfect time of year for us to visit this particular park.

We probably snowshoed somewhere around 1 mile (mostly downhill) before taking a break near the frozen waterfront. There wasn’t too much activity on the lake that day. Just a couple sleds cruising by early on but otherwise it was a very quiet morning. We couldn’t relax long because Eloise’s hawk eyes spotted the playgrounds. Yes, there were 2! There’s something about a playground in the woods, in the dead of winter. It’s like finding a shipwreck loaded with buried treasure. After lots of the playing and then exploring “the beach”, the winds started to pick up and Eloise was now officially tired. We had intended to travel through the small trail system but getting to and from the gate was a lot of work on this snowy weekend. Also knowing that we still had to climb back out of there (mostly uphill), it felt like we had seen and done enough for the morning.

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The theme of the morning was laughter. As Eloise gets older, she is just getting funnier and funnier. Almost like driving along through life with a radio on and she is a one person talk show. But she’ll have a co-host soon enough! It honestly felt like we stole a day back. As we all know, winters can be brutal at times and often it might feel like a marathon; especially in Maine, but days like this kind of flip that mindset upside down and you pull all of the good out of what’s available.

We passed our first park mates just minutes before getting to the car. There was a hello and a slight smirk as they saw us breathing heavily up the hill and somehow sweating in the frigid temps. Plus, Eloise was being pulled in a sled like the Queen of Sheba, baby doll in hand. She was nice and toasty as well and someday we will write a post on some of the gear we consider “must haves”; when we do, her L.L.Bean sled bag will be near the top of the list.

As we started to head back for home, we rolled slowly by a super unique house for sale in Monroe, Maine (minutes from the park). If you don’t like being put in a corner, then this is your place…and you must like stones. Check it out! Definitely a one of a kind, that’s for sure and it might be on the market for a bit. Before we could settle in for the 2 hour trip back, there was something about the Monroe Country Store, that said you should stop. So we did and it took about 2 minutes of scoping out the store before we were all unloaded from the car again and ordering lunch. There is no point in grabbing food and running when you are in an establishment as comfortable as this. The people couldn’t have been nicer and the food was delicious. Every calorie burned was probably replaced and that’s perfectly ok. It was extremely difficult not to load up on jams and other treats to take home. Somehow our meals, drinks and desserts came to only $20.

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We almost pulled the trigger on some items being featured in the store from A & E Stoneworks, but in the end decided to stick to our budget. It wasn’t 24 hours later, that this same small business from Swanville had an expo booth at Maker’s Market at The Point in Portland. The buy local Gods had clearly spoken and Eloise picked out not one but two stone cut doggies. She had to have one for Goose (Braddock) and one for Baxter.

Back to our day trip, after filling our bellies, two thirds of the car immediately fell asleep on what felt like a quick trip back to our warm home. This makes 21 state parks for us now and somehow it just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter, no matter the season. At the end of the day, we gave Swan Lake State Park 8 Rubies during our mid-February escapade. Some might think that is a high score for a somewhat unknown park in the middle of winter, but being here did not make us want to wish winter away or speed up the chilly months, instead allowed us to relished in it…so that deserves bonus points.

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