Indonesian Digital News Archive: Water

Articles by "Water"

Great Falls Discovery Center

The Great Falls Discovery Center is a nicely kept little nature center, near the fish ladder and Unity Park, a decent playground with the only real see saw I've seen recently. I parked on the street, for free, right outside the Center. There is a cute little garden outside and well maintained yards, but this isn't really outdoor space for the kids to play.
The interior boasts many dioramas of local animal life, including several interactive features (buttons to push, a computer program to play with). However, for my 5 year old, the displays were quickly digested (especially because he has seen quite a lot of these kinds of exhibits). The most engaging area for the kids was a small table set up near the gift shop that held tadpole-to-frog models and books on the same subject. There are quite a few activities held there for the preschool set, though I haven't attended any yet.
The whole museum was clean, including the restrooms.
After exploring the Discovery Center we made our way to Unity Park, down the street. What appeared at first glance to be dilapidated turned out to be a pretty nice park! The equipment was a good mix of new and old, a pavilion provided shade for our snack, and the sport fields were in use, creating a nice community feel.

Beachgrounds Park, South Hadley, MA

I first heard about this new park because they had a big opening day festival. I was later reminded of it by an acquaintance, Julie Ross of Belchertown, who took her two children to Beachgrounds in July and was pleased with the park, though not the restrooms.

On Sunday morning we finally made it over there, and the whole family was quite impressed. It seems a feat of urban planning - the small park is eco-friendly in many ways (recycle bins, rubber tire "mulch," recycled plastic "lumber" used for benches and tables), surrounded by a variety of housing types (apartments and a neighborhood of single family homes), aesthetically pleasing, designed with varied age-groups in mind (for instance, baby swings near the toddler play area and regular swings off to the side). The playground structure itself was an unusual one, which is great. All too often I find myself trekking to a new park only to encounter pretty much the same equipment as they have in the park by my house. My 5 year old described it as an obstacle course and "completed" the play structure a number of times. Both older boys loved the spray park, in which the water is activated by a sensor which my middle son enjoyed figuring out and then using. The spray park is laid out in an organic way which seemed to encourage the kids to move & to use the entire spray pad area. The pad includes a sprayer that the kids can move around, and which is cleverly designed to shut off when sprayed toward the outside of the water pad. The water feature is significantly smaller than the one found at Look Park, but there was plenty of room on the day of our visit.

The park also offers the opportunity to head down to the riverbank by the Holyoke Dam. This was an adventure that our family undertook - it is not advertised as part of the park. The trail down to the water was steep and the rocks on the edge interspersed with broken glass and the occasional piece of trash. However, it was nice enough to teach my oldest to skip a stone.

From several articles (here's one) I've seen on this project, it seems that the funding and creating of this space was a triumph of the political process, as used by community/local organization. This sweetens the experience of watching the kids play there.

Heritage State Park Visitor Center, Holyoke, MA

Holyoke's Heritage State Park is home to the Holyoke Carousel and Children's Museum, and the Volleyball Hall of Fame. Our recent stop at the Visitor Center revealed exhibits under construction. After speaking with Charlie Lotspeich of DCR, I learned that the renovations have been undertaken as part of a program called "Creating Holyoke." Funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities were matched by the state, via DCR. This is a wonderful enhancement to a city park, and a city that has an important place in the industrial development of the Pioneer Valley.

The renovation is nearly complete now, and the Visitor Center is open for business Tues-Sun from 12-4PM. I am looking forward to returning there to take a look at the new installments and will certainly post an update with pictures.

Northfield Mountain Visitor Center, Northfield, MA

I have only visited this attraction in the winter, so my experience is certainly incomplete. Parking is plentiful.
The exhibits at this visitor center are interesting. The whole mountain is "sponsored" by a utility company. Thus the exhibits are focussed on the economy of the Connecticut River - ice harvesting, logging, transporting good by waterways, etc. There's a real icebox that is ok to touch, and an example of an old logging tool, which, again you can touch.
A set of stairs lead down to a ski shop/vending area/restrooms (clean, nice). You may want to pause (endlessly, if you are my child) in front of a bank of birdfeeders in the bushes outside the window on the landing.
The yurt outside is awesome and had a fire going when we were there. It was toasty and cute in there.
In the winter the trails are groomed for skiing thus you cannot hike. The scenery is beautiful.

Northfield Mountain

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Plum Island, MA

Since we discovered this beach, we haven't been to a different one. From our home in the Pioneer Valley it takes about 2 hrs, 15 min. to get there. Many of the beaches on the refuge are closed early in the season, as this land is primarily dedicated to wildlife, not recreation. Later in the summer, once the nesting season is over, all the beaches open. On your drive down to the beach of your choice, you will almost certainly see some gorgeous birds feeding and flying in the saltwater marshes that make up the island.

For $5, you can park at any one of 7 beaches that are part of the Reserve. For FREE you can drive down past beach 7 and park at Sandy Point Beach.

Beaches 6, 7, and Sandy Point are our favorites. The water deepens so gradually that even when your child has become a speck against the horizon, he is only up to his knees. The sand is light and fine.

The nearby (as in, 5 minutes down the road) Newburyport is a great little town for pedestrian sightseeing. A large waterfront walkway lets you see boats of all kinds, and the people who hang out on them! Fisherman are happy to have an audience. Street musicians are happened upon. The downtown is filled with expensive shops and art galleries - we've mainly avoided those! It is also home to a little playground in the middle of a pedestrian mall, adjacent to an ice cream shop (even the small was $3.70 but you get as many mix-ins as you want for free). On more than one occasion, including last Sunday, there was a festival going on downtown with music and street vending. We've always been able to find free parking in town, and have enjoyed the bookstore and toystore (and restrooms!!) in the Tannery building.

Both the Parker River Refuge and Joppa Sanctuary have visitor centers, though we haven't been yet.
Parker River Refuge

Sandy Point Beach

Groff Park, Amherst MA

Located just off Rt. 116 in Amherst, Groff Park is a great destination in good weather. A large parking lot is mostly sunny, but if you don't mind crossing the lot, there are shady spots near the baseball field. The park boasts many tall beautiful trees, picnic areas with seating, including a pavillion. At the top of the hill, a decent playground and nice set of swings are near the restrooms, newly constructed a couple of years ago. They are not disgusting, though I've rarely seen toilet paper there. A wading pool with fountain is fenced in. The pool is open for a short season - essentially July and August. The pool might be closed on any given day due to lightening, bacteria levels in the water, lack of lackadaisical teenage lifeguard, or some such. You should not psych your kids up for it unless you call to confirm that it's open. A sandbox and small climbing area at the bottom of the hill are very inviting. A shallow river (Fort River) flows by the park and is followed by a sandy path, so a nature walk is included along with the rest of the features here.

Amherst Wading Pool Schedule
A Review of the Trail at Groff Park

Boston Children's Museum, Boston MA

This is a wonderful place. The location is both a blessing and a burden. My dad's office used to be down in this area, and parking is very expensive in the private lots that surround the waterfront. I suggest parking at a T station and taking the train in - this is what we've done in the past. The T is easy-peasy (though the time we took our stroller was a little hairy) and once you arrive at South Station you are about 3 blocks from the museum. The museum's website has really good directions. In the coldest winter, on the waterfront, this walk might be unpleasant, but in anything but the most bitter cold it's a nice walk. The kids have been fascinated by the busy waterway and the seagulls.

The museum has so many exhibits that we've never seen them all in a day. The large climbing structure is a sibling to the one at the Holyoke Children's Museum, and goes up three stories. There is usually a staff member posted half way up the stairs to make sure that children don't exit there without parents and become lost. Lucky thing.

There is a large toddler/infant area that we've never spent much time in - but I anticipate using this area with my youngest the next time we visit. There is a large and complex water play area (the photo above shows the toddler water play table, but there is a much larger water system with canals, etc), a "city" including stores, barbershop, streets, etc., a construction area with full scale construction vehicles to sit in as well as various child-height tables with roads, ramps and underpasses which serve as a playscape for toy construction vehicles. On the ground floor, a physics exhibit has kids pedalling bikes to power light bulbs and tugging on a pulley to send a tennis ball high into the air. Plus more. These are the ones that stand out in memory.

The only place to buy food at the museum is an Au Bon Pain that is attached. If you bring your own lunch you can eat it at one of the picnic tables outside by the water - or I think you could bring it into the restaurant's seating area. Our experience at this particular Au Bon Pain was pretty terrible - think of many people standing around while you look at the empty sandwich counter and wonder why no one is making an $8 sandwich for your bawling children. When we got the food it was good. But by then I was almost crying with anger and frustration so my taste buds were compromised.

Admission is FREE for members of the Springfield Science Museum, so I'll have to repeat my harangue that this membership is a WONDERFUL VALUE. You'll gain admission to Boston Children's Museum, Boston Science Museum , the Ecotarium, as well as the Springfield Museums. This has been a great membership for our family and I highly recommend it.

Boston Children's Museum

Peaked Mountain, Monson, MA

What a wonderful hike! There are two parking areas, one at the Miller Forest Tract and one at the Peaked Mountain Tract. The second was our choice for our walk. We picked up a map, unusual for us but serendipitous as there are a lot of well networked trails. They are blazed but also numbered at key intersections, which was great. We first headed to the "Valley View" area, and after taking in a snack and a lovely vista, headed to the "Peaked Mountain" area and climbed around quite a bit taking in the view from many directions. A marker indicated the mountain's highest point, and a mailbox jutted out of the side of a pine tree. A journal inside contained memories left by hikers past. A new volume is needed, so if you take this hike you could bring a notebook with you to leave there.

The fact that this park is borded by a wildlife sanctuary (and endless miles of woods) showed itself in the forms of many frogs, croaking away and leaping among the reeds of a small pond we encountered. A larger pond was visible from the top of the mountain, located in the Miller Forest Tract of land. A magical encounter with a fawn was the highlight of our day. For several minutes my family clustered at the edge of a trail, whispering with excitement and peering into the eyes of this graceful and solemn little guy. None of my photos came out, naturally.

This summit was a long hike for our boys, who are quite hardy. I wouldn't choose it for kids who are starting to get used to hiking. But it wasn't too long- we'll do it again in a minute!

Peaked Mountain

Lake Wyola State Park, Shutesbury, MA

This is a small recreation area with nice amenities. The restrooms were spotless - though I was there on the off season, on a rainy day. Perhaps the restrooms don't sparkle quite as much when the park is being used heavily.

Parking is $5, but that of course includes swimming. Two lifeguard chairs were being installed on the beach during our visit. The beach is quite small, but the sand is nice. Restrooms are adjacent. There is a floating fishing dock. My boys enjoyed the rocking feeling you could get when you tried moving the dock.

Several trails lead from the parking area side of the road. We hiked a small loop that was very pretty. Markers along the way indicated various species of trees on the trail.

Lake Wyola

UMass Duck Pond, Amherst, MA

Kids find a lot of things fascinating when walking through UMass Amherst. The dramatic architecture of the Fine Arts Center, the W.E.B. Dubois Library, the sidewalks, installation art, etc.
Throwing stale bread to the ducks is just the icing on the cake. You can also go into the library and take a LOOOOOONG elevator ride.

Exploring the campus on foot, especially if you did not attend UMass or grow up near it, is pretty cool. It's a large place when you are walking, and the conglomeration of landscaped pockets, handicapped access ramps, lawns and roads and sidewalks, make for visual interest and a feeling of discovery.

Sometimes I participate in psychology experiments at Tobin Hall at UMass - the kids do anyways. You don't get paid, but you get to park in the heart of the campus and it's usually fun for the children. They get a little toy at the end.

So, best bets for parking, in my opinion, are free spots on town streets adjacent to campus. That's a bit of a walk. There are metered spots in the U shaped drive in front of the Fine Arts Center. I'm a paranoid parker - always convinced I'll get a parking ticket, which I have already dedicated thousands of dollars to paying. Thousands.

Fishing Area 1, Quabbin, Pelham, MA

I headed North on 202 and clocked 4.5 miles from Townmart in Belchertown to the Fishing Area Sign.

After turning onto a gravel road, I drove (erratically) two or three more miles. I wasn't sure what I was looking for - all of the pull-offs had large NO PARKING signs. When I finally pulled into the parking area, I was stunned by a wide open, glittering vista. Tidy boats line the shore, and the distinctive dip of the Winsor Dam is barely visible across the water. A tower peeps over the left hand hill.

I paid a $4 parking fee and was directed to the trail head, behind the porta potty, on the far left when facing the reservoir.

We hiked several miles on a beautiful trail along the edge of the Quabbin, peeking out at half a dozen lookout spots. At each of these points, the pinky-orange granite of the mountains could be seen extending from ground cover to bare rock, to lake floor. The lookout nearest to the parking area became our snack and play spot. I nursed the baby while the boys jumped around like mountain goats on the jagged rocks. The water deepened very gradually, so I wasn't worried about their safety.

The kids found two varieties of caterpillar and more than a few insects along the way. They had the opportunity to play on a small beach where my oldest was fascinated by the waves "rolling in." When we returned to our starting point by the boat launch, they spent some time heaving rocks into the water while I stalked an amazing butterfly, who seemed to be begging me to photograph him. My son had identified one of the caterpillars as a swallowtail, and he said that this was a swallowtail as well. We looked it up later to confirm his information (he seemed a little miffed, but he is only 4); he was correct. It's an Anise Swallowtail butterfly.

We loved this walk so much that we're going back later this week with my husband. And going back in a week or two to rent a boat for $5! $5!!

Quabbin Fishing Areas

Winsor Dam (my post)

Quabbin Hike (my post)

Quabbin Viewing Tower (my post)

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