Maple Sugar Fun

Today, we traveled to a Maple Sugar Festival. While it was too cold for the sap to run, it wasn't too cold to see the tap lines.

We went on a tour of the farm, seeing how they use a system of tap lines. They also showed us the boiling center, where they condense the sap into maple syrup.

There was a wonderful exhibit of how pioneers and native american collected and "processed" the maple tree sap. The Chippewa or Ojibwa Indians didn't use maple syrup. Instead, they made a very fine maple crystals or sugar. This sugar was added to meat for preservation and taste, plus other foods as well. Salt was hardly ever used. Ojibwa families often went to a sugar camp during the running season. We also saw an exhibit of Ojibwa life at the time.

Kitty & Jewel had a scavanger hunt. They had to collect items from around the farm and turned them in for a bag of maple sugar cotton candy. Both girls also got to dip their own candles and dress up like pioneers.

We really enjoyed ourselves and look forward to returning again next year.