Navigating a maze cut into a field of large corn stalks is not as easy as it sounds. Other than a "passport" with trivia questions (that, if answered correctly offered clues as to which way to turn at numbered markers inside the corn maze), we didn't have any other equipment with us. There were no maps or compasses, like we use with orienteering, or a GPS unit, which we use to geocache and hike. So it seemed a little strange for my tech-savvy kids to set out for a kind of hike without our standard equipment.
"Did you bring the GPS mommy?"
"No honey, you don't use one in a corn maze. We just have to find the way on our own."
"That's OK mommy. It will be easy anyway."
Forty minutes later inside the corn maze at Pumpkin Valley Farm, we all realized how wrong she was.
INSIDE THE CORN MAZE
After paying our entrance fee to the maze and collecting our Halloween trivia passport, we entered the tall (about 8 feet) cornstalks. They were so thick that in places we couldn't see anything but corn on either side of us. We found the first few markers, small stakes with numbers on them, inside the maze without a problem. Because we were navigating the maze fairly easily in the beginning, we didn't rely on the passport.
The multiple choice questions in the passport offered a "clue" as to which way to turn (right or left) at a particular numbered marker if you could answer the question correctly. Some of the questions on the passport were not hard. For example, "How many legs does a spider have?" wasn't bad but, "The biggest pumpkin ever grown weighed..." stumped us. Luckily, the clues weren't necessary at that point because we had found the next marker without it.
But when my 7-year-old spotted a bridge and really wanted to get to it, we all started to realize the maze was a bigger challenge than we had thought.
"It's right there mommy. Let's go!"
Ah, but it wasn't that easy. The bridge steps were only a row over but it took several turns and a path that moved away from it before we finally found our way there. It was made clear before we entered the maze that we could not cut through rows because it would damage the stalks — and the maze — but I could now understand why such an emphasis was put on that rule. The temptation was there.
Once at the bridge, the kids excitedly ran up the stairs and speculated on the number corn stalks it must have taken to make the maze.
"A hundred million," my 9-year-old guessed.
I lingered to take some photos and video of the corn field but got moving again after hearing, "Come on mommy. Let's go!" a few times.
The view from the bridge was not the point, apparently. It was finding it that mattered.
Another thing we hadn't expected was the terrain inside the maze.
"It's really dusty here," my 9-year-old said, surprised. I was glad I had insisted on sneakers for our trek through the maze instead of the sandals my warm-weather holdouts were still wearing around town.
At marker 5, which took us about 20 minutes to get to, there was an option to leave the maze or continue. The kids thought finding the first five markers had been pretty easy so they opted to do the full maze and find all ten.
So we continued on and found another bridge in the second half of the maze. The kids enjoyed taking note of how far away the first bridge we found was. But again, I was not allowed to linger on the bridge; we apparently were on a mission to find our way out "fast."
By marker 8 however, both girls were getting tired and thirsty, so I insisted on stopping for a quick water and snack break. With all the dust in the maze and the warm temperatures the day we visited, I was glad to have planned ahead with water bottles and granola bars.
And the kids realized that they hadn't paced themselves for the length of time it was taking to get through the maze — 45 minutes to get to marker 8.
After our snack we set out again but kept getting turned around between markers 8 and 9. I was sure we had answered question 8 in the passport correctly. That clue said to turn left but we kept ending up back at the same marker. So even with the clues, the maze proved difficult as we neared the end.
We passed a few people along the way that were having the same problem, and the same discussion that, "Yes, E.T. ate Reese's Pieces in that movie." We didn't run into many people until the last couple of markers, for what I think was the hardest part of the maze to get through.
Finally my 7-year-old led us down a row that none of us had noticed after four passes, and we managed to find marker 9.
But that marker's trivia question was difficult and I didn't know the answer. And in case anyone chooses the Halloween trivia passport (there are several to choose includin sports, movies and TV trivia), the largest pumpkin pie ever made was 350 pounds. I Googled it when I got home and then realized that the answers to all the questions were on the paper (upside down and tiny but they were there). A "Duh" moment if there ever was one.
We turned around in circles around marker 9 a few times but finally managed to find marker 10. The kids did a little victory dance and even the Flat Stanley visitors we had taken along marked the spot.
We thought we were done but there were still some rows to get through before we were completely out. During our final few minutes we heard someone from a group in another row say that he should pull out his GPS to navigate the maze. The kids heard that comment and gave me a pained look.
"No girls," I said, "we really didn't need a GPS to find our way out of this maze."
From start to finish, including our snack break inside the maze, we managed to get through it in about an hour. And even without our beloved GPS, it was a fun, new challenge for our family.
If you're interested in trying out a corn maze, you need to plan your outing in the next couple of weeks. Most of the corn mazes in Maine (there are large mazes in Dayton, Corinna and Caribou) are only open until the end of October. And if you're interested in an even bigger challenge, during the last weekend in October visitors can make their way through the Dayton maze at night with a flashlight.
Kids' Review
7-year-old: "I liked it when we had the flat stanleys and we jumped up when we got to number 10. We did the victory dance and then it was confusing to find our way back because after we found number 10 we still had to get out. I liked the corn box but one thing I didn't like was when my sister put corn in my mouth when she was helping to bury me (in the corn box). When she put the corn (kernels) on my neck, a whole hunk of it spilled into my mouth."
9-year-old: "What I liked about the corn maze was going on the bridge because it was a really pretty view. We could see two tractors and the ticket stand and the play area. I liked running through the maze because it was a lot of fun."
Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, October 2005
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