I've been a little off-topic blogging about hockey because the crazy rainfall has squelched our outdoor activities for a while.

This afternoon, the kids and I decided to take a drive by the Saco River to see if it was as bad as last October. It's one of those little side trips that we all find really interesting when we know the river is likely high. It looked as crazy as last fall. Nothing like the tranquil river it usually is in the summer.

We checked out the USGS site, which tracks the flow, height, water and air temperatures of the river. It's actually really interesting stuff.

The red triangles represent the typical level of the river at this time of year, the blue line represents how high the river actually was, well-above normal for the past couple of days.

Maine has had one soggy year with no end in sight.

WCSH6.com weather graphic

I guess the timing of my latest Outdoors with Children column about inline skating is a little poor since the soggy weather doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. When it does, you'll have to give inline skating a try. We had been having fun checking out the great trails around Portland before the rain started.