6) B. Over half of Maine is unorganized territory.

7) A. Maine is over 90 percent woods.

8) D. Maine has over 6,000 lakes and ponds. And over 32,000 miles of rivers and streams.

9) B. California. Maine has the fourth longest coastline in the country after Alaska, Florida, and Louisiana. As the crow flies, Maine’s coast is about 250 miles. But if you measure all the jagged coves, inlets, and jetties, the number jumps to 3,478 miles. If you include the 3,000-plus islands off the coast, the number increases to over 7,000 miles.

10) A. Vermont is the snowiest state in the country. It gets 89 inches of snow a year. Maine is the second snowiest state, with 77 inches per year. Eagle Lake and Portage Lake (the towns near where Almost, Maine, would be) get 110 inches a year.

11) D. None of the above. Maine has more moose per square mile than any other state. But the warming climate may be changing this. Ticks are thriving as winters shorten, and they are devastating the moose population.

12) C. White pine cone and tassel (Pinus strobus, linnaeus) of the eastern white pine. The pine cone is the flower, technically. And the tassel, made up of pine needles, is the tree’s leaves.

13) True. Maine is the only state with one syllable. Six states have two syllables. Twenty-five states have three syllables. Fifteen states have four syllables. Three states have five syllables.

14) True. All other states border at least two states or no states. Maine, home to easternmost and northeasternmost places in the United States, sits off by itself and is only attached to New Hampshire.

15) False. But it’s really close. Maine has a total area of 35,380 square miles. The other New England states have a combined total area of 36,607 square miles. Aroostook County (where Almost, Maine, would be located if it were a real place) is larger than Connecticut and Rhode Island put together, and it’s not much smaller than Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

16) False. Much to my dismay, in 2011, the Maine State Legislature designated blueberry pie, made with wild Maine blueberries, as the official state dessert. But … the same year, the Maine State Legislature designated the whoopie pie as the official state treat. Because everyone (except people from Pennsylvania) knows that the whoopie pie originated in Maine.

Camilla Faulkner Lowery’s Whoopie Pie

Here’s a great whoopie pie recipe from my husband’s grandmother Camilla Faulkner Lowery from New Limerick, Maine.

Families have different recipes. This is my favorite—and, to me, the most classic whoopie pie you can get.

Cakes:

¾ cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

4 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups milk

1. Cream shortening and sugar.

2. Beat in eggs.

3. In a large bowl, sift and mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In another bowl or measuring cup, add vanilla to milk.