Part Two.....

Almost two hours later, we were very happy to be back at the cabin....

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I was pretty pooped out though!  I really don't know why I was so wiped out, but there was no hanging off of the cabin beam tonight!  I stayed awake long enough to have a beer and chili, but everyone was disappointed that I wasn't joining them in a game of cards....sorry guys!  I think I was in bed at 7:30 that night...

We were all delighted to see that it'd snowed about 6 inches as we'd slept!  The plan was to go out and explore some more after a breakfast of hot oatmeal.  We'd go out on snowshoes.

Into the woods....

Some sort of fungus...
Additionally, we say lots of moose evidence as well as some pretty good evidence of some busy woodpeckers!

Mike's snowshoe became detached, he's getting help in securing it back on...and we were off for more......

It's always great to go off on an adventure with Joyce as she's prepared for any emergency; it doesn't matter whether or not we'll be setting off on a long day hike or simply a short one as we were on this day.  She always carries a backpack, and is prepared for almost anything...in this instance, she took out her knife to cut down a small tree which was blocking our path!

                                                         Voila!  A clear path!

Back at the cabin, it was time to pack up and leave....

Goodbye Chase Mountain!

A cold but cozy weekend in northern Maine....

 Alright, it's a holiday weekend and we are ready to head up North.....hurry up, let's go!

 Temperatures are plummeting as we head north.....

I present to you, Mt. Kathadin, the tallest mountain Maine...isn't she majestic!

Being a Maine native, you know I love my winters cold and snowy (otherwise, I would have moved out of here years ago!)...so, I was very excited when our friends, Gordy and Joyce, invited us to spend a weekend at their cabin up North....what a treat!

Once we arrived at our destination, our provisions for the weekend were unloaded and piled on the sleds which were then harnessed to Mike and Joyce and we set off...a mile or so into the woods....it was a beautiful sunny day....but pretty damn cold, we didn't waste much time setting off.

Our home away from home!

Lots of wood to burn...

Gordy got the fire started.....

Ready to set off snowshoeing!

Plenty of snowshoe hare tracks....

Exploring and taking pics.....

Checking it all out!

Heading back......

Love my Bear Paws!

 When we got back to the cabin, it was pretty warm....and we were hungry!....

Took off the snowshoes....

A warm fire.....

Now the fun begins!  (Not really....we were already having fun, I was just challenged to do this!)

The table was set

Gordy was in charge of the bacon wrapped scallops!

We had a yummy dinner of fresh salad, roast pork tenderloin, baked potatoes and chocoate brownies thanks to Joyce!  After dinner, we had fun playing a cardgame.....I lost!

The next morning.......

We had a big hearty breakfast of homefries, muffins and scrambled eggs...plans were to go off on a 16 mile x-country ski tour; our destination would be a small restaurant at Shin Pond Village.....

 Happy as we set off.....

At this point, we've skied for 3-4 miles and we were getting pretty hungry!

Major intersection!

Still smiling....

Whee!

Oops!  Not so lucky...had a spill and decided just to walk down....it was narrow and there were lots of snowmobilers around!




Gordy had driven to Shin Pond Village and skied from there....Mike decided to drive over to the restaurant with him but Joyce and I wanted to ski across the lake over to the restaurant.....

We've arrived!....Clearly, this is a popular hangout for snowmobilers!

A sign of the times....

We had the best burgers I've eaten in a wicked long time...none of those  frozen patties, these were clearly grass-fed burgers.....I apologize for not taking a picture, I was way too involved with the burger, fries and onion rings!

After lunch, the guys decided to head back to the cabin by truck, but Joyce and I were determined to ski back the same way we'd arrived...although it wasn't sunny anymore, there was little wind and the temperature was perfect for skiing.

Pretty heart shape, isn't it?

By the time we got back to the cabin, well, I was pretty pooped!!!   I was relieved that Id already prepared our dinner, chili, all we had to do was heat it up...I wasn't hanging off of the beams that night; I didn't even have the energy to play cards with the group!  I think I was in bed by 7:30....

to be continued......