Activity: Vacationing
Location: Lovell, Maine
Cost: Not much.. food, beverage, and gas
When I am on vacation, in February, in Maine... I am tempted to leave the state and get to warmer temperatures... which would be fairly easy considering my Dad and stepmom are in Florida... but... this year...this winter, I have been working hard to embrace winter and really enjoy Maine...being active. I decided to do a stay-cation... staying home...or at least close to home...
I have already shared some of my other adventures during the week, Pound class, Mills Brook Preserve, a Full Moon trek, and XC Skiing...
This post... is about hanging out with friends and enjoying where we were!
Part I...
On Wednesday Gladys and I got in the truck and headed to Lovell to visit our friends Meg (human) and Bella (yellow lab). We had packed outdoor gear including snowshoes and lots of layers! We had also packed some food and... birthday presents for Bella... who was turning 1!
Gladys and I went there when Bella first came home... last April. Other than her parents and siblings, Gladys was Bella's first canine companion. At the time Bella was enamored with Gladys... she followed her everywhere... if Gladys sniffed a rock, Bella sniffed the same rock. Gladys was a little unsure about this puppy... Gladys had not been around a lot of dogs since she has lived with me... a few that we have walked with but none that she was around for long periods of time.
This was them... look how little Bella was!!
They got along well and when we had left to go home, Gladys looked away from me... and kept her back to me the whole way home. The next time we saw Bella she had grown A LOT. Gladys didn't recognize her right away and wanted nothing to do with her. Bella was persistent. Then, in a moment that was comical, Gladys tilted her head when looking at Bella, then looked at me and Meg, and then started playing with Bella... as if she recognized her friend and understood she was the same puppy. Gladys is a pretty chill dog...most of the time... and Bella's puppy energy has been, at times, too much for Gladys. So.. our visits have been short... they have done well, but visits were a little stressful for me and Meg!
I can be a nervous Nellie when it comes to dogs.. Gladys is my first dog and at times my uncertainty about other dogs makes Gladys uncertain and sometimes a little gruff. So... as you saw from the Mills Brook Preserve I try to have her do activities with other dogs, activities where they are busy but get a chance to interact.
So... knowing we were going to stay at Meg and Bella's for a few days... I was a little unsure how it would go... We got to their house and had the girls greet each other outside... Bella can be off leash which is nice... Gladys cannot. She would take off... and she doesn't come when called unless she really wants to... so.. I keep her on leash. (I have had other people condemn me for that, but... I have to do what I feel is best for us.. and a leash works!) The tricky part of being on leash with other dogs is getting tangled... I know it is a big risk. Bella sometimes has a leash in case she needs to be pulled away...Anyway... the girls greeted each other with a lot of excitement... Gladys was reluctant at first, trying to stay away from Bella but Bella was persistent. Eventually Gladys gave in and pounced from snowbank to snowbank and seemed to welcome the wrestling match! (Bella is about 80 pounds... Gladys is 40 lbs... Gladys looks bigger because she is so fluffy!!! She is actually pretty petite.) They settled down pretty good after this...
And to tire them out even more... we decided to go snowshoeing behind Meg's house... she said there was a trail to the lake... I was all in! We got ready to go, layering up and got the snowshoes on... and headed out...
I should mention that there is A LOT more snow in this neck of the woods than in the Portland area... A LOT... crazy difference actually!
When Meg had said there was a trail...basically what she meant was there were open areas that led to a road that is unused in the winter... she did not mean there was a trail that had been recently used... so.. we were breaking trail... and even with snowshoes were sinking several inches with each step!
I didn't take many pics on the way down because we were working so hard. We took turns leading and at times were side by side creating two trails for us to follow on the way back.
The dogs were troopers... they were leaping through the snow... it was too deep in places for them to walk... so if they were breaking trail, they needed to jump/leap to move ahead.
At one point I got tangled up and took a pretty good fall... face first. It was no big deal... except that it is how I learned that Gladys IS very protective of me... Fortunately we haven't been in many situations where her protectiveness has been tested...
This is what happened... I fell, face first... (sorry there is no video!) into the snow... Bella saw this as an opportunity to grab my hat... apparently she has a thing for hats and mittens. And my hat... had a pom pom... Bella wanted it.. so I was face down on the ground, holding onto my hat to try to prevent Bella from getting it... the hat was still on my head as I was holding onto it and trying to get Bella away... (Meg was trying to get to me to help get Bella...) in the meantime Gladys thought Bella was trying to kill me and proceeded to get between me and Bella and tried to lay the smack down on Bella. Bella was not easily deterred.. and Gladys got pretty pissed. I was glad she was protecting me but also didn't want her and Bella to have a real fight... I managed to up myself enough to hold Gladys while Meg was able to get Bella away from me enough for me to stand up. Once Gladys was sure I was okay and saw me give Bella some love... Gladys seemed to be okay and even wagged her tail a bit at Bella and let Bella lick her head... so all was right in the dog world...
Eventually we got close to the lake...
...and imagined what this house would be like on the inside on a snowy day...
Then we decided to go back to the house... I assured Meg it would be easier on the way back because we had a trail to follow... Meg reminded me that the way back to the house was UPHILL... which was still pretty hard!
I am not sure how long this adventure was... but we were out there for just over an hour... and we were working hard.
On the way back the dogs were smart... followed our trails)
Sometimes Bella followed Meg too closely, stepping on her snowshoe... which made Meg say all kinds of colorful language!
We made it back to Meg's house and Meg collapsed... for dramatic effect... Bella found her soccer ball...before she realized Meg was down and was wearing a hat... They battled for a bit... it was pretty funny.
We got inside and relaxed for a while... the girls wrestled a bit and even cuddled for a few minutes...
We made a great dinner. Meg was very thoughtful... knowing I am doing weight watchers, she had found some good recipes. We had beef and broccoli for dinner. We had help in the kitchen...
When we get together we play cards, canasta.. a card game my mom taught me and I have since taught Meg.. it is a fun game... and it takes a lot of experience before you feel like you know what you are doing. Meg has played for a few years now...and has even beaten me a few times!!
Before we played cards we celebrated Bella's birthday... notice the party hats! Meg had gotten some dog cookies from a pet bakery for the celebration. The girls were very interested in those cookies!
We played cards as the dogs fell asleep.... It was a good first day!
I was so happy Gladys and Bella were getting along!
Part II
Meg had planned for us to walk on the Mountain Division Trail that is on the ME/NH border. When we got there we were surprised to see that there were a lot of snowmobilers on the trail. We didn't feel like snowshoeing there was a great option. We decided to go back to Meg's and see if we could get closer to the lake...following our broken trail and going a little further...
But on the way back to her house we turned down Frog Alley... (You know an adventure awaits if you are turning onto a road called Frog Alley!)
Meg knows a lot of people here... so we parked across from someone's house that she knows... and climbed over a gate that blocks off Hemlock Road during the winter.
There were a lot of snowmobile tracks here too... but the tracks were wide and there was plenty of room... so we decided we would give it a try. We strapped on our snowshoes and climbed over a big snowbank and stared trekking along the river.
It was BEAUTIFUL!! This was one of my favorite parts of my vacation!!
It had snowed a bit that morning... and the fresh snow combined with mild temps made for some sticky snow... So.. snowballs kept accumulating on the back tread of my snowshoe.. I kept trying to stop to get them off, but it was a pain in the butt... I decided that I was going to take off my snowshoes and walk without them... I figured the snowmobile tracks were pretty packed down and we would probably be okay...
Since this was at the beginning of our walk I didn't want to carry the snowshoes the rest of the way...I stuck the snowshoes into the snowbank to pick up on the way back...
I am not sure I would recommend leaving snowshoes in a snowbank... I am sure people could have taken them... but I decided to take a chance. (They were there when we returned!)
We walked for about 1.5 miles to get to this beautiful covered bridge, Hemlock Bridge.
The covered bridges in New England are so pretty... I love that they have been preserved!
Looking out the window of the bridge at the river...
I will definitely be coming here to kayak this summer!!
(There is parking near this bridge when the road is open!)
I LOVE this photo of me and Gladys... with the snow that had blown off some of the trees...
and... In this photo I feel like I can really see the changes in my body... see that I am becoming more athletic. And I love that Gladys is just looking off to the side... A perfect winter photo!! (Spoiler alert.. this may be next year's Christmas card!)
We headed back to our trucks... the sky was getting more cloudy...
Bella ran ahead... then would return to us... and there was some wrestling matches between he girls...
See... the snowshoes were still there!!
Not long after picking up our snowshoes the dogs got into a wrestling match.. and somehow in the midst of it... a plastic part of the leash hit my knuckle... hard... oh my gosh did that hurt!! It was a pretty good bruise for a couple of days... I am glad that it didn't break my knuckle!!
Then when we got back near the truck... we decided to keep walking without our snowshoes... despite the snow being much less packed... We were able to do pretty well... then I got to the big snowbank between the trail and our trucks... I managed to have one of my feet sink at the wrong time and fell, again face first, down the snowbank... landing on an icy parking area... fortunately I did not break anything!! (After falling a few times at the Mill Brook Preserve, falling the day before, and this fall... I think I was becoming pretty good at it!)
We returned to Meg's.... Meg had to go to work for a few hours... I was responsible for the dogs...
Fortunately they did a lot of sleeping!
Meg returned from work we had another healthy dinner... and another birthday cookie for the dogs!
Peanut Butter Moose! Clever...
Gladys eats much more slowly than Bella... and Gladys gets very protective of her food... so we kept them apart for the treat portion of the evening...
Even after the treats were gone... Bella approached the area where Gladys had eaten and Gladys made it known that any crumbs were hers...
That made me a little nervous, but Meg was great and reminded me that dogs manage things in their own way... and Gladys was telling Bella who was boss... She was right... Bella submitted and then they were fine... Geesh!
We had a couple more rounds of canasta while the dogs had some wrestling matches... and all was good!
Part III
Friday we got up to a beautiful blue sky and mild temperatures. I wanted to get home to do a few things and to have the weekend at home before heading back to work....but before we left we went for a nice walk...
There was more wrestling than walking... Gladys was often the instigator!! She has quite a hip check!
The sky was so blue!
Gladys was so happy to have had time with Bella... I am so happy they had time together to really be dogs... They are going to miss each other until their next visit!
Gladys slept the entire way home and as soon as we got home she curled up in her bed and slept for hours!!!
It has been a great vacation!! I wish it was longer, but I sure did make this week count!
I really had fun...embracing winter... embracing being outside in winter... and really enjoying it!
I hope other people are enjoying it too... whether on vacation or on the weekends...
We are lucky to live in Maine...
Get outside and enjoy it!
