Category Archives: Maine

Rangeley Resort, My Home away from Home

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Rangeley Resort, My Home away from Home

Well I finally got here. Rangeley Resort, my home away from home for the next 7 days. I must admit that the drive has me second guessing my decision to go to Boston on Thursday for class. But I can’t change plans now because I told my pet sitter I’d be home Friday morning to take care of Rocky. Good thing I like to drive.

sign post, cabin address, home away from home

Roaming, Roaming, Roaming!

I thought cell phones did away with roaming charges years ago? I guess not. T Mobile just sent me a text that I was using up my roaming limits. They are about to shut me off if I don’t upgrade. Guess I can live without cell service if I have to.

My little Cabin in the woods.

I’m impressed by my little home away from home. If I could build my own little place this would be perfect. There’s a lovely front porch with 2 Adirondack chairs. They are much more comfortable as an adult than when I was a kid. There’s also a picnic table for eating outside. The decorative touches are wonderful from moose coat hangers to a vintage rotary phone.

There’s even a Lincoln Log set. Talk about a trip down memory lane!

The First Floor

The first floor is where I live.

Living room, dining table and kitchen

There’s full kitchen with a dining room table. I love the dish rack.dish rack

I wish I’d thought of that when I did over my kitchen at home. The kitchen dining room and living room are on an open floor plan. The living room has lots of comfy seating, a fireplace and a TV that actually works!Fireplace in living room

 

 

The washer & dryer are in a closet in the hall. A full bathroom and two bedrooms round out the first floor.

bedroom on main floor

The upper floorUpstairs bedroom in cabin

The upstairs boasts another bedroom with a TV and a bath and shower. Its so cozy. I could really fall in love with this cabin.  Although the bedroom is under the eves, the room is built so the slanted ceiling isn’t a problem. It kind of reminded me of my bedroom growing up with its slanted ceilings.

Private but not isolated.

Log Cabin at Rangeley Lake ResortMy cabin is set back into a little bit of woods. It’s private but not isolated. There are other cabins nearby.

The Main lodge has a swimming pool, sauna and hot tubs as well as a seating area and fireplace.

There is a separate fitness center located on Dallas Hill. There’s a beautiful view of Rangeley Lake from the parking lot.

If you drive (or walk) down toward the lake, there’s an “old fashioned” swimming hole. How’s that for ambiance?

In search of Rangeley Lake Resort

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First Stop Appalachian Trail

Not having much choice I continued on Route 4 looking for someone or someplace  to ask directions to the resort. I blame myself because I didn’t take the time to map out the route first and use OnStar as back-up. I hadn’t gone too far when I saw a sign for the Appalachian Trail.Appalachian Trail sign Pulling into the lot I found a text had come in from my sister. Seeing that reminded me that when on vacation you don’t get lost, you sight see.

My respects to Geraldine Largay

I was still without a cell signal so I checked out my location. On the right side of the road was a trail shelter for hikers. Slowly it dawned on me that this must be the section of the trail where Hiker Geraldine Largay got lost. The search for her and the eventual recovery of her remains were the subject of a couple of episodes of North Woods Law. Her story is very tragic. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/missing-hiker-geraldine-largay-appalachian-trail-maine.html?_r=0 It especially hit me because she was hiking alone, something I often find myself doing as well.

As I sat thinking about that I remembered one of the things that hindered the search was that there was no cell service. Geraldine couldn’t call for help and the wardens couldn’t “ping” her phone. No sense waiting here then, it’s back on the road..

The Suds and Sizzle

My next stop was at a little laundry and tanning place. The sign said open but no one was around. I must say, it looked far cleaner and well maintained than the laundromats in my area. We could take a lesson. I didn’t linger. I could see the afternoon shadows getting longer.

Dallas Hill

A mile or so after leaving the Suds and Sizzle I spotted an scenic overlook. Up until now there were only glimpses of the lake through the trees. At the overlook was a gorgeous view of Lake Rangeley.rangeley overlook

It reminded me of looking out over Lake George, where I grew up. I also could get a cell signal so immediately called the resort.

Maggie answered and told me to fear not, I was almost there. Continue on the way I was going, I would pass the IGA grocery store and then the Main lodge would be on my left. IGA grocery storeSure enough. It was right there!

I have arrived

Maggie had me checked in in no time. There are so many amenities they will take up another post.

I have a lovely 3 bedroom cabin all my own for the next 7 days.I have a pile of maps and even a list of moose watching locations. This is going to be great!

 

 

 

On the Road to Maine

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We gotta get out of this place

I am so ready for my Maine Vacation. Unfortunately life has a way of throwing a curve ball. Sweet Rocky had to go to the vet for another B 12 shot then the only time I could get an oil change for the car was Saturday morning. After that I forgot to run the dishwasher before I left for the auto mechanic so I had to do that when I got back. I turned it on and started loading the car but by the time I finished and I could retrieve Rocky’s clean dishes it was 1 pm. Sometimes I think leaving on a plane is easier than a drive vacation.

 On the road to Maine

Finally on my way I topped off the gas tank and made a stop at the bank. As I left the bank I punched in OnStar. I had no idea where I was going so I was pretty sure using their directions was the best way to go. I didn’t research it ahead of time. As expected, they routed me through Boston. They just love to do that! The traffic was so so. There was a bad accident on the southbound expressway but I was going north so traffic only slowed down so everyone could gawk, then moved on.

OnStar Strikes again

The desk at the resort told me to gas up in Lewiston Maine. I thought that meant I’d be on back roads when I got to Lewiston. But Noooo, not the OnStar way. I was on the highway and watched exit after exit to Lewiston and Rangeley pass by. I even saw one exit marked Bar Harbor. I had no idea Rangeley Lakes was so far north!

Rangeley Lake Maine

 

Eventually I got the alert to leave the highway. That began a scenic ride through various quaint little towns. I was getting restless now. I was ready to find my home away from home for the next 7 days.

You are arriving at your destination, On Left

Finally I began to see signs for Rangley Lakes region. I was starting to think OnStar had me lost. The navigation system beeped to take a left on Chandler Rd but Chandler Rd was not a through street and besides, it had a big locked gate across it. Alternate directions later I was cruising down Maine’s Route 4.

wooded road

I thought for sure I was getting close but when the Navigation said, in 1/2 mile you will reach your destination, on left. I wasn’t so sure anymore. I was in the middle of nowhere.

Sure enough when it beeped that I had arrived, the only thing on my left was a big dirt bank. I tried calling OnStar again but couldn’t  get a connection. I tried to call the resort but there was no cell service. I was truly on my own.

Moose up the Road Apiece!

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Rangeley, a town in Franklin county Maine has a population of around 1200 until the tourists come to town. Rangeley is the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a major resort area.

It looks like a June vacation will be an excellent time as far as the weather is concerned. Watch me jinx us by making a statement like that! But really. When I check the average temps the average high in June is 69 degrees and the average low is 47 degrees. Nice sweater weather. Of course they did have a record high of 90 degrees and a record low of 27 degrees. There’s been no snow in June and only an average rainfall of less than 5 inches. But if it rains there’s a bowling alley. We can all go bowling!

I want to go to Maine in June for the moose. The moose is the state animal of Maine. Moose spotting becomes an activity late spring to Mid-summer. Seems to me June falls right in the middle of that range. The best time for spotting moose seems to be early morning or evening and noon to 2 pm. Sounds like moose like to have lunch too!

Calves are born in late May to early June right on track with our June vacation . I can visualize the photos now. Early morning has such beautiful light!

One of the activities I’m thinking about is a Moose Safari. There are both walking safaris and water safaris in canoes or kayaks . I know how to canoe but I’ve never been kayaking. That would be a new adventure. Plus there’s plenty of hiking trails. Also sounds like a lot of waterfalls on these trails.

One location in particular that caught my eye is The Hunter Cove Wildlife Sanctuary, sitting along Route 4 between Rangeley and the town of Oquossoc, the sanctuary offers nearly two miles of looped, flat, hiking trails leading through moose country. The sanctuary, as well as the lakes, is home to deer, foxes, loons and other bird and animal species.

I’m used to wildlife sanctuaries. I visit them in Massachusetts all the time so this might belong on my list.

I’m ready for June to arrive and my Maine wildlife adventure to begin.

A Letter to Mom

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Hi Mom

I’m glad you liked the whale photo. The funny thing is that I didn’t even know I got it until I got back home. I took it on the very first whale watch I went on, the Sunrise Photo Safari!

It looked blurry on the little LED screen so I kept going out on more whale watches to try to get that breaching whale picture. They were fun anyway. Can you believe its just a baby whale? There’s nothing to show the scale but if Mama was around you’d see it’s only a little  2 ton baby!

I know you want to know what’s up for the June trip to Rangeley Lake. There’s not much to tell at the moment. I know Sandy is doing some research on the internet to see what’s in the area to do and see.

It all started when I did a search for the best time to see Moose in Maine. The article I read recommended Moose-head lake which is about 3.5 hours north of Rangeley Lake but there was no time share at Moose-head Lake so I looked into Rangeley and that was also suggested for wildlife…moose, bears, loons, foxes, eagles and the list goes on. So I booked the only accommodation that was available,  a 3 bedroom unit! (I think it’s a cabin)

I didn’t want to be rattling around in a 3 bedroom cabin all by myself. It seemed greedy somehow. I’d be keeping a family from getting away to Rangeley for their vacation. Then I thought, why not see if Sandy and Mom want to come. It less expensive since there’s no plane fare involved. There’s a kitchen so we don’t have to eat out every night. Everyone can have their own bedroom. Sandy will have her own car so no one has to depend on me if I’m off taking photos.

 

The best wildlife photos are in the early morning and late afternoon so I figured I’d have time during the day  to join you guys in things you may want to do and we’d have the evenings to just kick back.

Other than that, I haven’t thought much about the trip. I’m looking forward to us getting together like this. We don’t have much chance to do it with me in Massachusetts and you guys in New York. Sometimes it seems like we’re miles apart. Life is just so busy! This is a chance to slow down a little.