Our trip to the Great North Woods. part 1

I can already see that I'm not going to fit all of our week-long getaway into one blog post.  It looks like maybe the first two days will be more like it for this one.   WARNING: there are many, many photos in this post!

Above, you see the view from the front steps of our cabin.  This is also what we saw every time we were sitting in the dining area.  (If you are interested in learning more about the cabin where we stayed, you may go here.  This cabin is called Drake.)  We have been coming to this area for 20 years for getaways, most of them in this very cabin.  At this point it feels like coming home!

So let's see.  We headed up north on a Friday.  We were blessed to enjoy breakfast with friends visiting from out of state,  prior to finishing up our packing and heading out.  Then we had to drop Mr. T's work truck off at a place where work would be done on it in his absence.  Yikes -- getting the truck dropped off entailed me driving our minivan, packed to the gills with food, firewood, luggage, craft and reading materials, games, and a kayak lashed to the top.  Not my cup of tea, but we got through it and hopped on I-93 north.

We had skipped lunch, so when we were about half way to our destination we stopped at McDonalds for some sustenance.  I think it was around five in the afternoon when we arrived at the cabin.  Mr. T unpacked the van while I handled getting everything put away inside.  His very next move was to get that kayak out on the lake while he still had daylight to enjoy!

The cabin we were in is the smaller brown cabin with the porch.

While he was happily paddling (and snapping pictures) I was working on our supper: our traditional first night meal of

ZESTY CHICKEN CHEESE SOUP

1 can whole kernel corn (don’t drain)
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (don’t drain)
1 small can diced green chilies (optional)
1 can premium chunk white chicken, flaked
8 ounces velveeta-type cheese, cubed

In heavy saucepan or dutch oven, combine everything except the cheese and begin heating these ingredients while you cube the cheese. Add the cheese to the saucepan and continue to heat, stirring until cheese is melted and soup is piping hot.

This recipe came from an early Quick Cooking magazine and is the fastest soup you will ever make -- just a matter of opening cans, heating and stirring -- and is also delicious!

For a getaway, I serve this simply with tortilla chips.

That night we didn't actually get to see a sunset, but the sky and lake were lovely.  The two photos below are taken looking toward opposite ends of the lake.

Saturday morning, we walked down the road to the iconic Tall Timber Lodge for breakfast.  Wow, what a beautiful place!  Such a rustic vintage lodge atmosphere.  The fireplace photo below is from a previous visit to this dining room.  We have not ever stayed at Tall Timber (though that may be in our future!) but have enjoyed breakfast there several times.

After a leisurely, relaxed breakfast we walked back to the cabin and headed out for a drive and, hopefully, a hike.  Rain was in the forecast, but maybe not until afternoon, so we decided to try for some outdoor time.

This turned out to be a good decision. It was cloudy, but that just made the colors of the foliage stand out more beautifully. 

There are networks of dirt roads up here, mostly owned by logging or paper companies, but the public is allowed to drive on them, using caution and common sense.  We needed to go out Magalloway Road to get to the hiking trails we were looking for.   This was Saturday, so maybe that's why we didn't need to make way for any logging trucks.

The road that leads to the trailhead for Garfield Falls is off of Magalloway Road and not too well marked, but after retracing our steps we located it.  What looks like a road to nowhere widens out a bit and there's a NH state kiosk and a clean, well maintained rest room.

I expected the trail, which is only about a mile, to lead uphill a bit or just be a walk in the woods.  It turned out to be a very steep downhill trail and was a bit muddy, but it was okay.

 I didn't go all the way to the bottom, where the river was.  Mr. T did, and took these photos.  This is the East Branch of the Dead Diamond River.

 

These pretty leaves were on the trail.  Rustic steps like the ones below were in various places along the steep trail.  They were helpful!

 
After our hike, we took a bunch more photos on Magalloway Road as we tracked down the trailhead for Magalloway Mountain, which Mr. T planned to hike on Monday.

 Berries like those above were everywhere along the road.  So pretty!

When we got back from this expedition, we ate a very late lunch and then went to visit with our old friend Charlotte at her cabin.

It amazes me that way up here in the middle of nowhere, Charlotte's roses and other flowers bloom beautifully and last well into the fall.  This photo is from a previous visit, but the roses were blooming even more prolifically than this!

The rain that had been threatening all day finally put in an appearance, so we enjoyed a cozy evening in front of the fireplace.  Mr. T had brought plenty of nice dry fir, and a snapping, crackling fire soon resulted.

What a lovely day it had been!