About Aroostook County, ME

Trail rides, poker runs, public suppers, silent auctions, dances with local music, children's christmas parties, beano, bingo and fun working on improving trails. Something for everyone so no reason to stay inside with a tv remote in one hand sitting on the couch while old man winter passes by slowly. Join a local Maine snowmobile club, take a turn running the tucker or groomer, help finish off that bridge over a river, cut a new trail thru the brush, put up signage so tourists on snowmobiles don't get lost and help them find gas, lodging, places to eat. Snowmobiles are a big economic boost to the Maine economy! The average sledder with the price of gas increase, spents close to $175 a day when you figure lodging, eating, gas, parts, sled registration, insurance and payment. But the sights you see, the wildlife, the cool fresh air, bright sunshine or entering a snow squal and being cozy with your friends in a small log cabin in the woods with a fire going. Get serious about more excercise this winter. Loading and getting a snowsled unstuck in new powder will help you work out and get an appetite too! The new Katahin Cedar Log Homes product Oakfield Maine clubhouse for Smoki Haulers is just off Interstate 95's Exit 286 and easy to find. Come up for the day, the weekend or the week. Plan to ice fish, get in a little skiing, but riding thru expertly groomed trails no matter what Maine system you are on. ATV's are gaining popularity although every snowsled trail is not open for ATV usage as they can damage a field or rut up a road in early spring. With snowsleds, the trail in on the top of layers of snow and frozen ground so damage is minimal if riders stay on the trail. What are trails in Maine like before you get here? The Maine Snowmobile Association has the skinny on where the winter trail riding is best! Another site more focused on this northern end of the state of Maine is outlined at this snowmobile trail site. Signage on the ITS trails is also not just to help sledders locate gas and vittles. There are safety concerns with part of a lake that is not frozen and a bridge that may be under repair or in an area of wood harvesting where sharp corners and big trucks coming at you on a fast moving sled can mean danger or death. The signage for sharp corners, bridge ahead, trucks entering all help the snowsled tourist that is passing thru know what to prepare for. The new machines have liquid cooling so heated radiation strips under your feet, heated handlebar grips and electric thumb warmers. You can hide behind the windshield but with a sled helmet and face shield , turtle fleece neck warmer and the right jacket, bib pants and gloves, you do not need to be cold. The Linneus SnoSports is below!

The Meduxnekeag Ramblers Snow Sled Club Covers The North/West Section Of ITS Trails Around Houlton, Maine! You See Their Well Light Groomer Going At All Hours Across The Fields And Thru The Woods of Aroostook County Maine! Come Sample The Fine Food (Breakfast Most Saturdays During Sled Season) And Fun Times With Poker Runs, Cross County Skiing Around The Clubhouse And Moosestompers Weekend! Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides For The Whole Family! These Sled Clubs In Littleton, Oakfield And Linneus Are Rentable For Family Functions Like Weddings, Reunions And Parties Too! What A Setting ! Next To Cary Lake! Come See What You Are Missing!

When considering moving to a new area, its nice to know the hospital there has all the specialties. Houlton Regional Hospital on Hartford Street has everything from OB/GYN's to cardiac specialists to out patient clinics of all kinds. Physcial therapy is handled expertly at Positive Steps and routine industrial medicine is processed efficiently at Company Doc. Visit the Houlton Regional Hospital website here. Learn about a variety of HRH events here. The CEO of HRH is Thomas Moakler who does a fine job of keeping spirits high and running the facilty professionally. He knows the workers, their families on a first name basis and is not stuck in an executive office like some hosptial heads. Tom is very involved in the community and has a daughter that was the best Maine tennis player in the state a few years back. His wife is a nurse too so he knows the hospital from every angle with her input. The Houlton Rotary Club auctions off Boy With The Leaky Boot pewter statues that raise $1000 each to help the Houlton Regional Hospital Foundation raise additional monies for equipment and technology. To date close to 500 statues have been sold in the fund raiser. Houlton Maine and Southern Aroostook are very fortunate to have high quality health care providers and a top knotch facility here in the county seat of Aroostook. In addition to an emergency room that serves Houlton's town Ambulance, other providers in outlying towns to the north, west and south bring the sick and injured to the hospital's ER. The staff in the ER also is well know around the state, serving as instructors to keep other facilities Maine certified. Continuing education and incentives to further learning are well used by the staff that exceeds 300 at Houlton Regional Hospital. The ER also has a Life Flight helicopter landing pad and communication devices to monitor and keep the patient stable on the ground at a full care facility with the shortest time in the air offered to improve survival rate of sick and injured patients it serves. The hospital is just off Interstate 95 which makes ambulance access short and efficient which benefits the patients of all ages that HRH serves. You don't consider how fortunate a good health care facilty is until your loved one needs it.

Northern Penobscot and Washington Counties in Maine have ambulance runs to HRH. In rural parts of Northern Maine, the local communities are grateful to have such a well run, well staffed hospital like Houlton Regional in Southern Aroostook. The Presque Isle rrea is served by Aroostook Medical Center and in Caribou, Cary Memorial Hospital is part of the city's community structure and like HRH, are vital partner in the area they serve in Northern Aroostook County.

When a buyer is considering a move to Houlton Maine, there are usually five questions that get asked if they know they want to live in Maine...just not sure which town. First, tell me about your schools. Second, what is your hospital like? Third, how much snow do you get? Fourth, is there a well run parks and rec program?(Yesss!) And fifth, do you have a library and how extensive is it? We've covered the other areas in earlier blogs so Cary Library's turn on Main Street in Houlton, Maine. As a child I remember going into the old original stone library and the second floor being glass! You could walk on it, see somewhat thru it and as a little guy I thought that was pretty neat. The older section once the new large addition was added is used more for a special children's library complete with a summer reading program to get youth to know the joy of reading early on. In this section too is a large fireplace and during the Christmas holiday, there is a fire going and a special story time. When someone near and dear passes away in Houlton, there are many worthwhile charities to give funds to in memory of the loved one. When you give fifty dollars to the library, they send a nice card to the family, indicating the list of books that were purchased in memory and along the lines of what the person enjoyed. You get a real insight into the person from their hobbies and past times. Cary Library is located at 107 Main Street, on the corner of Broadway and in front of Monument Park where the Houlton Amphitheatre built by the Houlton Rotary Club hosts McGill's Band. Two sites to visit for the library...one site was set up in part by Bert Audette who worked their summers. Another site is very detailed explaining the state of Maine's extensive library network, the geneology department which is a home to rich history in the Southern Aroostook area. The original library was constructed back in 1903 with a $10,000 donation from Andrew Carnegie. The structure that is a vibrant center piece to Houlton Maine, the County Seat of Aroostook is on the Historic Register.