Sure, walking in a winter wonderland is nice.  But snowmobiling through one is so much better.  And this past weekend, that’s exactly what Hubby and I did.

On Thursday night, we left for St. Germain, Wisconsin with friends and a trailer full of our snowmobiles.  With the boys going to the grandparents’ house for the weekend, we were set and ready for an little vacation time up north.

After about a six and a half hour trip, we arrived in St. Germain.  And after checking in, we went to a little restaurant/bar right near our hotel.

Friends.  We walked into this little place…Sisters Saloon.  And. I. was. smitten.  Seriously!  It was so darling!!  This little bar was all decked out in wooden walls and log beams and it was just so NORTH WOODSY.  Scented candles burning up at the bar.  A little wood stove with a crackling warm fire.  Christmas lights hung ALL OVER THE PLACE.  Christmas tinsel swooping over the curtains.  It was like something you’d see in a Hallmark Christmas movie.  (Hallmark channel at Christmas time is my absolute FAV.)

So, we ordered up some late night supper and enjoyed our first evening up north.

After filling our bellies and having some good laughs, we went back to our hotel rooms to settle in for the night.

You guys.  Once again, I felt like I was in a Hallmark Christmas movie.  Seriously.  Look at our hotel…

Yes, the driveway into our hotel, Whitetail Lodge, was lined with Christmas lights.  #darling

They believe the same way I do.  Leave those Christmas lights up right through January.  No need to take those babies down.  Stay festive, my friends.  Stay festive.

When we entered into the lobby, this is what I saw…

Did someone tell them I am a BIG FAN of Christmas decorations??  It’s like this hotel and I were meant to be.

Needless to say, our lodging was so nice.  Reasonable, clean, and so cute!

On Friday morning, we woke up and rode our snowmobiles (sleds) over to meet up with more friends who came up the night before.

We rode all day Friday and had so much fun.  I could share about a few mishaps (Me tipping my sled as I went around a corner.  No injuries, thank goodness, just my pride.) (Angie’s sled blowing up…not literally, but kind of.) (Me falling down SLICK stairs and landing on my lower back…ouch!), but the most important thing was that we all had FUN and we were all safe.

We rode for about twelve hours on Friday.  Riding snowmobiles is kind of like spending a day in the gym.  You feel like you did shoulder shrugs or some other type of weightlifting that strained your upper body.  Your lower back feels a little achey from the bumps along the trail (and if you were like me…from falling off of slippery ice-packed steps.)  And your knees…oh.  My knees got a great work out from standing up and down on my sled, to brace myself from the bumps on the trail.  At one point, I realized that if I keep this up, my knees will be so buff and ripped that even Demi Moore would be jealous of my sleek and muscular knees.  Anyway.  After a great ride, we called it a day.

Saturday morning we woke up, ready to go back out and ride.  This was probably my favorite day.  I had a day of riding under my belt and felt more confident and at ease.  We headed out and the northern Wisconsin landscape was just breathtaking.  There was a light fog over the lake and in the woods, making you feel like you were in a winter wonderland.

We rode on trails through the woods, along roads, and across lakes.  Now, let me tell you…these lakes are completely FROZEN.  As in, trucks are out on these lakes, with people setting up their ice fishing huts.  So, no worries, friends.

The thing about riding with thirteen people is this:  your chances of having sled mishaps increase by about five hundred percent.  Which is what happened when we were on Big St. Germain Lake.  One of our guy’s sled blew up (or broke or WHATEVER…it stopped running and was DONE).  (Yah, I’m not real mechanically minded, am I?).

Here’s the thing.  When you have Arctic Cat sleds and Ski Doo sleds, there’s bound to be controversy over which sled is better.  Clearly, when Josh’s Arctic Cat sled quit, then this was a golden time for Casey (Ski Doo owner) to be all “helpful and kind and full of sympathy” (COMPLETE SARCASM HERE).  But this is where guys and gals are different.

Guys will huddle around the broken down sled, trying to decide:

a.) What went wrong?

b.) Is it fixable right now?

c.) What is the next step of action?

Gals…well.  What do WE think during moments like this?  That this is a perfect PICTURE TAKING OPPORTUNITY.  So, Sandy snapped some pics of some of us on our sleds…

Then, we took more pics because it was just sooooo beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

After our photography session and when the guys decided that towing the sled would be what needed to happen, we headed for a warm spot to wait while they drove to get a trailer to take the sled back to the house.  And again…another cute place to hang out!

After warming up here and with an extra sled to spare, we were back on the trails…ready to roll.  And then, a belt blew on another sled.  Yep.  But that is easy to fix (according to the guys) and they caught up to us gals on the trail in no time.

By evening, we had put some miles on our sleds and stopped back at the DARLING little bar Sisters Saloon for supper.  Appetizers, supper, and drinks were enjoyed by all.  Being in Wisconsin, I felt it necessary to order these:

Hubby felt it necessary to order these:

And so, we ate and then cruised on to another spot on the lake.  But by this time, I was feeling like a million bucks an achey breaky tired mama.  So, after a little more fun, we called it a night and headed back to Whitetail Lodge.

It was a great weekend with great friends!  Not to mention…I felt like I was living out a Hallmark Christmas movie…that was just BONUS.

I recommend northern Wisconsin to all.  It’s beautiful and clean and so much fun!  Hubby and I plan to bring the boys up here…they’ll love this place!

Not to mention how picture perfect it is 🙂