The Travelin Maine(rs), George and Linda Smith of Mount Vernon, have spent their lifetimes enjoying all that Maine has to offer. Now they’ll tell you all about it — their favorite inns, restaurants, trips, activities, experiences, and travel books and websites — in their own personal style. They’ll be offering anecdotes, tips and all the details you need. So join them in exploring, experiencing and enjoying the great State of Maine.

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The stunning view from First Settlers Lodge in Weston unites the old and the new Maine. From the huge windows that run all across the front of the lodge, you look left and see, across a wide, forested valley, First Wind’s towers across the tops of two distant hills. To the right, you see the magnificent mastiff of Mount Katahdin.

The lodge is on a section of Route 1 designated as a scenic highway, and there’s actually a turnout right across the road so travelers can enjoy the spectacular view.

This has been our favorite northern Maine lodge for many years. We returned in March to make sure the new owners, Susan and Steve Mine, who purchased the lodge last December, are maintaining the high level of hospitality, comfort and food provided by our friends Elbridge and Judy Cleaves, the former owners. The good news is simply this. Yes they are!

LINDA

When I dream of a nice camp up in the north Maine woods, I dream of a cozy, knotty-pine camp with a fireplace. Well, First Settlers Lodge is like that, only dream bigger.

You enter the enormous “Great Room,” where one wall is faced with windows all the way up to the cathedral ceiling. There is a variety of seating nooks where you can enjoy the stone fireplaces, put a puzzle together, or play checkers or cribbage at the game table. The knotty pine reaches all the way up to the two-story peak, making this room huge.

Susan and Steve Mine welcome you and make you feel right at home. In just a few months, they’ve done a lot of painting and rearranging. They have many ideas for the lodge in the future, and we’ll enjoy seeing those unfold.

They strive to meet your needs and make your getaway as comfortable as possible. Breakfast is included with the room, but they also offer lunch ($8 to $12) and dinner ($18 to $25) options. Susan bakes her own bread and loves to cook, and Steve is often in the kitchen cooking, too.

When we turned out for our morning meal at the time of our choosing, we were asked, “What would you like for breakfast?”

We asked for suggestions and quickly decided to go with Susan’s recommendation: baked eggs over homemade toast, home fries and bacon. We also enjoyed juice, fresh fruit and coffee. When we woke up that morning, I tiptoed down to the dining room to grab a couple of cups of hot coffee for us — always ready early every morning.

You may order a hot lunch at the lodge, or if you plan to be on the go that day — a bag lunch. We enjoyed our lunches of a nice salad with grilled chicken, well-received after a long snowshoe in the woods behind the lodge.

Our first evening meal of chicken parmigiano was unique and delicious — no tomato sauce on the breaded chicken — just a yummy Parmesan cheese topping served over egg noodles, with a salad, followed by a brownie and ice cream for dessert.

For dinner our second night, Susan made George really happy with an Atlantic salmon dish served with an orange sauce. My New York steak was perfect, and the twice-baked potatoes were incredible.

All the pampering makes you feel like you’ve gone home for the weekend and your Mom is waiting on you, trying to make your stay perfect.

GEORGE

I discovered this amazing place many years ago when the Board of Directors of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine held its annual planning retreat here. Linda and I have returned many times for weekend getaways in all seasons.

The lodge is ideal for small groups and has a special meeting room downstairs that accommodates up to 30 people. State agencies and businesses know their way to First Settlers. We arrived just after a group of quilters who took the whole lodge for their get-together.

This area is a sportsman’s paradise. Down the hill behind the lodge lies East Grand Lake where I’ve enjoyed fantastic fishing for smallmouth bass and landlocked salmon. The ITS snowmobile trail passes right behind the lodge. Linda and I love to snowshoe from the lodge to the lake through the woods. So much to do! So much time to do it!

Steve is an avid sportsman who served as President of his hunting club in New York. He works with local guides to give the lodge’s guests the very best experiences — from kayaking remote rivers, to hunting bears, deer and upland birds. Goose hunting is especially good here. And they’ve got some great ATV trails in this area, accessed right from the lodge.

The lodge is close enough for day trips to Mount Katahdin (55 miles), Calais and Moosehorn Federal Wildlife Reserve (one hour) and other Downeast destinations. Canada is right next door. The boreal forest that many bird watchers seek in Maine is plentiful here. Have you ever seen a Boreal Chickadee? This is the place!

The lodge offers five super-big rooms featuring beds and sitting areas sleeping 3 to 6 people per room. An upstairs “bunkhouse” sleeps eleven people. As soon as Steve finishes remodeling the upstairs suite, it will be a very special space. Our favorite room is number 24, with stunning views of Katahdin from the windows across the front of the room, and a nice look at East Grand Lake out the side window where a small table offers the ideal writing and work space. The dining room also overlooks East Grand Lake and features birch-bark curtain rods, something I’ve never seen before and really liked.

You can stay here for a third of the price of similar accommodations in other areas of the state: only $85 for double occupancy — including breakfast — in the winter, $125 in the summer. Facilities include a small kitchen off the Great Room with a full-sized frig and microwave. For the price of one night elsewhere, you can stay here (and eat here) for the weekend. First Settlers offers incredible value.

I am particularly enamored of inns and lodges that provide all my meals, places where I can spend a weekend in my slippers. First Settlers Lodge is that kind of place. There’s plenty to do here, especially in the great Maine outdoors, but even though you are right on Route 1, and 20 minutes from Houlton, you are also sufficiently isolated so you don’t have to deal with the need to “do something.” This is the place to relax, read and reflect.

Visit George’s website: www.georgesmithmaine.com for travel tips, book reviews, outdoor news and more.