[Journal for Fieldtrip 13A of the QMIII Project, Northern Maine, February 20-23, 2013] During this trip, I (Bill Menke) downloaded the Wesley seismometer, met with personnel at U Maine Presque Isle, and inspected the Hay Lake seismometer.

February 20, 2013. I left Lamont at about 2PM and drove north to Maine. At 8:45 PM, I stopped for the night at the Super 8 Motel at Exit 109 on the Maine Turnpike in Augusta Maine.

February 21, 2013. The morning was overcast, with occasional flurries. I continued northward, leaving Interstate 95 in Old Town and stopping for a few minutes at the site in Greenbush Maine where we ran a seismometer during our June 2010 fieldtrip. About two feet of snow lay on the ground. Last year, some of the property had been sold to the company promoting the Passadumkeag Wind Park, because it provides good access to nearby electric transmission lines. I was not surprised to find the site unchanged since our last visit, for subsequent to the sale, the state declined to issue a permit to the Wind Park.

I continued eastward, along Route 9, and reached the Wesley Forect Service Garage where we are operating a seismometer at about 12:30P. The station appeared to be undisturbed, although the contents of the garage had been rearranged somewhat since my last visit. I opened the cabinet and examined both the station processor, which was functioning normally, and the geophone, which was still properly-oriented and level. I then shut down the station, downloaded its memory to my notebook computer, and restarted it. I waited until the station processor indicated an "OK Status" before closing the cabinet back up. While I was working, Brian, a member of the Forest Service drove up and he filled me in on local happenings. I had brough up a poster of the "Machias River at Log Landing Campsite", a beautiful nearby site that I visited and photographed last year, and this spurred conversations about other scenic sites in the area. I packed up and left about 2:30 PM

I then tried to drive to Hay Lake, to inspect another of our seismometers. Unfortunately, the route is long and circuitous - almost as in the Burt and I (Maine commedians) "You cant get there from here" skit - and I was further slowed by heavy snow. I did not reach Shin Pond Village, the nearest habitation to Hay Lake, until well after dark. I gave up on trying to reach Hay Lake that night, and instead ate dinner at the Village (really a resort) and chatted with its proprieter, Terrie Hill. The Village had no vacancies, so I headed to Ashland, where I hoped to stay the night. Unfortunately, Route 11 north of Mt Chase was closed, owing to a jackknifed tractor-trailer. So I reversed direction and drove rather farther than I had hoped to Houlton, another town with motels. I stayed the night at Ivey's Motor Lodge.

February 22, 2013. The moring was sunny and beautifully clear. I drove north towards Presque Isle, where I had a 1PM meeting. I encountered clouds again just south of that town. I had time to spare, so I stopped at Aroostook State Park, donned my snow shoes and took a two hour hike up Quaggy Jo Mountain. About two feet of good quality snow was on the ground and yesterday's snowfall had decorated many of the trees with a thick blanket of white. The North Summit of this steep little hill commands great view of the surrounding territory, which is otherwise flat, with lakes, farms and patches of woods. I hiked a figure eight, first to the North Peak, then through the saddle between the North and South Peaks and to the back side of the mountain, and then up onto the South Peak. I made two brief stops, one to examine a lean-to set a little below the North Peak and another to examine a cell phone tower on the South Peak. I met three other snowshoers as I hiked.

I then drove to the Univerity of Maine, Presque Isle. The sky had cleared once again, and the scenery was really quite beautiful. I walked around the campus a bit. It consists of about ten brick buildings, the largest of which is called Campus Center. A tall wind turbine is set at the south end of the campus. I met with two members of the faculty, David Putnam and Chunzeng Wang, for about an hour and a half, discussing with them my aspirations for the QMIII project, and asking their advice on a number of important issues. After wrapping up our meeting, David Putnam led me to Route 163, to Ashland. Once again I was on my way to Hay Lake

I stopped several times along the way, at fields, wetlands and rivers, to admire the view. Route 163 was new to me, but once I connected with Route 11, I was in territory that Vadim Levina nd I had driven many times last year. I was able to compare green-spring and white-winter views of many familiar and beautiful spots. Though I did my best to hurry, I reached Hay Lake a few minutes after the sun had set, but fortunately while the light of evening was still bright enough to see by. I was glad to find that the solar panel of the seismometer was free of snow, and that the site appeared to be in good condition. While I had been prepared to remove snow from around the panel, this proved unnecessary, for the snow in the field by the Forest Service facility was only about two feet deep. I did not appraoch the installation, for I did not want to disturb the snow-covered site.

While the sky was now completely dark, the night was still young, it being only 6 PM. I drove for several hours, reaching Waterville at 9PM. I stayed the night at the Budget Host motel, at exit 127 off of Interstate 95.

February 23, 2013. The morning was overcase and heavy snow was predicted for the evening and following morning. I had accomplied all my objectives, and I decided to drived straight back to New York, rather than to linger in Maine (which I might have done on a sunny day). I encountered some light rain in western Connecticut and southern NY, but arrived without incident back at my home in Tappan NY at 3:30 PM.