Yep, this is it.

Trail Head blog entry #500.

It's been an awfully fun and interesting run in a relatively short period of time. And I'm incredibly thankful for this most wonderful opportunity to blog about that which is most dear to my heart: the Maine outdoors.

Many thanks to my great friends at MaineToday.com for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime chance, and for encouraging and supporting me along the way. You all rock!

Thanks to all of you, my Trail Head reader friends, some of whom I know, but most I don't. You're all good friends in my eyes. Many, many thanks for reading. Thanks for your thoughtful comments and opinions and snippets and wisecracks.

That's just what this cyber-spot is all about: a place to exchange news and commentary and opinions and advice about something we love so much--our outdoors.

Here we've run the gamut from hiking and canoeing in Baxter State Park to backpacking the Grafton Loop Trail, from mountain biking around the Portland area to crashing down the rapids of the Kennebec River in a raft. Day hikes all over the place, ski trips to Sugarloaf and Sunday River. And a hundred other outdoor adventures around Maine and sometimes beyond.

We've kicked around the tough and controversial issues of Plum Creek and Moosehead Lake, wind power near the Appalachian Trail, Katahdin Lake, and even a canoe and kayak tax. Issues of importance to us will continue to make news as development pressures increase on Maine's woods and waters.

And we've learned that, yes, you really can get your car caught in an avalanche, drink the case of beer that you had stashed in the back seat, and pee your way to safety. As well as determining that Bleacher's in Portland might well be the center of the universe for many outdoor enthusiasts seeking critical post-activity sustenance. Or is it Bray's? And, of course, there was the infamous pooper-peeker.

In any case, this has been a whale of a good time for me. And I hope for you, too. Again, my thanks to you all. I hope you'll continue following along for the next 500 Trail Head blog adventures, and continue to add your two cents and then some.

See you along the cyber-trail...

The Trail Head says, "Be happy, go outdoors, have fun. Play now, work later."