The mile-high pine trees stretched their heavy, white arms over the tight, windy and wintery Wisconsin roads. The tires on my truck hummed and my headlights cast a bright eye over the pavement and surrounding pines. The drive up to my cabin swarmed us with sheer excitement. I was sharing a piece of Wisconsin art my friend Nick had never seen painted before. Living in a place like Arizona, the vast northern Wisconsin winter experience was an electrifying experience to both give and watch be received. 

We arrived at my cottage, which sat just a couple of miles east of Eagle River, Wisconsin, around midnight. As we coasted down the long driveway, we could hear the satisfying crunch of cold crisp snow beneath us.

The following morning, we awoke from our short, unsuccessful slumber, as we were too excited for the day to follow. Climbing the stairs and emerging from the basement, our nostrils were immediately flooded with the breathtaking aroma of bacon and eggs from the floor above. When we rounded the kitchen corner, Aunt Kathy was already huddled in front of the stove, preparing the warm, delicious breakfast. 

We quickly devoured the product of her work, and scrambled to put on our snow gear. Hastily moving to the outside, the northwoods air was like a wall. The crispness shocked us. There was truly nothing like it.

We breached the garage to see our two snowmachines resting, eager to give us the adventure we sought. With two swift pulls of the starter cord, the engines rumbled to life, fogging up the entire garage, as the warm exhaust groggily met the cold winter air. 

This was what we had waited for—finally, we were engulfed in the powdery snow of Wisconsin. 

Diving in and out of trees, Nick and I had the time of our lives. In what felt like minutes, we were hours in and miles away from home, surrounded by the beauty of the Northwoods.

We stopped on our sleds for lunch and one-after-the-other, both engines came to a halt. There we were, left drowning in the silence we didn’t know we had interrupted. 

While releasing my backpack from my body, I looked up and couldn’t believe what I saw. An entire family of doe and one lone, handsome buck stared back at us. We were not sure how long they had been watching us. We were awestruck; this isn’t our world, we are just a part of the big, beautiful puzzle.