Changing Plans

Post date: Jun 8, 2016 11:15:37 PM

Sleeping was interrupted at best last night because these several days of rain have managed to help me catch a head cold. That brings the sickness count to twice in two weeks. That reminds me that I forgot to stop and purchase some medicine. Better life through modern chemistry.

I woke up this morning to the most relentess mosquitos that I have encountered. Even mosquitos from the Amazon are more tame and will at least take turns. Not these suckers. As soon as I emerged from my tent, the swarm was on, and I was the feast de jour. I could count no less than 10 immediately in front of me at any given time.

Everything is wet. My tent is wet. My sleeping bag is wet. My pillow is wet. I hate to be a diva, but I need a Snickers. Tonight, I'm getting a hotel room. No exceptions.

I'm also trying to implement the old adage, "Breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince, and dinner like a Pauper." So far it's working well. I've been ordering a large breakfast, and then eating a late lunch. Dinner at that point is optional really. I stopped in Gorham, NH at a little place called Welsh's Restaurant. It was the best breakfast that I've had since beginning this journey - two eggs, four pieces of bacon, home fries, two pancakes, raisin toast, and coffee. I couldn't eat all of it, but I could assuredly feel the sides of my stomach touching previously.

Full up on food and a quick fuel stop, I headed out for Jefferson Notch Road that would take me to the Cog Railway Station atop Mount Washington. Little did I know that Jefferson Notch Road is 10 miles of a winding gravel backwoods path cut up the side of the mountain. Hah! It was so much fun, and it was good practice for the Canadian roads that I'm sure to encounter on the way up to Alaska. Totally unexpected!

Mount Washington, like all of Maine, and most of New Hampshire to this point, was a complete disappointment because of cursed rain. The employees informed me that at the summit, the temperature was about freezing with 70 mph sustained winds. Needless to say, they weren't running. I had to settle for an overlook picture of the fabled Mt. Washington Hotel.

Back on the road, I headed for Franconia Notch State Park. The Old Man of the Mountain was nowhere to be found. I heard he collapsed from exhaustion. Haha! I did get to see the next several big things in the Notch though, i.e. Cannon Mountain, and Flume Gorge.

Any picture or video that I could show doesn't do the surrounding area, or the Gorge itself, any justice.

The Basin is also a really cool site. I was told about by a New Hampshire State Trooper after he kindly returned my license and registration sans moving violation. Gracias.

Franconia State Park in New Hampshire is a must visit.

Next, I headed to Lost River Gorge, a nearby and similar site-seeing attraction. Unlike Flume Gorge, Lost River is interactive, I'll say. You can choose to do some introductory splunking and discover hidden rooms - one room had two waterfalls in it.

So, given that my Cog Railway sidebar was a bust, I rode on through part of tomorrow's agenda and headed to Stowe, VT. I toured Ben & Jerry's to see how they make their ice cream.

I'm between a half and a full day ahead of schedule.