White Mountains

High of 56℉

It has been raining for two days, sometimes very hard, sometimes very light. Driving in from Naples, we stopped in Conway, a busy place with tourists everywhere. The train is the thing right now as it travels through the mountains with the leaves still in color, but they are past their peak now. We visited the busy train station, then went across the street for a coffee and bagel. Main Street is long and lined with shops, restaurants, ski outfitters, clothing and fudge shops. This place is active all year long with ski slopes busy in winter. 

Rt. 302 goes through the park, and despite the rains it was still pretty. Big, impressive mountains surround you as we drove through Crawford Notch. I stopped at a viewpoint and took a picture. A Jeep was stopped with the hood up and a man leaning into the engine compartment. As I approached, he asked if I had jumper cables. I did, so we hooked them up with no effect. Fooling with everything for 30 minutes, his wife was finally able to get cell coverage enough to call AAA. I hate to leave a guy in that trouble, but we tried everything we could. Probably a bad solenoid or starter. 

Martha called the only campground that was supposed to be open, but they were closed. At the junction of 112 and 3 we pulled into Living Water Campground. While Martha talked with the nice owner, Jack, I looked around. This would do fine, and he was  thankfully open. There was a nice deli and pizza shop connected. It was the middle of the day, so we could have driven on, but we would have missed seeing the mountains. Jack told us about the scenic drives through the park. He said to pick any camp spot we liked. He had shut the water off, and there is only one bathroom, but it has a shower. He said there is 30 amp power behind the office, but the prettiest places are by the river with 15 amp. He gave us the weather forecast with a low of 34 and a little snow for tonight, but getting colder over the next five days with snow every day. We selected a beautiful, grassy spot beside the Ammonoosuc River. 

After lunch, we drove part of the loop Jack had suggested. Some of the roads are main highways going through. Some are smaller, and one you pay $36 to drive through. With rain and fog, we decided not to drive that one today. Still no moose sightings, but we did see three big turkeys. These are very pretty mountains with little towns scattered throughout. Each road seemed to follow a beautiful river, although they were all very low, so they obviously need the rain. 

We went to the deli for carrot and ginger soup and a pizza. Martha was able to do some exploring on her iPad. New Hampshire and Vermont were also slated for some light snows, and open campgrounds were hard to find. On Wednesday the low will be 18℉, and snow on four of the next six days. With highs in the upper 30’s, there won’t be much accumulation, but we might not be biking this week.