Conway, NH

I woke up at 4 again this morning. Actually more like 4:30, but this time not on purpose. My body had apparently decided it was wake up time, though I didn't feel good at all. Just overly worn out I guess. After laying around for a bit trying to go back to sleep I finally got up and went to the bathroom. It was super cold out so I curled up in my sleeping bag again and eventually fell back to sleep about 5:30. Thankfully I did because I woke up at about 9 feeling much, much better. I then proceeded to fall back to sleep again and wake up at almost 10:00. That's the problem with these cool fall mornings...there's nothing pushing you at all to get out of your sleeping bag. In the summer it gets too hot to stay in a tent for too long. Not so anymore.



So by the time I finally got up, showered, packed up, and left the camp site it was nearly noon. I have no idea why it took me that long to get on the road once I was up, but it was just one of those mornings where everything seemed to take forever.



Most of today was spent driving. I decided on the most direct and non-scenic (according to my AAA map) route. Personally I thought it was pretty scenic. It went along a river with trees all around. The fall colors are definitely starting to shine through. It all looks green from far away, but from close up there's hints of all sorts of different colors amongst the leaves. I'm sure this is nothing compared to the "real" fall, but beautiful nonetheless.



I had wanted to stop for a picnic somewhere...I'm getting in to the picnic lunch thing...but alas it is much harder to find a picnic spot while driving than while hiking or biking. I ended up stopping at a taco bell parking lot and getting a burrito to supplement my "picnic" in the car. It was probably a good thing because it was cold out so it wouldn't have been much of a picnic, I didn't have a whole lot left to eat for lunch, and I really did need to get back on the road. Maine is a deceptively large state to drive across.



But I finally made it across Maine, and in to the White Mountains area of New Hampshire. It is beautiful here, though also freezing. Literally. There are frost advisories out for tonight. The warmest areas are going to be 39-40 degrees, and I'm up in the mountains. Luckily I found a hostel just a bit farther than my planned campsite that is the same price. Yeah not a difficult decision there! I had planned to cook that spaghetti that I've been wanting for a while now here tonight on their real stove, but instead i've decided i'm more tired than hungry. I think I'm going to regret that decision pretty soon here, as I'm about to go to bed and my stomach is just starting to get noisey.



Anyway, on the drive here, I discovered that this area is absolutely filled with waterfalls. If you ask me, waterfalls are about the best thing nature has to offer. I got a map of where they all are and managed to visit 3 different ones today. Each one was a short hike, which was nice because I got to get out of the car and get moving a bit. I probably hiked about 3 miles total and got lots of good pictures. I should be able to see some more tomorrow.



I have no idea what my actual plans are for tomorrow. There's tons of scenic train trips in the area, since trains were a big part of shaping the landscape and the towns out here. I've been wanting to do one but unfortunately they're all super expensive. Maybe I still will. Who knows. Or maybe I'll just drive around and see some more waterfalls and then head on to Burlington, VT. What I do know is that for right now I get to be inside and warm and cozy. Yay! Which is a good thing because it's already freezing outside (got cold just running out to my car to get something) and it's only going to get colder!