Rough Road

The time had come to leave the big city and return to the country. As we hoofed our bikes and bags down to the street from Blake's apartment I started laughing when I saw another loaded touring bike leaning against a bike rack. Its owner Winston lives just down the street and was about to depart for an overnight trip to a state park. After the impromptu bike tourist convention Blake was kind enough to lead the way as we rode to the base of the Williamsburg Bridge. We said our goodbyes and thank yous and pedaled off in search of Penn Station. Rach and I decided to take another train to rejoin the route, this time to a place called Hackettstown, New Jersey. Rach had last been in this stretch of America when she worked at a summer camp about 15 years ago.

We arrived at the station with plenty of time so I went in search of something to eat at a sandwich place. I was wearing my riding clothes and the cashier said "Oh that's cool that your shirt has a zipper." I cocked my eyebrow, unzipped a few inches, and said "That's when you want to share a little bit." All the employees behind the counter started laughing and I left to go find Rach.

We found our tracks, and trains, and transfers all just fine and arrived in Hackettstown in the late afternoon. Thankfully there is a campground just outside of town so we rode two-and-a-bit miles through town giving way to forest. There was a beautiful stream that ran through the middle of the state park and only one other person at the Stephens State Park Campground. Peaceful and serene.

This morning I was feeling rusty, rather than rested. Rach rode like a chipper chipmunk but I was dragging. Riding was beautiful along streams and shaded by tall forest. We took our first break at "Hot Dog Johnny's." This place is a roadside favorite for travelers. No menu. They sell hot dogs, french fries, drinks, and ice cream. This was the second visit for Rach as she had celebrated here after a successful skydive years before.

We pressed on to the Delaware Water Gap and some of the most dramatic scenery of the trip thus far. The Delaware River snakes between tall mountains on other side, massive diagonal rock faces jutting from the hillsides. This was a stretch where I felt that we had been swallowed up by time. Few cars, the rare abandoned home or barn, and the chirp of birds from the trees that surrounded us. The roads through this stretch were horrendously bad and we read they have not been repaired since damage from heavy floods years ago. The park service has placed dozens of orange cones in the worst chasms of potholes. Thankfully we emerged with both our bikes and bodies whole.

Our home for this evening is at the Bear Creek campground. A stream meanders past our site and a pair of beavers has been swimming near the banks. We set up our tent in a beautiful glen and I swapped my last book at a Little Free Library today so I have a new story for entertainment.

Today's miles: 51.7

Thank you Blake

Stephens State Park

Buttzville, New Jersey

Delaware River

Humongous Rock

Fix it!

Home for the evening