Terri dropped me off this morning at the spot where she picked me up yesterday. Very soon after that this old-timer stopped on the shoulder to ask me for directions:

This is not the first time this has happened and I’m always happy to oblige with my google maps iPhone. I think this guy was Jim and the look of delight on his face when I explained what I was doing was priceless. We decided that he should go left. He immediately got in his car and peeled off to the right. Go figure.

What follows is a set of images of what I saw today, often without comment — the beauty speaks for itself.

Lots of drinking water in them thar stainless towers:

A creative idea if you have a guard rail outside your home:

I couldn’t figure out what this water structure was; note the massive retaining wall on the left:

Here’s where it flowed out:

and this close-up shows a murky, oil-like substance being mixed in:

I have no idea what that is, but a little further on this sign at least clarified what the water structure was (I was glad not to have fishing tackle with me!):

“The road that stretches on ahead …”

A turret for you, Alison:

All of these pictures were taken during the first half of today’s walk, when I was on 670, heading for Pleasant Mount, where 670 joins with 371. It was a LONG slog uphill to get to Pleasant Mount and I was expecting great things. Instead, I got barked at by half a dozen dogs and all the shops were closed and for sale.

I had almost reached the 10-mile mark by this time. I have been finding that I reach a bit of a wall at this point, and that further progress requires more of an act of the will. This was especially true today when I turned north on 171 and all the earlier beauty was replaced by a series of (mostly) trashy shacks, albeit intermingled with a few nice farms.

My daughter Diana is to be in the vicinity this weekend for a “Fall Teen Getaway” at Camp Iroquoina, and is bringing with her a few things I’ve asked for (as well as taking home some things I shouldn’t have packed in the first place). She has promised to drive over from the camp on Saturday night to wherever I am and bring me to the camp for a shower and good night’s sleep.

So at midday today I thought — why not do the same tonight? I phoned over to Joe Plantz at camp and asked him a big favor — would he be willing to pick me up and drop me off tomorrow? It ended up being a 30-mile drive (each way) for him, so it was a big sacrifice. I probably shouldn’t have asked in the first place, and just camped out on the property of the first trashy shack owner that would have me. But I’m sure glad to be here now; familiar ground and plenty of familiar faces. Here are a few that some of you will recognize; the indomitable Joe Plantz is on the left:

So it was a super day today — a record nearly 18 miles, terrific weather. The only real downer is that I developed a blister on the side of my heel, probably because I didn’t heed the advice of several people to switch my shoes every day. But I’ll deal …

Meet Terri and Joe:

I met this awesome couple last night when I was getting a bite to eat at the hotel. Terri actually appeared in a picture a few days ago — she works at the hotel here. She was off duty last night and having dinner with her husband, Joe, when we got talking about my trip. They offered to put me up for Thursday night, in spite of the fact that they lived in the opposite direction to the way I was going. They love people and entertaining and have generous spirits. I readily agreed, given that I was looking at another night of camping.

So I set out this morning full of good cheer after my day of reset, and with the prospect of a warm bed later in the day. What a beautiful day it turned out to be, after all the rain predictions. I left at 8:15 and walked through town:

I came across this vestige of the Delaware-Hudson canal:

Here’s a typical road picture:

Here is a strange sculpture, made entirely of short lengths of wood:

with a detail of the tail:

By noon I had covered nearly 10 miles and found this lovely little park in Honesdale where I sat on a park bench for a nap and some lunch:

Jeanie Avery:

in the United Methodist Church office allowed me to use the bathroom and then fired off an email to the church prayer list regarding my travels.

This proud antique car owner thought I was the doppelganger for his neighbor, but wasn’t much interested in my trip:

Here’s a shot of leaving lovely Honesdale:

At this point I was finally off Route 6 and onto the much less busy 670:

After a long uphill climb I reached the charming town of Bethany, apparently originally the (Wayne) county seat until Honesdale got that privelege:

At 15 miles I phoned Terri and asked her if she was sure about coming and picking me up; there was a campground just two miles ahead. She assured me that she and Joe wanted to have me over and left to pick me up. I reached exactly to the campground when she arrived. We bundled everything into her car and drove to their 100-year-old home right on Lake Ariel:

By the time I had showered Joe was home from work and we spent a truly lovely evening, first on the porch looking out over the lake and then inside enjoying an excellent dinner. Joe is an architect and his flair for design is present throughout their house. It was a great evening spent with a special couple and I’m energized for another great day tomorrow.

On a technical note, Matthew has added a new tab — SIGHTINGS. I will press my locator button from time to time during the day and the map there will show my position. My starting position for the day is also shown, together with the google maps walking directions between the two points, which is almost surely how I walked it. So if anyone is curious about where I am during the day, just go to SIGHTINGS.