Move your mouse over the map above - you should see an open hand. Place the hand anywhere on the map and double click the left mouse button. You will zoom in and center on that point. You can do this again and again. An alternative is to use the "plus", "minus", and "arrows" in the upper left of the map.

Day 3: {near point "G" on the map}

JUNE 3, 2008 – Riverton, Pa. to Stillwater, N.J., 30 miles.

            Life in the slow lane continued for us today, as we spent the better part of a day covering the distance a car eats up in a half hour. But averaging less than 10 mph, we savor every yard and foot so much more than any driver. The smells, sounds and sights assault and delight us – aromas from backyard barbecues, front- yard flower gardens and roadside skunks are all more vivid and persistent.

            Road highlights: A mailbox fashioned out of an Evinrude outboard motor near Riverton , Pa. A huge chainsaw sculpted bear wearing military camouflage (the message here?) near Blairstown, N.J. Two REAL black bears (no camo, none needed) near Swartswood Lake. School kids near Walnut Valley, N.J.,  yelling “Cool bike!!” and “Rock on!”  as I passed. No wolf whistle, but I’ll take what I can get. 

            Yeah, I know we are supposed to be averaging 60 miles per day, but we had a dinner date in Stillwater and couldn’t miss it. Our hostess was Tina Keppler, who some may remember was the New Jersey genealogist who last summer helped me unravel the mystery of Mary Ferrier’s 1876 tombstone.  A clearing crew had found the marker on a lot off Shaws Flat Road in Sonora and Tina helped me trace Mary’s family back several generations and forward clear to a few living descendants.

            “If you ever get to Stillwater, stop and see me,” she said once our research was done.

            “Appreciate it,” I said, all but certain I’d never visit a reviled national armpit like Jersey.

            But here I am, charmed by the green hills and pastures of the Garden State. Before meeting Tina we decided to take in a dose of local culture at the Stillwater General Store, which doubles as the deli, the post office, a political round table and a gossip swap shop.

            We ate our sandwiches on it wooden porch and listened to gadflies within dissect the town’s committee members.

            “He’s GOT to go,” said a woman circulating a recall petition against the committee chairman.  “He spends like a drunken sailor and, you know, when he was a business manager in Philadelphia he exported 200 jobs to Eastern Europe..”

Cripes, after five minutes of such righteous vitriol I was ready to vote against the guy myself.

            Over dinner Tina explained that Republicans run the conservative little town and such general-store mudslinging is simply inter-GOP warfare. The town’s few Dems, since their own party is an afterthought, often register Republican so they can vote for a candidate who really might win in the primary.

            “There are political vendettas that have been going on for years here,” she said. “People around here know each other too well.”

            Kind of like Mayberry with a Jersey attitude.  Kind of like Sonora.

            We stayed in a yurt last night, at Swartswood Lake State Park. Rain beat on the roof until dawn.