It was a lucky break that I took the "last exit before toll", as that was the (unmarked) Old Mine Road I had been looking for. The road started out nice: a light-controlled, one lane stretch that carefully followed the Delaware River to my left. After a few miles the road opened up to two lanes, eventually even including a center line. There were many pull outs for hiking trails and some campgrounds. Obviously the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is quite popular (the 14th most visited destination in the U.S.) It was a relaxing ride.

While passing over the "one lane bridge" - the sign for which seemed redundant, as the road was just as wide as the bridge - I noticed a second "bridge" off to the side. I stopped to investigate. The photo below shows the second "bridge", although I couldn't find the other side of the structure. To be sure, there was a lot of underbrush, but I did walk a few dozen feet beyond the wall and never found where the source of the water was. From another photo, you can see the 20 or so feet between the currently used bridge and the mysterious structure. A mystery, to be sure!

And while walking around, I found some very old barbed wire still strung between a couple of trees, including a massive sycamore (?) tree. I don't think I'd ever seen a hardwood of this girth before. Pretty impressive.

I continued on the road, dodging potholes and enjoying the scenery. The occasional abandoned house caught my eye, but there wasn't much else along this stretch of road. Rumored to be all around me were the remains of razed houses, as this area had been condemmed for the construction of a dam. But I didn't see much, and what with all of the undergrowth, I would have been hard-pressed to notice them. And then, in a large grassy opening, was the Van Campen Inn. I was disappointed at its complete lack of "ambiance". I was hoping for some outbuildings, some half-rotten shed and maybe a tangle of vines up the side. Oh well - it was still a neat piece of history and the ride was nice. And besides, the ride wasn't over yet.

Now that the original intent of this ride had been completed, it was time to meander my way home. I kept going north on Old Mine Rd until I reached Dingmans Ferry, a high point from my ride last week. I kept going north, following the Delaware and riding off the edge of my map. My GPS had long ago run out of battery life so I just kept hunting around for odd roads, hoping that they'd go through to another road.

I tried to take unnumbered roads home and did a pretty good job of finding a few fun ones. The map posted above is not accurate, as I took so many random twists and turns I eventually lost track of them. The sun finally came out in force and I had a pleasant return to home.