After enjoying a delicious banana split yesterday afternoon, Folker recommended we head out to find us a nice camping spot for the evening. We figured this expedition might take a while with the abundance of no trespassing signs in the area.

After riding for a little while, we talked to a local and he said all the no trespassing signs were due to all the glorious hunting opportunities. Folker and I continued and as long as we are moving forward and down the route, we have absolutely no complaints or worries.

Nine miles down the road from his massive banana split consumption and Folker sees a sign off the main road on a jeep trail. The sign says “Horse & Rider Welcome No Dogs Allowed Except Fox Hounds.” Let’s check this out, shall we? War Dog and Tank are our horses and we are the riders. We have no dogs, this could be the spot. Yes, this is definitely the spot!

I already knew Folker sleeps heavy as I have tried to wake him up in the middle of the night once before. How he slept through the pack of coyotes howling, yipping and barking a few separate times around midnight is beyond me. Having heard this last summer on the GDMBR for the first time, I laid there and wondered if Folker was hearing all of the commotion. Nope. He absolutely heard none of it.

We had a short riding day mileage wise to our campsite where my family will join us for the evening for the last time on this adventure until we finish early next week. We decided to sleep in until we had daylight to help us vacate the prime sleeping spot with no stress. Believe me when I tell you, Folker got his money worth as far as plenty of sleep.

The sunrise was something special as the red orange sun came up slowly over the mountains. It was a picture perfect start to our day.

Soon we were rewarded with a short gravel road experience, which was mostly down hill to the Harlem Valley Trail. The Harlem Valley Trail is yet another New York rail to trail masterpiece. I personally think it would be hard to find New York’s rival in the rail to trail quality.

We jumped on the Harlem Valley Trail at Wassaic and were soon into our silent rhythm. Folker made a stop to take off his jacket and pants and I checked my email via my iPhone.

Bad news is never easy to receive. Folker was back a little ways as I read an email from the Taekwondo school where Chase earned his Black Belt. I was shocked and saddened to find out a young instructor had passed away. I was gutted. I eventually was able to tell Folker that if I was going to receive bad news, I am lucky to be where I was this morning to receive the news so I could pedal and digest it all in this peaceful environment.

We soon made it to the end of our time on the Harlem Rail Trail and found a nice cafe for an egg sandwich on ciabatta and a coffee in Millerton. While in a good spot with WiFi, we decided to stay at the cafe and stream the F1 race in Belgium. It was a very good competitive race and we thoroughly enjoyed watching.

We departed the cafe and made our way across the state line to Connecticut. New York was a treasure from the very beginning to the end. New York, New York! Well done New York, well done.

Only a few miles from the campsite and I was getting excited about seeing the family. I pulled up their blue dot on my iPhone and watched them catch Folker. Unfortunately, I turned off on a back road and they stopped at a grocery store in town so a road side greeting did not happen today. I am now impatiently waiting their arrival at this amazing resort like campground.