I had a phone with Google Maps directions strapped to my handlebar but didn’t need it much as I’ve learned most of the route by now. Every time it feels less outlandish to do this ride, to the point where I might just spontaneously do it again this summer if I find myself awake early. This year I got an early start, never stopped for snacks, and only occasionally stopped for pictures, which together brought me in far earlier than I’ve managed before.

The route (minus the blocks right around my house for privacy):

Earlier this month we took a family trip to the “Three Forts” along the lower Delaware—Fort DuPont on the Delaware side, Fort Mott in New Jersey, and Fort Delaware right in the middle (okay, it’s officially Delaware, meaning our hosts were the excellent staff of the Delaware Park Service). This weekend I went back with the two older boys on an overnight campout.

The island is only accessible by ferry. Most nights, the entire staff disembark back to Delaware on the last ferry (we joined them last time) but for the first time in anyone’s memory, they had this campout. If our family didn’t scare them they might make it a more regular event.

We camped out in the old marching ground right inside the fort and got to walk around all of the safe parts of the fort. In addition, the staff had lots of great programs:

• Scavenger hunt
• Paranormal ghost tour including the normally-closed Endicott Tunnel
• Campfire with s’mores
• I did the nature trail on north side of island in near pitch black
• A night vision workshop about how nocturnal animals see in the dark (rods and cones in the eye).
• The camping of course
• In the morning there was a guided nature walk where we learned about birds and mammals on island.

And because I like shooting time lapse videos lately, here are two. In the first the sun rises over the river. In the second we ride the tram from Fort Delaware to the ferry dock. If you’re interested in low-res videos of bridge crossings, spooky night wanderings, or ghost sightings then follow the links. There’s also a more complete Flickr set of the trip.