=The Overlook= commands an extensive view,--with an area of 30,000 square miles, from the peaks of New Hampshire and the Green Mountains of Vermont to the hills of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. To the east the valley reaches away with its towns and villages to the blue hills of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and, through this beautiful valley, the Hudson for a hundred miles is reduced to a mere ribbon of light. Woodstock, at the foot of the Overlook, is popular with summer visitors, and is a good starting point for the mountain outlook. * * * Let me forget the cares I leave behind, And with an humble spirit bow before The Maker of these everlasting hills. _Bayard Taylor._ * * * =Olive Branch= is the pretty name of the station above West Hurley. Temple Pond, at the foot of Big Toinge Mountain, covers about one hundred acres, and affords boating and fishing to those visiting the foothills of the Southern Catskills. =Brown's Station= is three miles beyond, and near at hand Winchell's Falls on the Esopus. The Esopus Creek comes in view near this station for the first time after leaving Kingston. The route now has pleasant companionship for twenty miles or more with the winding stream. =Brodhead's Bridge= is delightfully located on its wooded banks near the base of High Point, and near at hand is a bright cascade known as Bridal Veil Falls. * * * Then climb the Ontioras to behold The lordly Hudson marching to the main, And say what bard in any land of old Had such a river to inspire his strain. _Thomas William Parsons._ * * * =Shokan=, 18 miles from Rondout. Here the road takes a northerly course and we are advised by Mr. Van Loan's guide to notice on the left "a group of five mountains forming a crescent; the peaks of these mountains are four miles distant;" the right-hand one is the "Wittenberg," and the next "Mount Cornell." Boiceville and Mount Pleasant, 700 feet above the Hudson, are next reached. We enter the beautiful Shandaken Valley, and three miles of charming mountain scenery bring us to--