Heat-Moon deliberates which road to take on his eastward path. One road heads south through Ohio on the south shore of Lake Erie, while another goes through Canada along the north shore of Lake Erie. He chooses the latter. He re-enters the US just north of Niagara Falls, New York, and detours into a New York town called Lewiston before driving farther east to visit a friend who lives on Canandaigua Lake, one of the famous Finger Lakes.

The friend’s name is Scott Chisholm, and, like Heat-Moon, he is of both Native and European descent. The two men’s dialogue is often sarcastic and jabbing, illustrating that they are good friends and alike in many respects. The first morning of Heat-Moon’s visit, Chisholm enlists Heat-Moon’s help building a stone wall. The grueling job takes all day, but Heat-Moon feels refreshed and invigorated by it. He also realizes that the wall will likely still stand long after the two men have passed from the earth.

While visiting Chisholm, Heat-Moon takes a slight detour to spend the day with the Masucci family, an elderly husband and wife who occupy a small farm. These are folks of Italian heritage, and the ensuing conversations revolve around their experiences as immigrants in the new world, mainly in Rochester, New York.