Early Spring On Leaser Lake ...

“I saw that my life was a vast glowing page and I could do anything I wanted.”

                       ~ Jack Kerouac

                               ~ 1922-1969

A man paddles his canoe amidst the vast beauty of early spring on Leaser Lake, in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.

Spring is the time of new beginnings, and boundless possibilities lie ahead as he charts his course while a late March sunset waits in the wings.

I shot this scene on the day before Easter, and the nearby church bells were chiming “I Love to Tell the Story,” the wonderful Gospel hymn written as a poem by English evangelist Katherine Hankey in 1866. It was set to music by William G. Fischer in 1869. The refrain, always appropriate but especially at Easter, is, “I love to tell the story, ‘twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” It was wonderful to hear that as I walked the trail looping around the lake on this warm evening.

Leaser Lake’s namesake is Frederick Leaser, an American patriot who in September 1777 with his farm team hauled The Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown where it was concealed in Zion Reformed Church for protection during the Revolutionary War. His homestead is located one mile north of the lake.

Leaser Lake was built by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for water-oriented recreation and opened for public use in 1971. Lehigh County leases this area from the state and operates and maintains the park. The land north of the lake was purchased by the county in the early 1970s. It is entirely wooded and is used for nature study and as an addition to the State Game Lands No. 217.

Winding Winter Way ...

“The road is life.”

                   ~ Jack Kerouac

                             ~ 1922-1969

                                         ~ “On The Road,”

                                                     ~ 1957

Standing near the Lehigh Valley Zoo at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania offers a beautiful winter vista overlooking the historic Schlicher Covered Bridge in North Whitehall Township.

Game Preserve Road becomes a winding winter way through the bridge, painting a picturesque rural landscape on a March afternoon.

Schlicher’s is an historic wooden covered bridge. It is a 108-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge that crosses the Jordan Creek and was constructed in 1882. It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was closed for a time for needed renovations.

Still December ...

“All human beings are dream beings. Dreaming ties all men together.”

                  ~ Jack Kerouac

                                 ~ 1922-1969

The stillness of a late December day standing by a partially frosted Lehigh River at Lehigh Gap is the perfect place for dreaming and reflecting. Always take time to dream!

I captured this high contrast monochrome shot near the Lehigh Gap Bridge, which spans the river in the shadow of the Kittatiny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain.

The Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

The Lehigh Gap Bridge was built in 1930 and rehabilitated in 1984.