October Riverscape ...

“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.”

                   ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

                       ~ 1804 ~ 1864

A man stands on the banks of the Lehigh River and takes in autumn’s beauty as sunshine and temperatures that soared into the 70s fashioned a beautiful October afternoon along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

I captured this shot this after setting out from the Cementon Trailhead of the D&L Trail in Cementon, Pennsylvania, part of the Asher F. Boyer Eagle Trail section of the D&L.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

 

Summer Riverscape ...

“The life in us is like the water in a river.”

       ~ Henry David Thoreau

            ~ 1817 ~ 1862

            ~ “Walden”

              ~ published 1854

Folks enjoy a sun splashed late July afternoon on the Lehigh River along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) on a perfect day in summer, my most favorite of seasons.

I captured this shot this after setting out from the Cementon Trailhead of the D&L Trail in Cementon, Pennsylvania, part of the Asher F. Boyer Eagle Trail section of the D&L.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

 

Steel Blue ...

  “The man who has done his best has done everything. The man who has done less than his best has done nothing.”

            ~ Charles M. Schwab

           ~ 1862 ~ 1939

    ~ American steel magnate, President & Chairman of Bethlehem Steel ~ under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second-largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturers in the world.

The iconic rusted blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel in Southside Bethlehem, Pennsylvania stand tall along the Lehigh River, framed by the green leaves of spring against a steel blue sky, on a gorgeous early May afternoon along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

I captured this scene after setting out from the D&L Trailhead at Sand Island, Bethlehem.

Bethlehem Steel was an American steel and shipbuilding company that began operations in 1904 and was America’s second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder. The company’s roots trace to 1857 with the establishment of the Bethlehem Iron Company. Bethlehem Steel stopped producing steel in November 1995, and the company was dissolved in 2003. It was one of the world’s leading steel manufacturers for most of the 20^th century.

Much of the former home plant of Bethlehem Steel, the second largest steel manufacturer in the nation, has been transformed into SteelStacks, a ten-acre campus dedicated to arts, culture, family events, community celebrations, education and fun. SteelStacks has indoor and outdoor venues, hosting festivals, concerts and community events.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

Steel blue is a shade of blue color that resembles blue steel, i.e. steel which has been subjected to bluing for protection from rust. The first recorded use of steel blue as a color name in English was in 1817.

Winter Gap ...

 “Is not January the hardest month to get through? When you have weathered that, you get into the gulf-stream of winter, nearer the shores of spring.”

                      ~Henry David Thoreau

                           ~ 1817-1862

The Lehigh Gap Bridge spans a frozen Lehigh River as the light of a looming late January sunset reflects in the icy waters and shadow dances on the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, at Lehigh Gap in this painterly, HDR image.

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 Trail (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.

Sunset Mirrors The Lehigh ...

“Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.”

           ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

                ~1803-1882

A gorgeous mid-December sunset mirrors in the Lehigh River along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail), Easton, Pennsylvania. The faint lights from buildings along the river can be seen in the distance.

 

I captured this after setting off from the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the D&L Trail at Delaware Canal State Park.

 

The Forks of the Delaware is the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers where Phillipsburg, New Jersey and Easton meet; it is where the Lehigh River merges into the Delaware River.

Phillipsburg and Easton are both historic Delaware River Towns. Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and was named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. Easton was founded in 1752.

The trail is positioned between the Delaware River and Delaware Canal, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.