Sugaring The Kittatinny ...

“He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.”

                    ~ John Burroughs

                         ~1837-1921

A sugar dusted portion of the Kittattiny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, stands in majestic silence after a December snowfall on a winter afternoon at Lehigh Gap in this high contrast monochrome shot.

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.

                    

Majestic Silence ...

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”

                        ~ Ansel Adams

                           ~ 1902-1984                                           

A still and silent, majestic beauty echoes on an early August evening as I looked up to see a sliver of the moon peeking down on a portion of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, at Lehigh Gap in this high contrast monochrome shot.

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.

God Bless America ...

“While the storm clouds gather 

far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free.

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God bless America, land that I love,

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans white with foam,

God bless America,

My home sweet home.”

                  

                ~ "God Bless America"

        ~ written by Irving Berlin in 1918   

                   & revised by him in 1938

                  ~ Kate Smith’s signature song

The spirit of America and the spirit of the open road that only a motorcycle can give meet on the General Thomas R. Morgan USMC Bridge, Slatington, Pennsylvania, just before the Fourth of July.

I loved seeing the bridge festooned with American flags leading up to Slatington Baptist Church, founded in its current location in 1900. To me, this image quintessentially proclaims, “God Bless America!”

The signs on the lampposts designate Slatington, established in 1864, as the Blackboard Capital of America.