Summer Morning At Rex's Bridge ...

“It was a splendid summer morning and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong.”

                  ~ John Cheever

                   ~ 1912-1982

A stunning summer morning frames the historic beauty of Rex’s Covered Bridge, North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania in late August.

Though diminutive in size, it’s well-traveled in this picturesque rural area where it crosses the Jordan Creek.

The wooden 150-foot-long Burr Truss bridge was constructed in 1858. It has narrow horizontal siding and a gable roof. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Blanketing Bogert's Bridge ...

"Stillness is the flower of winter,
all hope waits beneath a blanket of white."
                                     ~ Author Unknown

Snow blankets the historic Bogert's Covered Bridge, on which sunset shadows dance
on a still January day in Lehigh Parkway,
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

I stood knee deep in snow taking this shot a
few days after the historic Blizzard of 2016, 
the peaceful scene in stark contrast to 
the recent storm.

In a winter shorn of snow until the blizzard,
the storm plonked  31 inches of snow on
Allentown in a 24 hour period.

Bogert’s Covered Bridge spans 145 feet over the Little Lehigh Creek in Lehigh Parkway.

 Built in 1841, it’s history traces back to the mid-1700s when the Bogert family moved into a log cabin next to the future site of the bridge. It is the oldest covered bridge in Lehigh County and among the oldest in the country. It is open only to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, as well as the occasional rider on horseback.

 Bogert’s  Covered Bridge is a wooden Burr Truss bridge with vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Winding Into Red ...

"Nothing behind me,

Everything ahead of me,

As is ever so on the road." 

                              ~ Jack Kerouac

                                                 ~ 1922-1969

                                            ~ "On The Road"

                                                                     ~ 1957 

Though shorn of snow, it's a chilly December day

as the country road winds through the historic Schlicher Covered Bridge,

North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

What lies ahead is the beautiful rural landscape at sunset ...

and endless possibilities.

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.

 

Covered In Christmas ...

"Remembrance, like a candle, burns brightest at Christmastime."

                                                                                                              ~ Charles Dickens

                                   ~ 1812-1870 

                                                               

Festooned in Christmas lights, the historic Wehr's Covered Bridge, Orefield, Pennsylvania sparkles with the joy of Christmastime on a December evening.

Wehr’s Covered Bridge is an historic wooden covered bridge located in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. It is a three span, 117-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1841. It has horizontal siding and a gable roof. It crosses the Jordan Creek and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The nearby Wehr’s Dam was built in 1904.

This beautiful bridge has seen travelers for 174 Christmastimes, but the true beauty is the reason and meaning of the season - the birth of Christ - which is timeless and remains the same.

Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas everyone!

Jersey Autumntide ...

"Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees."

                 ~ author Faith Baldwin

                                 ~ 1893-1978

A beautiful pop of autumn color blazes brightly in the hilly terrain of historic Phillipsburg, New Jersey overlooking The Northampton Street Bridge as viewed from across the Delaware River in Easton, Pennsylvania at a November sunset.

The Northampton Street Bridge - commonly called The Free Bridge - that spans

the states was completed in 1896 and survived massive flooding from Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990 and is one of my very favorite places to photograph.

 

                                              

 

A Summer Place ...

"There's a summer place ..."
           ~ "Theme From A Summer Place"
                                      ~   1959                                          

You can almost hear the strains of "Theme From A Summer Place" on a perfect August evening at Manassas Guth Covered Bridge, South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

The historic wooden bridge that crosses the Jordan Creek was constructed in 1858 and rebuilt in 1882. It is a 108-foot long Burr Truss bridge with vertical siding. It was placed on the  National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 

Spanning ...

 

"Winter makes a bridge between one year and another
and, in this case, one century and the next."
                                                        ~ Andy Goldsworthy

A recent view of the historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called
The Free Bridge, looking toward Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The bridge
spans the Delaware River between Phillipsburg and Easton, Pennsylvania.
The Free Bridge was completed in 1896 and survived the massive flooding
of Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990. 

Painting Autumn ... Video

Norah Jones' wistful "Painter Song" colors my original video, "Painting Autumn," a celebration of nature's beauty in this colorful season.

Out of The Past ...

"No man is rich enough to buy back his past."
                                                                    ~ Oscar Wilde

An autumn view this weekend from inside Wehr's Covered Bridge, Orefield, Pennsylvania. The bridge was built in 1841 and restored in 1965.
 

Reverie ...

"One of the best things about paintings is their silence - 
which prompts reflection and random reverie."
                                               ~ Mark Stevens

The Hockendauqua Creek flows beneath the historic Kreidersville Covered Bridge this weekend, creating a painterly scene.  Built in 1839,  the bridge in Allen Township, Pennsylvania, is the only covered bridge left in Northampton County.