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!

Christmas Caboose ...

"The bell still rings for me,

as it does for all who truly believe."

                             ~ Chris Van Allsburg

                                                    ~ born 1949

                                 ~"The Polar Express"

                                            ~ published 1985

A red caboose festooned in its Christmas finery

greets train goers on their way to boarding 

The Christmas Train on the Hawk Mountain Line

in early December at WK&S (Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern, Inc.)

Railroad, Kempton, Pennsylvania.

The Hawk Mountain Line is a scenic ride of six-and-a-half

miles on track of the old Reading Railroad, running along

the Ontelaunee Creek, through the farms and woods of

Berks and Lehigh Counties.

The Gilding ...

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting

and autumn a mosaic of them all."

                                       ~ Stanley Horowitz

 

Some moments are golden, as when this man and his dog enjoy

a sunkissed Indian Summer afternoon on a path decorated with

gilded autumn leaves along the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania.

 

A World With Octobers ...

" I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

                                                                      ~ L.M. Montgomery

                                                                                  ~ 1874-1942

          This man's thoughts could well be echoing the words of L.M. Montgomery as he soaks in the October beauty at the picturesque Hopewell Furnace, Elverson, Pennsylvania.

           Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site in southeastern Berks County near Elverson, Pennsylvania is an example of an American 19th century rural “iron plantation.” The buildings include a blast furnace, the ironmaster’s house and auxiliary structures including a blacksmith’s shop, a company store and several worker’s houses. 

            Hopewell Furnace was founded in 1771 by ironmaster Mark Bird for whom Birdsboro was named. The site’s most prosperous time was during the 1820–1840 period with a brief boom in production during the American Civil War. In the mid-19th century changes in iron making, including a shift from charcoal to anthracite rendered smaller furnaces like Hopewell obsolete. The site discontinued operations in 1883.

            Today, Hopewell Furnace consists of 14 restored structures in the core historic area, 52 features on the List of Classified Structures, and a total of 848 mostly wooded acres. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is located in the Hopewell Big Woods and surrounded by French Creek State Park on three sides and the State Game Lands to the south which preserves the lands the furnace utilized for its natural resources.