• I Missed a Few

    On my way to Sullivan County, I took the opportunity to visit a few covered bridges that I had not visited before or failed to photograph for the blog. Outside of Allentown, I took a look at the Bogert Covered Bridge. This area was busy on a sunny Monday holiday, so I took a few photos and got the neck out of there. Bogert Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge is a 145-foot-long (44 m), Burr Truss bridge, that was constructed in 1841. It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It was restored by the Allentown Parks Department

    Moving on to Columbia County, the Sam Eckman Covered Bridge was the first of three that I know that I have seen before. The bridge is a wooden covered bridge located at Greenwood Township and Pine Township. It is a 65.1-foot-long (19.8 m), Warren Truss bridge constructed in 1876. It crosses Little Fishing Creek. It is one of the 28 historic covered bridges in Columbia and Montour Counties. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

    This distinctive farm is nearby.
    A barn I saw on my travels. It has some notable stars, which look like they are for sale.

    Next was the Jud Christian Covered Bridge, a wooden covered bridge located at Jackson Township and Pine Township. It is a 63-foot-long (19 m), Queen post truss bridge constructed in 1876. It crosses the Little Fishing Creek. It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. I remember some interesting cattle near this bridge when I visited before, but, sadly, they were no here on this day.

    Little Fishing Creek.
    An adjacent farm with some really neat buildings.

    The diminutive Shoemaker Covered Bridge is another wooden covered bridge located at Pine Township. It was the lone new-to-me bridge in this bunch. is a 49-foot-long (15 m), Queen Post Truss bridge constructed in 1881. It crosses West Branch Run and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is all decked out for a picnic. It might be privately owned but is not posted.

    Finally, the Wagner Covered Bridge is one of the relocated covered bridges in Pennsylvania. It currently sits near the entrance to a housing development. The Wagner Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that was originally built in Locust Township. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The bridge was dismantled on March 23, 1981, and the pieces stored at Knoebels Amusement Resort until it was rebuilt at its current location in Hemlock Township. When built in 1856, this historic structure was a 56.5-foot-long (17.2 m), Queen Post Truss bridge with a tarred metal roof. It originally crossed the North Branch of Roaring Creek. When I first saw it years ago, it was covered in graffiti. It is looking much better today.

  • Almost Home

    Here is a look around the area near my aunt’s farm in Greenwood Township, Columbia County from the opening weekend of rifle deer season. Sadly, no one had any luck that weekend.

    Some curious cattle on my grandparent’s old farm.
    Muddy Run runs through the farm.
    The neighbors have a nice looking eagle carving.
    My cousin’s house is quite windy, and the flag takes a beating. It has to be replaced often.
    The pond at this property is relatively new.
    One of the fanciest dairy farms in the County (no relation).
  • Some Very Special Bridges

    Columbia County is home to a unique pair of bridges. The Twin Bridges, named East Paden and West Paden, are located on Huntington Creek. They were constructed in 1884 by W. C. Pennington for $720, and are named after John Paden, who operated a nearby sawmill. Twin Bridges County Park was created in 1963 when a new road bypassed the bridges.

    The original West Paden was washed away by floods waters in June 2006. It was reconstructed in 2008. The bridges are open to foot traffic and contain picnic tables. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    The rebuilt West Paden Bridge – you can see a bit of the new road bridge to the left.
    A very refreshing dip in Huntington Creek.
    The view from the side, and picnickers with the downward view.
    The shady inside.
    The entrance from the East Paden side.
    A view from the park of both bridges.
    Inside East Paden.
    Casting an interesting shadow.

    Now for a bonus bridge – down the road a short distance is the Josiah Hess Covered Bridge. It has a deep woods feeling compared to the Paden Bridges. You can walk through this bridge.

    The Josiah Hess Bridge.
    A very shady interior.
    Down the side, from the other end of the bridge.
  • And They’re Back …

    This past Labor Day Weekend was spent trying to see the covered bridges in Columbia County that I had not previously viewed. I was able to see the remaining bridges, except the Lawrence L. Knoebel Covered Bridge inside Knoebels Grove, which was skipped due to the holiday weekend. It wasn’t visible from the road. The weather was nice this day, unlike on some of my other recent covered bridge adventures. I’ve put most of the rest of Columbia County’s bridges in this post, leaving a special grouping until another day.

    The Columbia County bridges are painted red, although some do have white trim. All but one of the bridges pictured below are in the southern part of the county, south of Route 80.

    The Krickbaum Covered Bridge
    The Richards Covered Bridge
    The Johnson Covered Bridge
    Parrs Mill Covered Bridge – access to this one is blocked, and I’m not that ambitious.
    The Esther Furnace Covered Bridge
    A good side view here.
    The Davis Covered Bridge
    The Snyder Covered Bridge.
    Good access for the side view here.
    The Hollingshead Covered Bridge near Catawissa.

    I had also previously missed the Covered Bridge in Briar Creek Lake Park near Berwick (and north of 80). I manged to accidentally photograph this one in black and white. Don’t ask.

  • Not Covered Bridges

    Today we have a temporary break from covered bridges. On my trips to photograph these bridges, I come upon other interesting stuff. In fact, one of my all-time-favorite shots, was a picture I took after turning 180 degrees around from a covered bridge. The idly curious can check out the first shot on this post. Here are some views from around Columbia County:

    Nice view of a campground across a lake. Near Esther Furnace Covered Bridge.
    I really like the hand-made star and red and white paint on these buildings.
    This really lovely barn is near Benton.

    I also made my way over to Frances Slocum State Park in Luzerne County that same weekend.

    Labor Day action at Frances Slocum.
    A peaceful fishing spot on the lake.
  • A Little Bit of Lake Jean

    i spent this past Labor Day at Ricketts Glen State Park. I avoided the crowds on the Falls Trail and spent the days photographing covered bridges and other nearby areas. The cottages on Lake Jean are some of my favorites in the state park system.

    The front of the cottage faces the lake.
    Sunset on Lake Jean. This view is facing east, so there is better view …
    at sunrise. Seriously, I am never up this early.
    Expressing how many feel, at a nearby location on Route 118.

    The park was open, with some restrictions on check in times and requirements for mask usage in bath houses and park office buildings. Some facilities, such as the boat rental, were closed. Most things seemed to be operating normally.

    I did see some interesting birds just sitting outside the cottage. A bald eagle, Canada warbler, a possible vireo, great blue heron, as well as a number of more common species such as chickadee, white breasted nuthatch, robin, chipping sparrow, catbird, and mallard.

    As an added bonus, below are a few shots of holiday activity at Frances Slocum State Park in Luzerne County.

    The lakeside is a popular area.
    He had this fishing pier all to himself.
  • The Roaring Creek Trail … by Car

    Sunday, October 13 saw the return of the annual Roaring Creek Trail drive through. The drive through is a unique opportunity to drive on the Roaring Creek Trail in the Weiser State Forest. This multi-use trail is normally restricted to vehicle traffic. The drive-through began at 9:00 AM, starting at the Route 42 parking lot gate. The gate was open until 2:00 PM.  Traffic was restricted to one-way travel on the 8-mile Roaring Creek Trail and exited at the Route 54 parking lot gate.  All vehicles had to exit by 3:00 PM.  Passenger vehicles only (cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs, passenger vans, motorcycles) were permitted to enter.  Enter the trail in Columbia County and leave in Northumberland County.

    Kline’s Reservoir at the Route 42 side of the trail.

    The Roaring Creek Tract features three large reservoirs currently maintained by Aqua PA. The reservoirs are in a valley surrounded by steep hillsides. The surrounding area is state forest land. Boating is permitted in two of the reservoirs. Fishing is also permitted, and the trail is very popular with hikers and cyclists.

    This event was very popular, and traffic proceeded very slowly along the trail, which is actually a very well maintained gravel road. With so much vehicular traffic, it was unlikely you were going to see much wildlife. It was a lovely drive nonetheless. The leaves were probably a week or two short of their best color, due to lingering warm weather in September. There were places along the route to stop for a picnic.

    My view for much of the trip.
    A peak at the larger McWilliams Reservoir through the trees.
    A good day for a family fishing trip.
    You could stop along the way for a picnic.

    There was a pavilion at McWilliams Picnic Area that could be used for a stop. Boat moorings and a boat launch are available here as well. There were also restrooms and parking in this area for the day.

    Portage your boat into the McWilliams Reservoir.
    A walk along the lake.
    Smokey the Bear made a very conspicuous appearance.
    Because one photo of a giant inflatable bear isn’t enough.

    More information about the Roaring Creek Tract is here.

    Goodbye to the Roaring Creek Trail.

  • In Black and White

    Here are some black and white views of subjects in previous posts.

     

    Graveyard in the fields near my grandparent’s home.

     

    Train bridge near the Rupert covered bridge in Columbia County.

  • Columbia County Beyond the Covered Bridges

    Although Columbia County likes to tout their 23 covered bridges, it has much to offer the visitor.

     

    The countryside near the Creasyville covered bridge. Note the pumpkins on the hillside.

     

    Merry October. Christmas trees “on the hoof.”

     

    This clever sculpture immediately caught my eye.

     

    Cattle grazing near my family’s farm.

     

    The side entrance to my grandparent’s old farmhouse. This is door people used most often.

     

    The graveyard down the road from the house my grandparents built after they sold the farm. It’s small patch surrounded by fields. No church in sight. My brother, cousin and I used to walk up here often as kids.

     

  • People Before Pipelines

    Along side one of the bucolic covered bridges of Columbia County, I found residents with some strong opinions about the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline. This pipeline is designed to bring natural gas from Marcellus Shale fracking operations to markets on the East Coast. Construction began in 2017.

     

    Sorry about the car window here. Such is photography with the car running. This sign was too good and colorful not to include.

     

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