Scenic Bucks County, PA

[Marilynne]

Marilynne and Pretzel, I really appreciate learning which bird this is. There were 3 women sitting at a nearby picnic table asking me if it was a grebe. Of course I had to tell them I didn't know, but when I got home a looked up grebe, I knew that wasn't it. Another time when I took some photos of sailboats, one of the boaters said it was cool an osprey showed up in one of the photos. Again, I had no idea what one was until looking it up. Guess I'll be learning more about nature through photography!

Oh--Marilynne, thanks for the comment about the cormorants, too. My mother asked about those other birds, but again I didn't know. I do have a few bird books buried on a bookshelf--time to get them out!

You're welcome. I didn't have a clue what birds I was shooting when I first got my camera. I asked people around me when I was taking the photo and most didn't have a clue or gave the wrong answer. I took a nature walk with a marsh naturalist and he recommended a couple of books. The one I use the most is the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida. I also use the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but you need a starting point if you don't know what kind of bird you're looking for.
Search for a bird by entering name, description, and keywords, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

 

[hark]

Here is another shot of the waterfalls from a different angle:

When I took the first photo (back in August), much to my dismay I found there wasn't any place to park. There is some type of private camp that can be rented, and when I asked if I could park for a short period of time, they said no.

There is also a restaurant/bar that has a great deal of parking, but they have several signs posted for 'No Parking' (along with signs stating that cars will be towed). Apparently lots of people like to fish in the water and take up the parking spots. So on my first visit, I went into the restaurant/bar hoping to ask if I could pay a small parking fee. There was only one employee there who was some type of maintenance worker. He was hesitant to allow it but finally said if I was gone by 3pm, no other employees should be there. I left before anyone else arrived so it wasn't a problem.

When I went back last week to take the fall photos, once again I parked in their lot since they were closed. I only took a few shots and wasn't there long. On Saturday, I stopped by the restaurant/bar while it was open and gave them an 8.5x11 of the first fall waterfalls photo. They were SO appreciative, and after listening to my story, they granted me permission to park there whenever I'd like! So I will print out this photo and give it to them, too.

 

[hark]

Not far from the Van Sant Covered Bridge which is posted at the beginning of the thread is Bowman's Hill Tower. It is very close to Washington's Crossing and was built in 1929-31 to commemorate George Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware River. It sits atop a hill that overlooks a vast amount of the area although no one knows for sure if this hill was a lookout spot for Washington's troops.

The inside of the tower was built with a circular staircase to the top. At some point they installed an elevator so people have the choice of climbing the stairs or using the elevator. However, when you get off the elevator, there is a small landing. At this point, you can't get outside yet. There is another very tight staircase comprised of 23 steps that must be climbed before you can walk outside onto the roof.

I was standing on the landing when the elevator doors opened carrying 3 senior citizens (all of whom looked to be at least 68 years young, and one who looked to be at least 10 years older). When they realized they still had a set of stairs to climb, they weren't sure if they would proceed. Here's a view from the small landing, and you can see the bottom few steps that lead to the roof.

They started to climb the steps but fear kept the oldest from going too high. They returned to the landing then made another attempt. This second time they were successful at reaching the top!

Those last 23 steps are incredibly challenging to climb. They are triangular in shape, and the only way to place your foot completely on the step is to turn your foot sideways. I'd say the width of the staircase is no wider than 3-feet so it's a tight squeeze especially when placing your foot sideways on the steps. If you don't set your foot sideways, the back part of your foot and heel cannot fit onto the step. The depth of each step (from front to back on the wide side) is only about 8" ::what:: although it appears larger in the photo.

Below is a view of what the steps look like from the roof. I wish I could have taken a shot with my foot on the step, but I'm afraid I might have tumbled headfirst down the stairs!

 

[BackdoorArts]

Haven't been there since I was a kid, long before the elevator. I remember my mom walking up and back down and her legs shook for the next 15 minutes. I had heard they'd closed it down.

 

[hark]

The weather has been quite frigid lately with nighttime lows around 0°F. ::what:: That might not be as cold as some of our members from Canada experience, but for this area, it's colder than normal. The intensely low temperatures caused the Delaware River to freeze which created an ice jam.

This is the Trenton Makes Bridge which connects New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This was taken on the north side of the bridge. The water on this side of the bridge seems to be more solidly frozen whereas the water on the southern side of the bridge is starting to melt.

And this is the New Jersey state Capitol building which overlooks the Delaware River--this is also on the north side of the bridge.

The photo below is taken from the southern side of the bridge, and from this side, you can tell the river is starting to melt. It's as if the bridge is the dividing line. The big shadow over the water is cast by the Route 1 toll bridge. In this immediate area, there are two bridges for vehicles plus a railroad bridge. And approximately 1/2 mile north is yet another bridge for vehicles. :eyetwitch:

Here is the railroad bridge that also crosses the Delaware River in this same area. It too is on the southern side of the Trenton Makes Bridge so you can see some of the river's water close to the bank is flowing. I'm not sure why there is water frozen to the side of this bridge (on the left side of the photo). The water doesn't get THAT high but it must be coming from somewhere.

And this was taken from a few miles further south of the Trenton Makes Bridge. Although you can't tell from the photo, the seagulls were on an ice block that was floating downstream! It was really odd to see them go floating by. And I could hear blocks of ice hitting one another--almost like bumper cars!

I didn't go any further north in this area, but the ice jam caused the river to crest which then flooded the road. It subsequently froze so the road has been closed for a few days now.

 

[fiVe]

Wow, Hark! Some excellent pics here!

Concerning post #25:
Are the bridges ever in danger of compromise/collapse from all that ice? (We don't see such here in the South.)

How does your camera react to the low temps? (I assume you were on the river bank.)

R/fiVe

 

[hark]

Concerning post #25:
Are the bridges ever in danger of compromise/collapse from all that ice? (We don't see such here in the South.)

How does your camera react to the low temps? (I assume you were on the river bank.)

R/fiVe

When I went out last week to photograph the river, the temps were upper 30°'s to 40° so it wasn't 'cold' compared to when the temps were 0° (I wasn't out when it was 0°). Sorry I can't really comment about my camera reacting to the temps because it wasn't unduly cold when I was out. Yesterday the temps went into the low 60's so there was more melting. I haven't heard anything about the pilings being in jeopardy from the ice. Please know that 1/2 mile or so north of the bridge pictured above, the river doesn't have a retaining wall so the water overflowed its banks. That might help prevent some of the ice from going really high against those pilings.

This afternoon I went back to see how much of the river was still frozen. The area around the bridge pictured above was mostly clear of ice; however, there was still quite a bit of ice north of there where it overflowed its bank last week.

There is a small parking area to pull off of River Road. I'm only guessing, but I imagine the ice chunks pictured below *might* have been plowed off of River Road. They were about 3 feet high in front of where I parked. This is looking south towards the direction of the bridge I shot in my post above:

And this is what the river looked like when I turned around and faced north:

Below is yet another bridge in that same area (the Calhoun Street Bridge). Although I didn't see this bridge last week, I saw a friend's photo, and the ice was all around its pilings. You can see there is just a little bit left now:

And below is a different shot of the retaining wall with its tow path (the Calhoun Street Bridge is immediately behind me). If you follow the tow path, you can see the Trenton Makes Bridge at the other end. Much of the ice has now melted except for the first two photos in this post. There is just that small stretch of river that has quite a bit of ice, but everything north and south of the stretch is pretty clear of it.