Self Portrait in Boulder Field

This self-portrait was taken in Boulder Field at Hickory Run State Park in the Pocono Mountains.  The boulders are a byproduct of a glacier from way back in the time of the cavemen when they wore mastodon fur coats rather than water-proof textile armored motorcycling jackets.

Spring Along the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail

This view of Scranton from the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail looks across the river to the eastern bank.  Leaves are just beginning to bud on the trees and bushes. 

Bear Creek Dam

A rare sunny and cloudless day in the Poconos really lights up the Bear Creek Dam. 

Old Boat With the Winter Blues

This old boat with the winter blues may have been heartened to see the ice receding on this Pocono Mountains lake.  However, its dreams of early spring boating have been torpedoed by yet another storm that has brought a foot of snow today and sunk temperatures back into the 20's.

Let the Sun Shine!

The sun returns to the Pocono Mountains (along with a high temperature below freezing).

Winter in the Valley

Looking south across the Lackawanna Valley toward downtown Scranton, another snow storm begins to move in.

The Dreamy Lone Pine

This particular mountain in the Poconos has a stark, barren look as it waits for the first snow of the season.  But like a beacon of light piercing a dark and foreboding dream, the lone pine reaches out as a link to spring that unfailingly chases winter away.

Trail to Nay Aug Gorge

Nay Aug Gorge is a National Natural Landmark.  The trail pictured here leads down to the Paul Kanjorski Pedestrian Bridge which crosses the gorge.  Congressman Kanjorski has described Nay Aug Park as "the jewel of the city of Scranton," and he's right.

Sunset and Silhouettes in Scranton

David Wenzel Treehouse View #3

This view of the David Wenzel Treehouse gives a good look at how it is perched above the edge of the gorge.

Autumn Reflection #2

While plenty of color can be seen in the Pocono Mountains even with the trees stripped of their leaves, I think this grainy black and white shot of bare trees reflecting in the pond does better at capturing the mood of autumn as it foreshadows the winter ahead.

Autumn On the Mountain

Half of the time when it is relatively nice weather in the valley, it will be rainy, cloudy or foggy up in the mountains outside of Scranton.  A fifteen minute drive outside of the city can have you feeling like you are a hundred miles away from metropolitan life.  An upside of the frequent gray and damp weather is a lush taste for the eyeballs with the H2O enriched Autumn tones.  

Autumn Colors in the Gorge

Nay Aug Park is a great location for hiking right in the city and along the western edge of the Pocono Mountains.  This scene of the falls next to the gorge trail captures the typical autumn afternoon lighting and colors on a typically cloudy Northeastern Pennsylvania day.  

Autumn Comes to Connell Park

Lake Wallenpaupack

Lake Wallenpaupack is a huge, sprawling lake that was created by PP&L (Pennsylvania Power & Light Company) in 1926 for hydroeclectric power creation.  It has fifty-two miles of shoreline and is up to sixty feet deep at some locations.   For The Office fans, this is the lake where the "Booze Cruise" episode from season two took place.  This photo was taken using the color accent mode on Canon's Powershot G11 (f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 80). 

Deer Outside of Scranton

With a white tail deer population of more than 1.5 million in Pennsylvania, 
you don't have to travel far outside the city to see one of these.

Orange Sign in the Poconos

This shot was taken just outside of Scranton while mountain biking in a State forest in the Poconos.  I'm not sure what the sign meant.  Ten more miles of road?  Scenic view ahead that scores a "10"?  Road number 10?  Maybe it doesn't mean anything and was put there by a state employee with a sense of humor, knowing people like me would tie our brains in knots pondering the possibilities.

The Water Street Bridge

The Water Street Bridge was built in 1914 and connects Pittston to West Pittston, a few minutes to the south of Scranton.

Pittston Riverfest 2010

The Pittston Riverfest is an annual celebration of local history and the arts just south of Scranton and north of Wilkes-Barre, next to the Susquehanna River.  As part of the festivities the Eckley Players put on a performance that dramatized the aftermath of the 1869 Avondale mine disaster that resulted in the death of 110 workers, mostly Welsh,  and one of the very first global relief efforts in support of the widows and families of the victims.  The true cost of bringing coal as a power source to the people cannot be measured in just dollars.

Blue Moon Over Scranton

(f/5.7, 0.6, ISO 200)