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Sunday, January 21, 2007

Centralia Pennsylvania

Centralia is a town in Central Pennsylvania that has been "on fire" for approximately 45 years. During a very cold visit to the town yesterday we took some photos, including a walk up the old highway out of town that has been since closed and rerouted. I posted these as seperate posts, so you will not see the photos in this one post, but rather the posts which preceded it.

In the 1940's, as World War II ground along, resources were in short supply, and primarily going to support the war effort. Many of the small coal mining town residents dug illegal mines to get coal for themselves or others. In the early 60's (some say 1962) someone burning trash managed to ignite one of these exposed seams of coal, and it's been burning ever since, despite many efforts to extinquish it.

Over the years the underground fires have spread over some space, and the state offered a buyout to the residents of Centralia to just move, rather than have to deal with the dangers presented not only by the possibility of caveins, but also the constant, ever-present fumes of smoke and steam that come up out of the ground.

On this winter day, the steam coming up out of the ground has condensed in places, especcially on nearby vegetation, and the very cold air has frozen it. And for the first time we 'explored' the old abandoned highway, with it's cracks and smoke, too.

Centralia - Road Less Travelled I

Centralia - Road Less Travelled II

Centralia - Road Less Travelled III

Centralia - Road Less Travelled IV

Centralia - Frozen Smoke I


Centralia - Frozen Smoke I, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Frozen Smoke II


Centralia - Frozen Smoke II, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Frozen Smoke III


Centralia - Frozen Smoke III, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Frozen Smoke IV


Centralia - Frozen Smoke IV, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Frozen Smoke V


Centralia - Frozen Smoke V, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Frozen Smoke VI


Centralia - Frozen Smoke VI, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Frozen Smoke VII


Centralia - Frozen Smoke VII, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Frozen Smoke VIII


Centralia - Frozen Smoke VIII, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Drifting I


Centralia - Drifting I, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Drifting II


Centralia - Drifting II, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Life Goes On I


Centralia - Life Goes On I, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Centralia - Life Goes On II


Centralia - Life Goes On II, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Walnut Street Bridge I


Walnut Street Bridge I, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

A few nights ago, from City Island on the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg.

Walnut Street Bridge II


Walnut Street Bridge II, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

A few nights ago, from City Island on the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Rainy January Day


Rainy January Day, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

A rainy January lunchtime stroll... Supposed to be up to 66 (F) tomorrow... Doesn't much seem like winter....

This photo is better if you view the larger version at:

www.deviantart.com/deviation/46026082/

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Caught


Caught, originally uploaded by arkansawyer.

I now have a couple of places where I can post photos online, deviantArt and flickr. The cool thing about flickr is the ability to post photos directly to my blog, but even better, the "Map" function.

Ever wonder exactly where a photo was taken? Go here to see where some of my shots have been taken:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arkansawyer.map

(The more you click, the more detailed the map gets....)

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Happy New Year..

Yes, I am still alive. Albeit moving slowly. I am getting old don't ya know?

Work and life have been very hectic for the past couple of months. I haven't felt a lot like writing. I have posted a few photos to my deviantart site... But not as many as normal.

I have been kinda waiting for snow. You know, that four letter word. But alas, by the first full weekend of January in PA it's supposed to be in the 60's. What's up with that, anyways? So we've been stuck in limbo between fall and winter, and it's looking like there'll be no winter.

I am sure, when it hits, it'll more than make up for itself... Oh well.

So on to other news... Nothing happening. Not much anyways. I started uploading some of my deviantart photos to flickr. I found one neat thing that flickr offers that dA does not. I will not be switching my service over by any means, but there's no reason not to use both.... And so far, all the images I've uploaded to flickr I have linked back to their original dA versions. I am hoping that my blog-linking will be a little easier from there since dA blocks larger images from being displayed here (uses quite a bit of bandwidth).

At any rate - the really cool thing about flickr is it's linking to Yahoo Maps. Ever see a photo and want to know where it was taken? Check this out... Follow this link and you'll be taken to a yahoo map with numbers on it. Click the numbers, and you'll see photos. The deeper you zoom into the map, the more detail about where the specific photograph was taken. Flickr Maps. To visit the main page go to flickr.

As always you may keep up with my latest and greatest photos on my deviantart gallery. In fact, here are some posts from there, just to keep you entertained as we head into the first days of the new year...