Covered bridges are echoes of a romanticized past, where life moved more slowly and no one worried about terrorism or ebola. A past where the clip clop of horse hooves bounced from the wooden planks to the roof overhead as they pulled carriages and wagons. A past where the trestles creaked as Model Ts rattled above. Today, 197 of these bridges still dot the Pennsylvania backroads (approximately 900 are left across the US).
On a crisp fall day, I went hunting for one about 15 minutes from my house in nearby Bucks county. The 172-year old Pine Valley bridge has been painstakingly preserved and spans the gently rushing Pine Run Creek.
Standing down in the creek bed, you can hear the cars slowly rumble over the wooden planks one at a time.
The foliage season is rapidly drawing to a close. After a week of rain and wind, pockets of pale green, yellow and orange leaves stubbornly cling to the tree branches around the bridge. The creek is filled with colorful leaves eddying in the water.