And the Sunset Wolverine

All of the Wolverine Routes are called "The Wolverine" but it would be pretty neat if they had different names for each of the different times.  The morning one could be the Sunrise Wolverine, the noon one could be the Noon Wolverine and the evening one could be the Sunset Wolverine.  Of course they would have to distinguish between the east and west bound versions of those trains but I'm sure they could figure something out.

 At anyrate, I was heading back to the car after a couple innings of baseball and I decided to look at my phone to see what time the Wolverine would be passing by.  I saw that I had a chance to catch it, so I decided to head over to Depot Town.  This shot caught my eye first because of the moon in the upper left hand corner.

 I liked the way the sun was hitting the Freighthouse.

 And I really liked the way the depot was getting hit.

 I think this is a device that greases the wheels of the train, but I'm not sure.  It looks pretty neat though.

 It wasn't long before the Wolverine appeared.  I was getting a little worried because the sun was getting lower in the sky.

 However, it was at the perfect angle for the train, I think.  I got that nice golden hour effect.

 And it appeared a little more.

 But I think this is my favorite of the bunch.

And a shot of the rear engine.  This one shares the number of the engine I got for my train set.

A Baseball Game

As I was going down Huron to head home, I looked over at the baseball stadium and saw someone playing there.  I wasn't sure if it was Eastern or not, so I figured I would check it out.

 Turns out that it was two high school teams.  One was the Gabriel Richard Fighting Irish from Ann Arbor (I think).  The other was a Lutheran Team from Macomb County.  There was no score on the scoreboard, so I had no idea what was going on.  I suppose that was fine since I was really there to take pictures.  In this particular instance, a baserunning error led to two people coming to third (one coming back and the other coming in).  Eventually one of them was tagged out.

 This Lear Jet caught my eye as it zipped across the sky.

 One of the players getting a hit.

 One not so much.

 Another swing and a miss.

 The Gabriel Richard pitcher.

 I think this was a hit too.

 Fielding the ball.

One of the other players scoring.  From the look of things, it appeared that this team was winning.

I do know one thing, I need to work on my baseball shots.

Goose Fight

So my travels took me over to Gallup Park next.  I wanted to take some other pictures of things that fly.

 This seagull was just kind of flying around and that gave me a chance to get a head shot.

 There were a couple of Canada geese nearby.  While that is not particularly exciting, the next set of pictures are.

 Suddenly the geese started to take off at each other and were fighting.  Something tells me it is approaching that time of year.

 I will have to say that it made for some pretty neat pictures, as I don't think I've ever seen them fighting like this.

 He chased his opponent way.

 But just in case....

 Next a swan appeared.

 He was just swimming around though.

 I kind of like how this goose looks like he is slinking towards something.

 I don't think that something was me....

 ...but you can never be too sure.

 And finally I was treated to a mallard.

 And his mate.

Somehow, it wouldn't be a Gallup Park series from me without a plane flying overhead.  In this particular case, a Spirit Airlines Airbus 319 or 320 (not sure which).

However the moon looked pretty cool.

An Older Cessna

I decided to stop at the Ann Arbor Airport on the way home from work tonight.  I thought that I saw  a couple of planes flying around.  As it turned out, the one I did see flying around ended up landing as I got there.  I didn't see anything else for a few minutes.

 As I was about to give up and head back to my car, I caught a glimpse of this plane turning in for a landing.  As I looked at it through my viewfinder, I realized that it was an older plane.

 As it turns out, it is a Cessna 140.   Production on this aircraft started in 1946 and lasted until 1951.  In those five years, there a little over 7,500 produced.  The plane is powered by an 85 horsepower Continental C-85 engine.  This gives it a maximum speed of 125 miles per hour.  It can carry one passenger.

 If I could find a busier general aviation airport nearby, I think I would be a happy person.  My passion is with military aircraft.  Airliners are a port in the storm but there seems to be a nice variety in general aviation.  I guess I never realized just how many different planes there were.

This particular aircraft tells us to Trust Jesus.

 While this aircraft isn't quite as nice as the shiny looking plane parked at the front of the airport, it still looks pretty nice.

And it taxis towards the hangar.

Sadly, this would be the only plane I would see.  So I decided to head over to Gallup.

From the Windsept Fields...

I decided to stop by the Ann Arbor Airport on the way home from work tonight. It was pretty windy, so I wasn't really expecting to see any planes.

 As I approached the airport, I noticed this plane getting ready to take off. It is a Piper Arrow III.

 I was pretty sure it was taking off to go somewhere and not to do touch and goes.  As I said, it was pretty windy.

 It moves into the spot to take off.

 I kind of like this sign, although I'm not sure what noise abatement for general aviation would entail.

 It starts to roll for a takeoff.

 As the plane took to the sky, the wind grabbed it a bit.  It did not look like a fun takeoff.  I followed it for a bit until I was confident it was going somewhere.

The Cessna 310 from the 50's.

This plane is known as a Lake Buccaneer and was developed in the 1950s.   It was derived from a plane called the Colonial C-2 Skimmer.  In 1959, the Lake Aircraft bought the rights.  A little over 1000 were built.

A Grey Goose

As I was heading back to the car, I saw this goose just sitting there.  I figured pictures were in order.

 I'm not sure if this is a he or she but it wasn't happy to see me approach.

 The goose just kind of staring at me.

 Grabbing a little lunch.

And one more shot before I grabbed lunch of my own.