A Surprise Ship

As I was heading home from Fostoria, I looked down the Maumee River and I saw what appeared to be a ship coming in.  So I decided to look for a spot where I could catch her.

The sad part about shipwatching in Toledo is that unless the ships are going past the I-280 Bridge, there aren't a ton of good places to catch them.  I forget the park where I caught this but it's not very close to the shipping channel.  Oh well, the Michipicoten was one of the ships I missed earlier, so I was happy to get an okay shot of her.

Sunday Trainwatching

So on Sunday I decided to do a little railfanning.  I was up a little too late for the ship traffic and I wanted to do something.

 First I stopped at Deshler and got a couple pictures there but I kept hearing over the radio that trains were backed up around Fostoria so I decided to head over there.

 Sure enough, there were a few trains in Fostoria.  It didn't take too long before I saw my first train.

 And she headed along.

 I saw this one a couple times as it was picking up autoracks and shuffling them about.

 My favorite view at Fostoria.  It is my safest chance for a headshot on a train.

 But it doesn't last too long.

And then that train ended up heading up to Toledo.

Eastern Michigan Football Vs Army

I'm just posting some of my pictures from the Eastern Michigan game on Saturday night.  For here, I'm doing more of the stuff surrounding the game rather than the game itself.  If you want to see pictures from the game, go to Eagle Totem.

 The band taking the field.  I always like this part of a game.  It's kind of a shame that there isn't more focus on the game during TV broadcasts.  I guess people would rather hear the bobbleheads prattle on about nothing.

 I was trying something different for this shot.  I might have to crop a little tighter next time.  I might even try different settings on my camera to get the rest in focus.

 The color guard during the Star Spangled Banner.

 One of the things that was started last year was the flying of the eagle out onto the field.  I really like this addition and I hope that it continues as a tradition.

 Just a couple shots of the eagle.  She's a nice looking bird.

 I kind of like this shot of the band.

 Sometimes my favorite pictures from the game aren't necessarily the good things that happen during the game.  In this case, Darius Jackson was going in for a touchdown and he coughed up the ball before approaching the goal line.

 The band was pretty cool at halftime.

 I was trying some different angles then.

 The moon was almost full.

At this point, the result of the game was no longer in doubt, so I was just trying for some overall shots of the field.

And We End With the Algoway

I was actually hoping to catch the next ship at the Blue Water Bridge but my time was starting to run out, so I decided to head further down the river to catch her.

 I ended up catching her at the Bean Dock.  It's not one of my favorite spots for ships but it's not bad.

 The Algoway was moving pretty slow as she was working her way up the River.  I'm not quite sure how much longer I would have had to wait before I caught her at the Blue Water Bridge.

 I think she is heading up to Goderich where she will pick up a load of salt.

And one more shot before heading home.

Action Jackson Makes an Appearance

The next ship is another classic laker.

 I've seen her a number of times, as she makes runs to the Rouge River quite a bit.  I think she has been going down to Cleveland lately.

 She is a lovely vessel though.

 A headshot.

 She is framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 Another shot of her as she passes the Bridge.

 I love the look of her bridge.  It has a nice sleek look to it.

And she continues on her way.

The Bramble

I've passed by the Bramble a number of times.  One of these days I will actually pay her a visit.  While I am doing that, I will also pay a visit to the Huron Lightship.

 Anyway, the Bramble currently serves as a Museum Ship.  A few months ago, she moved from her normal spot and I wasn't really expecting that to happen but it did.

 She is a 180 foot seagoing buoy tender that was built in Duluth by the Zenith Dredge Company in 1943 for the US Coast Guard.

 In 1945, she was transferred to San Pedro, California.  Later in that year, she was moved up to Alaska where she did aids to navigation work around the Aleutian Islands. 

 In 1957, she participated in a mission to force passage through the Arctic Ice.  She with two other cutters, would be the first American surface ships to do so.

 After that, she was transferred to Detroit for a while.

She was decommissioned and replaced by the Hollyhock which is one of the pictures above.

The Pathfinder!

The Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder made her appearance while the train was doing it's thing.

 This of course gave me a chance to get 2/3's of my trifecta shot.  I feel like one of these days I will get it.  Of course this work for now since the lighting was just about perfect.

 I'll have to say this is probably my favorite tug/barge combo.  The red hull sets out nicely against the blue water.

 The clouds were just about perfect.

 A shot of her bow.

 A shot of her tug boat, the Dorothy Ann.

 She continues on her way.

And she is being stalked by the train.

Surprised by the Train

After the St. Clair, I decided to return to my spot to catch the next ship.  I also decided to take a brief nap as it would be roughly a half hour before she appeared.  I was a little on the tired side at that point.

 After a briefer than I planned nap, I heard a noise outside my car.

 I was happy to find out that it was the train visiting the paper plant.

 I kind of like this because it gives me a chance to get angles that I don't normally get with a train.

 From the shore side.

 She was pulling out to drop off cars.

 One more stop at the plant.

 The light was just about right.

And one more shot before she leaves.