A Rainy Day in Ypsilanti

I was thinking about going down to Ohio for trainwatching today but I wasn't really up to it.  Plus the weather wasn't cooperating.

 That of course didn't preclude me from going down to Depot Town in order to catch the Wolverine.  I ended up missing the westbound Wolverine but I figured I could eat lunch and catch the eastbound Wolverine.

 As I was waiting for the train, I kind of liked the way the water was dripping off the spruce needles.  I really liked the out of focus train station in the back ground.

 A closeup of the branch.

 It wasn't too long before the Wolverine appeared.

 And passed the station.

 And started to pass me.

 And continued on it's way to Dearborn, Detroit, Royal Oak, Troy and ending it's journey in Pontiac.

 an Elvis chicken in one of the store windows.

 I think this is supposed to be a rainbow trout.

I kind of liked the reflections in this shot.

Looking up at one of the buildings.

And Of Course...the Pere Marquette 1223

No stop to Grand Haven would be complete if I didn't stop at the Pere Marquette engine there.

 Granted, a static engine isn't as cool as a living and breathing one but it is still an engine.

 A shot from the front.

 And a shot with the coaling tower.

 The sort of oblique angle.

And the beam shot.

And the Grand Haven Lighthouse

My next stop was Grand Haven.  I should have gotten up sooner because apparently the light I probably wanted to hit was the St. Joseph Light.  Oh well, maybe next weekend if the weather isn't too nasty.

The path out to the lighthouse was a little more treacherous.  There was a quite a bit of ice and it was built up which made it uneven.

 I did manage to make it out to the lighthouse itself though.  You can kind of see what the path looked like.

 Looking up at the tower.

 I didn't want to venture out to the other light because the path looked even worse but as you can see, there were people that were willing to do so.

 Both of them.

 Funny thing is that there aren't usually people on this side.

 Kind of an overall view of the channel.

 I kind of liked the effect here.

 The view from the beach.

Apparently the catwalk needs some work.  The Army Corps of Engineers is doing some work to the pier and the catwalk needs to be raised four inches or they are going to remove it.  Also, there are some elements that are in disrepair.  The City of Grand Haven would like to raise $1.5 million in order to do so.  If I find information for donating, I will post it here.  I think the lighthouse wouldn't look the same without it.

The Paul H. Townsend Still at Rest

No trip to Muskegon would be complete for me without a stop at the Paul H. Townsend.

The Paul H. Townsend is still being used as a storage ship.  I don't think that status will be changing at anytime in the future for her.  It's a shame, since she's such a nice looking boat.

A Stop at the Muskegon Lighthouse

I decided to head over to Muskegon first. 

 I think this is a channel marker and night a lighthouse.  It looked pretty cool with the ice attached to the side.

 I kind of liked how it was framed by the ice and snow on the shore.

 Surprisingly, the pier to this lighthouse was clear.  But I think that might have to do with the fact that is a breakwater outside of it.

 But that made for an easier trip to the lighthouse itself.

 Which was fine because I was happy with the lighting.

 And I was glad to get some shots looking up into the sky.

 Looking up at the lighthouse itself.

 I was trying to get some leading lines.

 I kind of like this shot.

 Some buoys sitting out for the winter.

 Kind of a shot of the NOAA station and a pair of their boats.

 Another shot of the channel marker.

And another of the lighthouse.

Fallasburg Bridge in the Winter

I decided to head over to the Western end of the State today.  I wanted to get some shots of ice covered lighthouses.  I figured that no trip over there would be complete without a stop to the covered bridge at Fallsburg.

 It seems that they got a little more snow than we did.  The ground was completely covered with it.  I think there might have been a little flooding because there was a nice layer of ice underneath the snow.  It made for an interesting walk.

 However, the snow made for some nice pictures.

 Trying a shot with a leading curve in it.

 Then trying to get a shot of the inside of the bridge.

 Most of the time, it never works.  This time, it didn't turn out too poorly.

 I didn't walk over to the other side because I figured the little path that I use would be more than treacherous.  I love the view from over there but not enough to put myself in danger

Kind of an overall shot of the bridge.

An Evening Amongst the Cessnas and a Piper

With winter on the downward slope, it's staying light later so that gave me a chance to stop at the Ann Arbor Airport on the way home from work.  There were actually quite a few planes doing touch and goes tonight.  Granted, I've seen most of them before, but I like planes, so this was fun.

 This is a Cessna 172 which is owned by the Michigan Flyers.  I know it's appeared on this blog several times in the past.

 A Piper Cherokee was in on the action.

 A side shot of that.

 I think this one is a Cessna 152.

 As it gets closer.

 Another shot of the Piper coming in for a landing.

 About as close as I can get to a headshot for a plane.

 I believe this is another Cessna 152.

 Another angle.

 The plane is almost flying right over me.

 And the Piper.

 A nice profile as it reflects the setting sun lights.

 I believe this is a Cessna 172 coming in for a landing.

 And I believe it is another owned by the Michigan Flyers.

 And the tail number confirms that.

 I think this one is a Cessna 152 II.

 I kind of like this shot.

 Another of the 152.

I would have liked this picture more had I not chopped the nose a bit.