The Merry Christmas Wolverine

 We were predicted to get hit with a nasty snowstorm on Thursday night/Friday morning.  The snow never materialized but it rained Thursday night to make the roads icy.  

Unfortunately, I still had my camera on the settings from my shots of the SR-71.

So the shots might be a little blurry.

But not too bad.

At any rate, Merry Christmas to all my readers.

Catching the Wolverine in a Jiffy

 I was going to see if I could catch some snowy owls today.  I ended up taking a convoluted route to get there.  As I was passing on Huron River Drive, it occurred to me that the Wolverine would be passing soon and I would have a chance to catch her.

I was able to get  to Chelsea to catch it.  It has been a while since I've seen a train here, so it was pretty cool.

It was an eastbound train and that was nice because the lighting at this time of day for the eastbound train is pretty good.

It was a pretty nice day but a little on the cold side because of the wind.  Since it snowed fairly recently, there was some snow being kicked up by the train.

I think I see the engineer pointing at me and that's kind of cool.

One more shot of the train's front.

And then it passed.

The Wolverine Passes Over the Huron River

 I decided that I was going to head up to Clare in order to see a reindeer ranch.  As I was heading out of Ann Arbor, I saw that there was a green light on the rail line leaving town.  I figured that meant the Wolverine would be passing.  I ended up heading over to a park on Huron River Drive

I looked at the Amtrak tracker on my phone and saw that I had a little time to catch the train.  I figured that I was in the perfect spot to catch it.

I've wanted to catch the Wolverine at this spot for a while.  And it looked like it would really nice because the river was perfectly smooth.

I pulled out a little bit to see if I liked that angle but I like it for a picture without the train.  I thought the train would get lost in this.

As the train approached, I tightened in.  I had the camera in burst mode.  I figured I would get a decent shot out of the multitude.

I think I like this one the best.

Or maybe this one.  Both are pretty close.

And one more.  I kind of liked this one.

It's a Wolverine Sort of Day

 We had pretty nasty weather yesterday and today looked like it might be a continuation of that, so I figured that I needed a break from driving all day.  I couldn't pass up on an opportunity to take some pictures though.

I live pretty close to Depot Town and it's been a while since I've gotten winter pictures of the Wolverine, so I decided to head down there.

In fact, I don't think I've ever gotten the new Amtrak train in the winter, so today provided a good opportunity to do just that.

The main reason that it's been a while since I've gotten any pictures of the Wolverine is because they have had reduced service due to COVID.  I think they are now back to three trips a day meaning there is an afternoon trip.

The morning train is too early for me and the night train is in the dark, so the afternoon train is perfect for me.

And today was no exception.  The sun even decided to peek out for a little bit.

I should have moved a little more so I didn't get the greaser in the picture.

One more as the train passes.  I kind of like this one though.

The Wolverine Passing Ann Arbor

 So tonight I decided to take my drone out.  I was going to catch the Wolverine.

It was running a little late.  I'm almost thinking I should have went to another spot.

But I wasn't sure if I'd have enough time.

I really need to work on this shot but I kind of like the lower angle for train shots.

Catching the Wolverine

 It has also been a while since I've caught the Wolverine in Depot Town.  Since it was pretty nice out yesterday, I decided to take myself and my drone over to Depot Town.

I decided to take a few shots of the depot.

Getting a little closer.

From the other side.

Then I moved my drone closer to Cross Street.  I decided to get a shot of most of Ypsilanti.

Looking down.  I think they may end up closing Cross Street again so that they can put diners out there.

The Hudson dealership.

Then I heard the crossing gates go down, so I knew the Wolverine was close.

It is still once daily each way.  I think this might be changing soon.

But I like this shot.

One more shot of the area.

Catching Up to Another Old Friend

 So I headed over to Ann Arbor last night.  I was hoping that I might be able to catch the owl.   So I went over to Island Park.  I saw the tree where they were last year but I didn't see the owls.  I also heard a cardinal but I couldn't spot it.  But I will check back next week, as I was looking at my blog from last year, I realized I saw them in April.

Anyway, it occurred to me that I was around there at about the time the Wolverine would pass.  I ended up going to a park where I saw it before.  And I'll have to say it was a pretty good spot.

The Wolverine was running a little late and it's a good thing because I probably wouldn't have caught it otherwise.

I wasn't exactly sure when it was going to pass because I couldn't get a good fix on the schedule.  With COVID-19, Amtrak has reduced the schedule to one train each way per day.

I'm hoping as more people get the vaccine, things can return to a sort of normal.  I also hope that they bring back the train to three times per day.

I think it will be because I think the Wolverine was one of their profitable routes.

At any rate, it was nice to catch it.

A Beautiful Friday Night with the Wolverine

 So I decided to head down to Depot Town after dinner tonight.  It was a pretty nice night except I thought I was losing my sun and I almost wasn't going to go.  Especially since it looked like the Wolverine was delayed.

While I was waiting for the Wolverine, I decided to get a picture of the freight house.

And then  I tried for a picture of the depot.

This time I tried the drone from a lower angle.  I was maybe 15 feet off the ground.

I'm finding that lower is better for trains and the drone.

I just wish I could get the timing down so the train is a little closer.

Another shot of Depot Town.

The restaurants and what not of Depot Town.

the Auto Museum.  I heard this may be opening again soon.

The Thompson Building.

A shot of the depot from even higher.  I'll have to admit that this is pretty cool.