Wallpaper Thursday - California Zephyr

So after a bit of a hiatus, Wallpaper Thursday is back.  I wanted to do the California Zephyr wallpaper in order to complete the collection of big train trips I've taken.

Of the train routes I have taken, I would have to say that the California Zephyr is probably my favorite.  I can see why it took the private railroad so long to give it up.  The route from Denver to San Francisco is absolutely gourgeous.  If you decide to take one major train trip, that would be the route I would suggest.

Wallpaper Thursday - The Southwest Chief

So we've come to another installment of Wallpaper Thursday.  In continuing my theme of the last couples Wallpapers, I've decided to do one of my travels on the Southwest Chief.

The Southwest Chief is the Amtrak line that goes from Los Angeles to Chicago (or vice versa).  It is based on a line that the Santa Fe Railroad used to run.  When Amtrak first took over, they had a number of problems and the Santa Fe would not let them use the name...eventually those problems were fixed and the Santa Fe allowed the use of the name.  For the most part, this follows Route 66.

After riding on the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr, I'd have to say the Southwest Chief is a little bit of letdown.  There are some cool parts of it especially since I don't get to see deserts in my neck of the woods but some of the scenery compared to those two is a let down.  But I would probably ride it again sometime.

Wallpaper Thursday - The Coast Starlight

Between last year and this year, I managed to take the whole Coast Starlight. Last year, I continued from Seattle down to Emeryville. This year, I went from Emeryville to Los Angeles. 
Of the four western rail routes I took, the Coast Starlight was third on the list. There were some cool parts but nothing nearly as breathtaking as the Empire Builder or California Zephyr. I kind of wish they would have set it up so that you would pass Mt. Shasta in the daylight. But oh well, it wasn't too bad.

Next week...the Southwest Chief.

Wallpaper Thursday - Mighty Mac

One item that you will see frequently on this blog is the Mackinac Bridge.  So this Thursday, we bring you a picture of the Bridge with a couple facts about her.

Enjoy.

Wallpaper Thursday - The 1000 Footers

Tonight's Wallpaper will be my collection of 1000 foot ship pictures.  I do not have all of them yet but in time I will get the 6 others that I need.

The 1000 footers are the largest ships plying the Great Lakes currently.  They are so large they can not go through the Welland Canal and there is only one of the Soo Locks they can go through.  However, there is plenty of stuff for them to deliver on the Great Lakes.

Wallpaper Thursday - Lighthouses of Michigan

Anyone who follows this blog on a regular basis knows that I like lighthouses.  This wallpaper in no way shows all the lighthouses in Michigan but it is a pretty good sampling of the lighthouses in the state.  They are certainly my favorites.

Some facts to go along with this wallpaper:

At over 100, Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state in the Union.

A good chunk of these lighthouses are still in service.

You can visit many of these as well.

Wallpaper Thursday

One of the things I like about living in Ypsilanti is that I live so close to the Yankee Air Force.  Occasionally I get to see the Yankee Lady flying about.  Every year, they have an air show that usually features various warbirds.  Tonight's wallpaper are examples of some of those.

Mostly B-17's but a couple other planes as well.



Wallpaper Thursday

And the day you all have been waiting for...Wallpaper Thursday, albeit a little on the late side.
One of my favorite things about the Law School at Michigan is the "gargoyles" they have in some of the archways. I think some of them are former Presidents of the school. Some of the others represent different disciplines and there are a couple that represent different sports. But at any rate, they are pretty cool.

Wallpaper Thursday

Many people do not realize just how many beautiful sculptures there are in Detroit. So for tonight's wallpaper I decided to highlight a few of them. Some of them are famous and some of them are not so famous. One of them is in the Detroit Zoo but isn't actually in Detroit. There are actually many more sculptures around Detroit.

For this wallpaper, I decided to use the Spirit of Detroit as the background. It is probably the most famous of the sculptures in Detroit. I also had to include The Fist because it is probably just as famous.

The other sculptures are in and around Detroit. There is the Dodge Fountain and one of the sculptures on the County Building. The man on horseback is found on Belle Isle. Also included are the Soldiers and Sailor's Monument in Campus Martius and the Horace Rackham Fountain in the Detroit Zoo. I think all of these sculptures are pretty cool.

There are many more around Detroit......

Wallpaper Thursday

Last year I took the opportunity to visit the Tahquamenon Falls once per month. That was kind of cool because it gave me a good snapshot of the changing of the seasons. So for this week's wallpaper I present:

As I said last week, if there are requests, please post them in the comments section.

Wallpaper Thursday

I'm going to try to do a new feature here on Michigan Exposures. It is an idea that I've seen on other websites (mostly sports websites). I am going to try to make a themed wallpaper. For my first one, I'm going to use the ships of the Great Lakes as that is one of my favorite subjects.

The picture is of eight different ships that I have taken pictures of.

I hope that you enjoy this and if there are any themes you would like to see in the future please use the comments section.

Thank you.