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.

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.

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.

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.
 

The Wolverine Passing on a Nice Sunny Evening

 I just wanted to mess around with the drone tonight, so I headed down to Depot Town to get a picture of the train.

It was a nice sunny night tonight.  Apparently the smoke from the western forest fires is going to be returning tomorrow.  I hope it doesn't mess with my aluminum aviary on Thursday.

It wasn't too long before the train appeared.  I was going to try something different.  I had the drone lower than normal.  I also was taking more time between shots.

I kind of like it when the train comes around the bend.

And then it comes down a little further.

This was almost the timing I was looking for.  Next time, I'm gonna have to try to get it closer to the front.  anyway, I do like this picture though.
 

Some Aerial Shots of the Ypsilanti Depot

 So on Wednesday night I was hoping to catch some pictures of the Wolverine.

While I was waiting, I figured I would take some pictures of the depot.

The lighting was just about right but a little subdued because of the smoke in the air.

I moved the drone to my normal waiting spot....and waited....and waited...and waited.  I brought it back because the battery was running low.  It turned out that the Wolverine was running late.

 I got a picture of the freight house before packing it in.  I heard the Wolverine about two hours later as I was sitting in my room.  By then it was way too dark.

Oh well, next time, right?

Return to the Wolverine

 I wanted to play with my drone again last night.  I was going to go to another spot but I didn't have time after dinner, so I headed down to Depot Town.

If the train were late, like it's been lately, I would have had time to go to my other spot.

It wasn't long before it appeared.

It got closer.

I ended up cropping this shot a little bit.

After the train passed, I wanted to play with the drone a little bit so I could drain the battery.

A shot of Depot Town.

The Hudson Museum.

The freight house.

I tried to use my drone to get an engineer's view.  This is not something I would do with myself even though there is one eastbound and one westbound daily.  Still, always assume there is a train on the track.
 

Just a Test Flight

 Well tonight was an eventful night with the drone.  I thought that I would use the drone to get some pictures of the Ford Lake Dam.   So I go to a park that is just off the base of it and I thought that I would get some pictures.  As I get the drone over the river, I find out that it is an authorization zone and the drone would start landing in 99 seconds.  So I get some altitude on the drone and get it back.  Unfortunately, I crashed it in something.  It seemed okay but I needed to test it.

I knew that I could fly it over Depot Town but I didn't have much time because a storm was approaching.  So I took a picture of the freight house.

Another angle of the freight house.  Everything seems okay.

So I moved over to get a picture of the depot.

One more picture of the freight house before landing.