Postcards from the Park

  Sunrise over Industrial Windsor  I have been watching the sunrise over the far side of the Detroit River over the past few days. Today, I managed to take my SLR and capture the moment I had in mind.

  Milliken State Park and Harbor K-1522 I tried to activate the park early in the morning before heading to work, but the bands were not cooperating. After my repeated CQs did not get any response, I decided to enjoy the sunlight over the Detroit River. On the other side of the river you are looking into Ontario, Canada. Turning the other way, the early sunrays catch the Renaissance /Center building on the riverfront

Heritage Park, Farmington Hills, MI This is not a POTA entity (yet!). This is a city-owned park with free public access that teems with small wildlife: deer, turkey, geese. In addition, the park is home to a wide variety of birds. A small nature center, and water park are free for anyone,  I snapped this during a morning walk. The interplay of the colorful sunlight against a seemingly drab winter landscape makes for an interesting picture I think. My regret was that I could not get the goose chicks at the right moment. They scampered away into the darkness before I could shoot this picture.

  Dodge #4 State Park K-1495 Well this attempt to activate failed due to equipment failure [antenna]. I usually carry backups, but was in no mood to sling a wire up the tree in the cold when the feedline to my vertical failed. So instead, I waited for the sun to come up [around 7am local time] and ran up to the edge of the lake to capture this one. I confess I did a little window dressing by moving a trash can out of the frame,

Belle Isle State Park K-1487 After I had snapped the picture of downtown Detroit I packed up my SLR and completed my POTA activation. It took me about 30 minutes and dawn was breaking. As I was about to leave, I caught this sight on my car's rearview mirror. Not wishing to be late for work, but not wanting to miss capturing this, I did a quick job with my cell phone. This picture was taken from the same spot as above, but just looking the other way Sunrise over James Scott Memorial Fountain

Belle Isle State Park K-1487 When I was at Belle Isle the previous day around the same time, I saw this beautiful sight. I snapped a picture with the cell phone; I was not happy with the results. I returned the next day with my SLR and monopod to capture this image. The buildings are about 3/4 mile ( 1.2 Km ) away. At the lower left of the picture, you see the lights outlining the Ambassador Bridge, that links Detroit, MI to Windsor, ON Canada. Belle Isle is in the middle of the Detroit River that separates the two countries and is part of the United States. I should take the tripod the next time. Temperatures were around 0 deg C (32F) Downtown Detroit gleaming!

Mike Levine Lakelands State Trail Park K-1513 One of the rarer opportunity to take in a walk after an activation. A crisp winter day in Michigan; clear blue skies, but temperatures below freezing. This multi county trail runs through multiple counties and I intend to traverse all of it some day!