After spending a few days in Michigan, i took a train from Ann Arbor to Chicago. It was delightful; as we were boarding, i found myself towards the tail end of the line. This meant that by the time i got on the train, there were nearly NO available seats in the first car… but the second car was delightfully empty. It did fill up a bit, but it was very quiet, and i had a front-row seat (which meant i could stretch my legs quite nicely).
It was a 5 hour train ride, and my camera’s batteries died after 2 hours. Guess how happy i was about that? Peh. I wound up taking about 130 pictures on the train, and only six of them came out. I’m actually rather pleased about that number, given that i was taking pictures through a window that was scrungy on the outside, and the train was generally moving at 79 mph (standard for long distance passenger trains, if i recall correctly). These aren’t the greatest pictures i’ve ever taken, but they’re the best of that bunch.
And without further ado… pictures behind the cut!
First up: a gorgeous sky and some odd bits. It was actually sunny in Michigan! I guess i was just lucky to be there during three out of the 5-10 sunny days they get per calendar year. The original subject of this photo was an odd wagon platform thingie; you can kind of see it just left of center, to the right of the pile of lightly colored wood. But alas, getting a good angle isn’t always possible at 79 mph.
See what i mean about the sky? Light, fluffy clouds that look good enough to stick on a paper cone and sell at a county fair. Nom.
The foliage in MI is giving hints that it’s prepping for it’s autumn fashion show. Rumor has it that Red Is In, this year.
Scenes like this almost made up for the fact that i wasn’t able to take any walks by Lake Michigan on my trip. Almost.
There were oodles of ponds, lakes and rivers to be seen on my train ride. I tried to get pictures of people canoeing and kayaking, but they passed by too quickly to get a good photo. I particularly loved seeing the sky reflected in the waters.
Passing over a highway. I wish the chain link had been a bit clearer, but i like the way the supports framed this image.
And unfortunately, my camera’s batteries died not too long after that shot. Such a shame, too. I passed through Gary, Indiana; while it isn’t a particularly nice place to look at, i wanted to get pictures for contrast. There were so many images of clear sky, beautiful farms and woodlands in Michigan, and then there was the yellowish haze that permeates the air in Gary. The sort of small towns that seemed quaint in Michigan seemed much more bleak and tired in Indiana.
Technological mishaps aside, this was easily one of the most pleasant parts of my vacation. I love seeing family, but i’m also a bit of a curmudgeonly recluse who prefers grass and sky over concrete and steel. That being said, my parents and i took a rather nifty day-trip to East Chicago, Indiana, where my stepmum and i got to take some interesting photos of factories and other industrial bits.
Next up: Chicago and the aforementioned industrial bits.