Category Archives: Nature

Great Solar Eclipse of 2017

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2017 Solar Eclipse

Just as the sun slowly set and then rose again behind the new moon, we are still basking in the afterglow of yesterday’s solar eclipse. Or is it the after-dark? By we, I mean both individually and collectively, the individual participants and the community as a whole. It was our moment in the sun, sort of speak.

As you can see, I’ve been busy at processing photos. Above, I’ve constructed my version of the iconic collage that distills the eclipse into one picture. Below, I’ve further refined a GoPro time-lapse of a 1000+ shots, into just one photograph. In the foreground and in the dark are the five of us. Left-to-right are Dan, Mary, Bill, myself and Anne. Behind us you can see, but really it is all around us, the 360º glow of a surrounding sunrise/sunset. We’re on a fleeting island of darkness that is transiting quickly to the east and soon will all be voted off of it. Finally, shown is the real reason that the colander was at hand. It wasn’t there to save me from alien mind control rays. Although, it functioned well at that. It also served nicely as a pretty sweet pinhole camera array.

Under the Umbra
Crescent Colander Shadow

After the eclipse was all over, we bade farewell to Dan and Mary and charged the gathered throng that was already ensconced on the highway. Remember the collective aspect of the eclipse? It was stop-and-go all the way back to the Lou. We treated Bill to Ted Drew’s and then took him to South Grand for dinner. We ate at a new to us Thai place, that was only so-so. This morning, we sent him packing by way of Uncle Bill’s Pancake House. It was good having him visit us and it was great sharing the eclipse experience with people that we know. 

Mackinac Island

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Sailboats Passing Round Island Lighthouse
Beautiful Flowers, Beautiful Homes on Mackinac Island
Arch Rock on Mackinac Island
Troll Life Under the Mackinac Bridge

We took Shepler’s ferry to Mackinac Island, which has added a tour boat like feature to their cruise. On the way to the island, the ferry detoured to go under the Mackinac Bridge, taking us from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan and then back again. Pictures of this bridge from the car deck have been a family meme for ages. I think that my shot offers a new and interesting perspective. We had hauled our bike across on the ferry, so as soon we docked, we were ready to go. 

Instead of going counterclockwise around the island, like we usually do, we went the other way. We rode M-185 (I still can’t get over the fact that what is essentially a bike path, is also a state highway.) north as far as British Landing. Then in an attempt to escape the maddening crowd, we headed inland. It worked, mostly. We explored two new to us features, Cave in the Woods and Crack-in-the-Island. Their names are more prosaic than their actuality. Such is the power of advertising. Anne got props for negotiating a rather technical trail on her “10-speed”. The trail sported rocks, roots, mud and road apples. Oh my!

Afterwards, we went on to the pictured Arch Rock and then back down to town. We schlepped through tourist row, but didn’t find anything worth buying and all of the restaurants were too crowded. So, we took the ferry back to the mainland and had a lite late lunch in St. Ignace. We both had a great time.

 

Birch Point Rainbow

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Birch Point Rainbow

Yesterday, we left the cabin early in the morning. Pulling out of the driveway, we sounded the Master’s salute on our car horn, but at that hour, I wonder if it was heard at all. On the way, at the Green Tunnel road’s corner, we saw the pictured rainbow out over the lake, a fitting end to a cold and wet summer. Although, it looks like the forecast for this coming week is fair. Go figure.

On our way south, we stopped at Mackinac Island for a bicycling playdate, but I’ll save the telling of that adventure for another post. We continued south to Ann Arbor, where we met Jane for dinner. We went to Homes, a Thai micro-brewery on the west side of town.

This morning, Harry gave us a wakeup call, which got us on the road earlier than otherwise. After gasing and Starbucks, we left town. We made good time, eight hours, instead of the usual ten. Some speeding might have been involved, but then we also only made two stops. In central Illinois, we picked up the Cards game on KMOX. The Redbirds went on to lose the game, snapping an eight game winning streak, but now sitting only a game out of first in the division, the team is doing a lot better than when I left town. It feels good to be home again.