Looking upriver from the Mid-Michigan Rail Bridge early Tuesday morning.
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North Branch Dawn
Author: Nick Kroes
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Meet The Neighbors!
Twice in the last week, these gorgeous birds have been seen keeping actual eagle eyes on Muskegon River kayaks, canoes, and especially small animals.
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Long Chute. Long Shot.
Smartphone or a real camera? For a lot of pix, either will work great. While it’s possible to use your phone for this type of long exposure, it’s much easier with a camera.
Why shoot a long exposure at all? Check out the smartphone version of this picture below to see what a big difference a little time makes.
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Nysinyd
From a morning paddle on the Nysinyd Chute.
Nysinyd is not an anglicized misspelling of a Native American term. It’s an acronym for “now you see it, now you don’t”. This passage through the Muskegon River grasslands appears and disappears on an almost daily basis depending on water level and plant growth.
With all of the high water, it has been more accessible in the last couple weeks than during most summers.
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Gray Morning On The Muskegon
A morning on the Long Chute of the Muskegon River.
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River Reflection
A grassy bank along the Muskegon River on the morning of May 29, 2017.
Michigan Adventure opens next week. Here early morning moments of quiet before this year’s crowds arrive.
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Julianne Johnson
This is a banjo rendition of the tune, Julianne Johnson, a wonderful old piece that comes from the playing of Bruce and Becca Ling.
Bruce, Becca, and their band, Hawks and Owls are one of the best traditional music organizations in West Michigan. They have been playing great music for many years and always put on a great show – so get out there and support the music!
More Hawks and Owls history from their site…
It was the fall of 97, and in came an unexpected phone call from a man I didn’t know. The unfamiliar voice said, “the Kalamazoo Folklife Organization is having their annual fundraiser, would you like to bring your band down and participate?” “Of course,” said I, even though I didn’t have a band, or was playing regularly with one at the time.
“Bruce, what’s the name of your band?,” was the next question, and my immediate improvised response was “Hawks & Owls”, a way of honoring the many Birds of Prey that have crossed my path since I was a child. I had always been the kid everyone brought the injured wild things to, and had spent a few years volunteering in the hospital at Blandford Nature Center, focusing on the care and healing of Raptors.
The line-up for that first show was Bill VanVugt on guitar, Andy Urqart on bass, and me on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar. We played an hour set of Bluegrass, Irish, Appalachian, and Country Blues, the crowd went wild, and a band was born.
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Foggy Lakefront
From a walk along Muskegon’s downtown lakefront on a foggy November morning.
Besides the fence at Heritage Landing, the fog made the dock pilings, the roundabout statue, and the congregational church all look great.
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Dock in Fog
A very foggy Muskegon Lake morning on November 6, 2016.
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Muskegon Morn
Muskegon Lake before sunrise on the morning of October 25, 2016
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Fall Out
A peninsula near the mouth of Ruddiman Creek shows off the fall colors.
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Big Bird
A Muskegon River heron on the morning of September 24, 2016
Earlier, the sunrise looked like a Rorschach ink blot.
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Muskegon Fishing
A fishing boat heads up the Muskegon River just before dawn. Below, the sun rose about an hour later.
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Farther Along
After passing the old rail bridge, this was the sunrise just up the river.
Here is another picture from a bit farther along.
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Rail Detail
The Mid-Michigan Rail Bridge just east of the causeway.
This is a good destination for an short hike. Simply park at the Log Booming Circle and follow the tracks towards the river. It’s a lot of fun and a great place to shoot sunrise pix.
If you’re feeling adventurous, as you head back towards Cobb, take a left at the old gazebo. It’s the beginning of a long trail into the river delta. It’s a bit rough but very beautiful.
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Nysinyd Chute
From the Nysinyd Chute on the Muskegon River. The chute’s name derives from it’s seasonal disappearing act.
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Bee Ware
By late August, activity in this basketball sized nest had receded enough to brave a close up.
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Sectional Sunrise
The Muskegon River’s North Branch on the morning of August 15, 2016.
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Confluence
The Muskegon River’s Long Chute where it joins the North Branch just above the US-131 bridge.