River Raisin at the Old Mill Museum

The River Raisin winds through an old historic downtown area called Dundee, Michigan before eventually letting out into Lake Erie several miles downriver. These photos are a snapshot of a river park near the Old Mill Museum. Such a beautiful little sanctuary in the heart of the downtown. 

Old Mill Museum along the River Raisin in historic downtown Dundee, MI 

A river park along River Raisin in historic downtown Dundee

River Raisin in historic downtown Dundee, Michigan

Red Cedar River

Fortune smiled upon us with a convenient and unexpected walk along the Red Cedar River today. I haven't visited this river in several years, I felt blessed to have it visit me in a way.

I thought it seemed pretty low, judging by the water lines on the north bank.

and I was right, it was pretty low, and more than a foot lower than this time last year.

An impromptu visit: River Raisin

Fortune smiled upon me Thursday and lead me on an impromptu adventure near the River Raisin gauge site I had been hoping to check out soon. I found the site, located on the north bank in a spot difficult to stop and photograph, so I instead gathered some pictures from the county park a half mile or so upstream. Again, the water about to be logged!

I also brought my new anemometer along this time, which I set to read out in knots and Celsius because... why not? So I jotted in my notebook the local air temperature at 21 degrees Celsius and variable winds from the northeast at 2 knots. This is particularly indulgent for a data collector who was so pleased to find USGS records eight different data parameters at the gauge site (#04176500). For now, here are the two graphs showing flow and river height. Note that these graphs show the influx of water from the rain the evening of March 25-26. The pictures are from shortly before the rain.

Finally some rain!

Finally got a whopping 1.13 inches of rain yesterday and (mostly) last night. It's been fairly dry now for almost a month so it was a nice surprise this morning when I checked the rain gauge. I ventured a short trip over to the Huron River near Gallup Park and found a new spot on the south bank. Nothing much going on except the usual, ducks and geese and trumpeter swans and the like. It's becoming something of a series, this Huron River lately.

Creek to River

This is the creek and river I keep talking about

Dove into map madness this morning. 

Still trying to pull myself up and out of it but I thought I'd take a moment to share a map of the creek and river I keep talking about. The creek is the one that roughly follows the train tracks to the upper right. The Canal Street gauge site is at the bottom of the tiny triangle.

(Map snippet from the online interactive viewer at MapWashtenaw)

Ye olde Argo Dam

I just came back from an early afternoon walk by the Argo Dam. I realized it's been quite a while since my last gallivant in this direction. Things have changed!

and of course a snapshot from my favorite river bank near Canal Street:

water flow cubic feet per second

river gage height at Canal Street site

The river collection

This is the latest in my river collection 

and Canal Street connection.

The Huron River at the Canal Street site in Ann Arbor where most of the 'river near Canal Street' videos are taken is about 150 feet upriver from a USGS river gage site. 

So basically this is the water about to be logged.

As you can see the water flow this week spiked right around the ice out dates I logged for March 2-4 and then steadily decreased. It is also notably below average water levels for this time of year.

the original flow chart

river height March 1-8 at Canal street site

Where waters meet

It was um, cold out there today mostly because of the wind chill. Still *technically* above freezing, but there were a few more car side photos taken this time around. This one I snapped while standing on a tall park bench to get a better view over the rocky shoreline.

Detroit River, facing Canada, moments before it meets the sea

Pointe Mouillee is where the Huron River lets out into Lake Erie. This short recording shows the vantage point from the Pointe Mouillee Marsh DNR Headquarters.

A view of Pointe Mouillee marsh from Hull's Trace landing

What is lovely about this region is that it is where three waters meet. The Huron River and the Detroit River (actually a strait) each flow into Lake Erie in roughly a five mile area. It makes it feel like there is a whole lot going on. 

And while breathing the cool fresh air is a nice change from being inside all winter, I am definitely looking forward to much warmer temperatures, arriving hopefully as soon as the day after tomorrow.

Sunday story of ice

Some highlights from the lower section of the Huron River. I traveled downriver and then worked my way back inland towards home. Perhaps most notable is that all areas of the river that are wide still have considerable amounts of ice. Of the lakes I passed, Belleville Lake is nearly 100% ice cover, and Ford Lake is at least 60% ice cover (unfortunately I missed the spot to turn off to get photos of Ford Lake). Beginning on the east side of Belleville Lake at Sandy's Marina, here is a short series to tell the story:

Belleville Lake, east end near Sandy's Marina

Belleville east boat launch site (MI DNR) 

Huron River near Water Street, Ypsilanti

Huron River at Gallup Park boat launch, Ann Arbor

Creek Life

A foggy mist out there this morning.

Just a trace of precipitation over the last day. I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon walking by the creek and river. The creek is working overtime doing its job. It's always so beautiful to see it functioning in top form. So often throughout the rest of the year it is a tiny, quiet tributary, but in the season for snowmelt, it shows off.

As I was walking along the creek I thought about how fortunate I am to live so nearby that I can see it from my balcony. A two minute walk and I can quickly gather the status of its condition. Knowing this little creek will ultimately flow into the Huron River, and then on to Lake Erie, is such a lovely blessing. It is a very simple way to feel connected with nature and the Great Lakes, even an hour inland from the nearest shore.

I decided on my walk that my goal will be to capture as much of the river's journey throughout the spring season as my capacities will allow. From creek to Great Lake.

Driven to precision

A bit of a colder start this morning so the natural world can say a long goodbye to the ice. I finally revved up my Android Blackberry device to take some photos -- it is a phone I bought aftermarket and quickly realized it functions much better as a field camera than as an actual phone. Here are the results: 

This is the west end of the pond as seen from my main balcony. A lot of the ice cover is gone from this side because the water drains into the creek, as you can see. 

The more I write about what seem like mundane details about the time of year the ice melts, the more I want to go out in the field and document and share more observations. It is an excellent motivating force and one most welcome. It drives me to be ever more precise, which I find rewarding.

A view of the pond facing north-northeast

26 degrees F at the airport on the south side at 9am this morning and 29 degrees F on the northeast corner of the city. I'm sure the variation is due in part to different sensors, but also the difference in elevation (about 70 feet farther up the hill on my side of town). 

And there is a lovely clear blue sky this morning; it seems we can look forward to more of this over the next several days (finally!). 

Update: A peek at the Huron River this afternoon around 3pm:

a few videos of the Huron River

I have this loose collection of videos of the Huron River in Michigan that I am still not sure what to do with, if anything. But here they are.