Upper Peninsula Michigan and Auction Win Outcomes

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I was up in Wisconsin and the UP (upper peninsula) in Michigan. It was a lot of driving after launching/landing in Appleton WI. I got an item off the bucket list by driving across the "Mighty Mac". Altough it was built in the late '50s. It is still the longest suspension span in the Northern hemisphere. It is a crazy long bridge with a crazy long suspension span. It was good to see the bridge in context of the seemingly endless forests of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan. The culture in the two haves of Michigan are noticibly different as you might expect. Great time meeting with folks both in WI and MI. The tractor I won in auction, seems to have paid off. This time I beat the odds. It was a really good deal. I have the "no-key, non-running, may have hydraulic problems, unknown hours" -auction win, running well with minimal cost and time. I have some more tweaks, maintenance and minor fixes but the major risks are gone.
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I have to figure a better way to upload photos. I have lots already. I have video of me getting off the c-17 and a helo taking off and some other stuff and I have only been here two days. We don't have great bandwidth here so you really need to optimize your use-time (currently 5:51 AM Monday)and plan ahead.

Amazing, they said something about 48 hrs being an introduction period. What an experience. I am trying to settle in with a new optimized routine. !8 weeks left to go. I can make it as well as thrive. It is important.

I went to work for about 4.5 hrs on Sunday (normally our day off) I have a bit of a learning curve with some new equipment. I am working on a lot of different radios including FreeWave frequency hoppers (900 Mhz), Cisco wireless bridges (direct sequence 802.11 2.4 Ghz), Iridium phones, Optaphones, Harris RF stuff, Datron PRC-1099, ICOM & Standard HTs (Marine, Aero and Mobile), Motorola GM 300s and a bunch of other stuff. There are 8 VHF/UHF networks out of McMurdo. All of which have a repeater system of some sort usually a mix of VHF and UHF. Things are pretty well documented and standardized. My job is to get these systems working for the summer season after being mothballed for the winter. So that means a lot of site visits. The photos of these sites are absolutely incredible. There are 2 other people doing my job and it appears one of the hobbies is to retreive unusual rocks (If there are any, this place is 98% ice) from these extraordinary locations atop mountains and field camps. In addition to setup and teardown for the season, I have to fix whatever, whenever it breaks.

Overall it is a really strange experience being here. The rocks on the ground, the weather, we might as well be on another planet. And this is the one of the milder places to be! Last night at dinner we had a loud discussion regarding an ethical dilemma that if we lost our supply lifeline, would you kill a human to survive. It didn't seem as hypothetical as these discussions usually are.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Charles
You've made it! :) Thank you for posting this for us to read. It's amazing and educational experience for us back at home.
4:35 PM
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Upper Peninsula Michigan and Auction Win Outcomes

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Image
I was up in Wisconsin and the UP (upper peninsula) in Michigan. It was a lot of driving after launching/landing in Appleton WI. I got an item off the bucket list by driving across the "Mighty Mac". Altough it was built in the late '50s. It is still the longest suspension span in the Northern hemisphere. It is a crazy long bridge with a crazy long suspension span. It was good to see the bridge in context of the seemingly endless forests of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan. The culture in the two haves of Michigan are noticibly different as you might expect. Great time meeting with folks both in WI and MI. The tractor I won in auction, seems to have paid off. This time I beat the odds. It was a really good deal. I have the "no-key, non-running, may have hydraulic problems, unknown hours" -auction win, running well with minimal cost and time. I have some more tweaks, maintenance and minor fixes but the major risks are gone.
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