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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Interestingly, I am not very nervous about my trip to the bottom of the world. I had tinge of it when I got PQd. Now I am fine. Bring it on. I am looking forward to being on aircraft and being out in a remote camp.

I did get a fur hat yesterday. I heard that I might need a hat in Antarctica. I have a bunch o' packing to do.. two duffle bags. In goes all my jeans and most of my work cloths as well as 1 set of nice clothes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Saturday night I will be in Denver. I am going to try and blog and paper log everyday as I am deployed. They are going to do a virus scan on my machine in Denver.

The big question is, "Why are you doing this?" The answer is that, "I am not sure." I can tell for certain that it feels as though it is something I must do. I don't really feel I have a choice. It is important and compelling. I hope to have a better answer after I am on the ice.

I will be back.

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