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 think the opening lines in "A Tale of Two Cities" has never been more true than today and what has beholden us with the pandemic. Georgia has been "open" earlier than any other state, now 2 weeks. Most restaurants are closed still, but take out is more brisk than it was a month ago. I am not seeing any changes to the reported state-by-state "body count." I am sure I am missing something unlike the folks who are sure they are not missing something.

I guess that I am trying to cope with the fact that the equivalent of a small city has died in the US from the virus (80,000). But I am also given numbers that I can't confirm. China is reporting very low numbers of deaths (5000), Russia (2000), etc. ---A source---. I don't have videos to look at like I can with the Tsunamis of 2004 (220,000) or 2011 (16,000). I didn't see a meteorite fall from the sky and explode. It is very hard to reconcile our current crisis.

Pictures:

  • The center of Terminal "A" Totally Empty at about 9:00PM on May 3rd in the World's busiest airport. Amazing!!
  • A full U-Haul after the cross country trip to Duluth. I am glad I didn't have to drive it.
  • The lawn it its rejuvenation phase now that it is getting regular doses of nutrient-rich lake water thanks to the new irrigation system.
  • The Honda back in its perch after its ride cross country and the new bathtub staged for installation.
  • I had some e-track powder-coated and I installed in the back of the truck. After having driven a truck for 30 years, I finally have some good hold downs and lashing points-- none to soon. I learned some about aerodynamics with stuff in the back of my truck over the years.
  • The invaders


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