What happened to "it's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand?"
I mean...I'm so sorry to hear that. You should get cracking!
CK5
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Adventures with Big Blue
- Thread starter campfire
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- air supply rocks
What happened to "it's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand?"
I mean...I'm so sorry to hear that. You should get cracking!
But its soooo hot here. This humidity makes a fat kid sweat!!!
It's July. People in every corner of this country are complaining about the heat right now. Even up here, folks are griping like the world is over.
FWIW, our daytime temps have only hit 80* once this week. And people still gripe, cause it's not what they're used to. And by the time they are used to it, the weather gets cold again. Personally I think people just like to complain about things. That goes for you, too, good sir. Sweating or not, that truck is calling you.
When people quit complaining, that's when you need to worry.
So is big blue ready for the dunes?
It's not particularly set up for dunes, but I'm planning on bringing it there anyways. I have 2 maintenance items to knock out this weekend before heading out for the 8 hour drive. I've run it through a couple of hundred miles in the last few days, and I haven't found any new issues. I'm a little concerned about the 225/75R16 tires on the front end, I can't run them much below 25psi before they start to look like they're coming off the rims. Bringing skinny tires to the dunes sounds kinda like bringing ice cream cake to weight watchers.
Silver Lake or bust.
Someone loan the guy some 31's!
If he were closer...
If I were closer I probably wouldn't be making it over there. Just like you aren't making it over there. Maybe we should just be glad that I'm far enough away from you to make this a feasibility.
Well, I'm not Roadkill, but I will have my DSLR clicking its way through Michigan. It's kinda like Roadkill in time lapse.
Also, I tried to hit the clutch on this thing today. It's a real inconvenience to press on an imaginary clutch. Turns out that pedal runs the brakes on this truck. 
#AutomaticsSuck
#AndSoDoHashtags
#AutomaticsSuck
#AndSoDoHashtags
Check Craigslist for some cheap 31" tires.
Wait, doesn't that thing have 3.08's?
Check Craigslist for some 25" tires.
Martin
Wait, doesn't that thing have 3.08's?
Check Craigslist for some 25" tires.
Martin
Bwahahaha. I once put 31" tires on the back to see how well it would do. It was slow. Even slower than normal. And 4th gear was useless. The 29s are a good street size for cruising, but it still is no drag racer. I know Adam doesn't believe in using low range, but my truck is slower than his. I will probably need it.
And FWIW, all of Yooperland shares one craigslist server. Looking through the whole 350 miles' worth of coverage, there is one set of chevy wheels for sale right now. 8 lug rims (90s style), half-worn 245/75/16 tires, $250 for 4 of 'em. And I'd hafta drive 2 hours each way to get them. It's just not worth the trip. Looking South into Wisconsin yields marginally better results, but still nothing that would be particularly cheap, and no bolt-on matches.
Silver Lake trip was good. Picked up some minor damage from the dunes, and had one maintenance incident on the way. We had barely hit Escanaba when rain started. And continued. All the rest of the day, and much of the night. And a bunch of the next day. It rained almost the whole way to Silver Lake.
We also opted to drive out via the Soo instead of heading straight to da Bridge.
Spotted this old California Zephyr sitting idly along the roadside. I wonder what its story is.
Here is the International Bridge.
Thanks to the locks, Sault Ste. Marie has an interesting set of bridges. 4 locks sit on the American side and 1 sits on the Canadian side. The highway traffic is raised up high enough to allow the ships to pass underneath, but the railroad traffic isn't. On the American side the trains have a lift bridge and a draw bridge. On the other side they have a rotating bridge. So the trains hafta pass over 3 different types of moving bridges to make the trek.
Lift bridge (open) on left, draw bridge (closed) on right.
Freighter locking down-lake.
This large observational tower sits along the shore. Looking odd, and eating tourist dollars.
A short ways down the road sits the S.S. Valley Camp, a retired freighter turned into a shipping museum. This was what we wanted to see on this soggy day.
Here is the freighter Edgar B. Speer now on the Lake Huron side of the locks. Slowly ambling out of port, it is taking on provisions from the supply boat traveling alongside.
We also opted to drive out via the Soo instead of heading straight to da Bridge.
Spotted this old California Zephyr sitting idly along the roadside. I wonder what its story is.
Here is the International Bridge.
Thanks to the locks, Sault Ste. Marie has an interesting set of bridges. 4 locks sit on the American side and 1 sits on the Canadian side. The highway traffic is raised up high enough to allow the ships to pass underneath, but the railroad traffic isn't. On the American side the trains have a lift bridge and a draw bridge. On the other side they have a rotating bridge. So the trains hafta pass over 3 different types of moving bridges to make the trek.
Lift bridge (open) on left, draw bridge (closed) on right.
Freighter locking down-lake.
This large observational tower sits along the shore. Looking odd, and eating tourist dollars.
A short ways down the road sits the S.S. Valley Camp, a retired freighter turned into a shipping museum. This was what we wanted to see on this soggy day.
Here is the freighter Edgar B. Speer now on the Lake Huron side of the locks. Slowly ambling out of port, it is taking on provisions from the supply boat traveling alongside.
Inside the ship, some of the cargo holds have been filled with museum exhibits. Artifacts from the shipping industry, pieces of old ships, memorials. And then, of course, the ship itself is a museum exhibit, so the backdrop is in some ways even more interesting than the artifacts.
And the ceiling of each bunker is lined with removable hatches for loading purposes.
Portholes along the way offer views of the St. Mary's Seaway.
Most of the cool engine room stuff is either off limits or difficult to photograph (or both). But here is the turning gear for the rudder. Water bottle at the bottom to provide a sense of scale.
Looking out the Port-side port-hole at the departing tour boat. 3 years ago we were on that boat looking over at this one.
In one of the holds they have converted a section of ship into an aquarium. Kinda odd, but cool to see the fishies swimming past the rusty beams.
And in this region a maritime museum isn't complete without at least a picture of the Edmund Fitzgerald. This museum is the proud curator of the 1.5 lifeboats that were the only remains of the shipwreck.
The boat may be ruined, but it's still the largest surviving piece of Lake Superior's most recent shipping disaster.
Here's the half-boat (no stern end).
And the ceiling of each bunker is lined with removable hatches for loading purposes.
Portholes along the way offer views of the St. Mary's Seaway.
Most of the cool engine room stuff is either off limits or difficult to photograph (or both
). But here is the turning gear for the rudder. Water bottle at the bottom to provide a sense of scale. Looking out the Port-side port-hole at the departing tour boat. 3 years ago we were on that boat looking over at this one.
In one of the holds they have converted a section of ship into an aquarium. Kinda odd, but cool to see the fishies swimming past the rusty beams.
And in this region a maritime museum isn't complete without at least a picture of the Edmund Fitzgerald. This museum is the proud curator of the 1.5 lifeboats that were the only remains of the shipwreck.
The boat may be ruined, but it's still the largest surviving piece of Lake Superior's most recent shipping disaster.
Here's the half-boat (no stern end).
We then headed up to the deck to see the outside of the ship. Someone left a stepside out in that parking lot. 
This shot shows the many hatches covering the cargo holds.
In the pilot house
Shots from the bow.
This shot shows the many hatches covering the cargo holds.
In the pilot house
Shots from the bow.
Shots from the stern. IIRC, this building here is the world's widest hydroelectric dam. It's situated perpendicular to the flow of the seaway, so the water flows out to the left and then turns downstream. Kindof an odd arrangement. A large amount of downtown real estate is occupied by the canal for this operation.
The aforementioned rudder.
Another freighter coming up lake.
The previously-visited steel mill.
And the local ice breaker.
The aforementioned rudder.
Another freighter coming up lake.
The previously-visited steel mill.
And the local ice breaker.
