Day 54 - International Falls, MN to Orr, MN - Two Far 2020 - NTF (Not Two Far)

July 23, 2020

Day 54 - International Falls, MN to Orr, MN

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Today was a retrace of our route on Monday. We rode the same roads back to Orr after our visit to International Falls. Mother Nature is messing with us on this route. On our northbound ride Sunday, we had a very strong wind from the north. On our southbound ride today, we had a moderate wind from the south in the morning which became stronger as the day progressed.

Apart from the constant wind, it was a good ride. It was sunny and mild, the roads were good and the drivers remain courteous and careful around us.

We saw this herd of cows in a field along the road.

Then we saw that some of them had climbed up on what looks like big piles of dirt and were chilling out there.

The traffic wasn't heavy today, but there were a lot of big trucks. The log trucks headed south were almost all empty and the ones headed north were almost all loaded.

We figured this driver had added to the huge stacks of timber in International Falls.

And this driver was going to add his load there.

This is a billboard for our motel. The sign is true - it is one of the cleanest places we've ever stayed. It was a long 37 miles after we passed this sign.

On Monday, when we rode to International Falls, Kerry was very disappointed not to see any trains go by. He was happy that he got to see two trains today!

This just looked like a field full of junk.

Then Kerry noticed the structure that looks like canvas wrapped around posts in the ground. Does anyone have any idea what it could be?

Where we live, attempting to ride the manatees like horses is strictly illegal. Do they encourage saddling up and riding the walleye here???

We took a break by the side the road and I took a picture of this mass of wildflowers.

Then I decided to try out the macro setting on the new camera. Worked well, I think.

Kerry here... I mentioned Sunday that our motel is right across the street from a busy CN mainline. I've had fun watching the trains from our window and counting cars. So far the longest has been 170 cars.

Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 1,571 miles (2,528 km)

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John PescatoreLooks like Garmin got hit by ransomware, might not be until Saturday that everything comes back up.
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4 years ago

Keith A. SpanglerNot sure I could count that far! Hey, I have a campsite here that you, Kerry, would enjoy. It sits 75 yards off the tracks so when the train comes it feels and sounds Ike it is coming right through the tent. At night you get the extra sensation of the bright headlight to help you read.
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4 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo John PescatoreThanks for letting us know. I see your background is cybersecurity. You probably know more than you wish you did about ransomware!
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4 years ago

John PescatoreTo Jeanna & Kerry SmithShort answer about ransomware: Back up all your important data and you will be largely safe. Many smaller (like state and local) organizations skimp on that and have been getting taken down.

Most big companies (like Garmin) took steps a few years ago but the bad guys are persistent - like those flies that get in the tent the very every time you forget to pull the zipper all the way up!

Other than map posting, hope it is not impacting you - Garmin web still saying right now "We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience."
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4 years ago

Jayme JohnsonTo Keith A. SpanglerI know that campsite. I stayed there while on a ride with Jim Klobuchar years ago. Your description matches identically with what I share about it to this day.
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4 years ago

Lou HarminCounting train cars that are passing seems to be a rather busy job!
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4 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Lou HarminLou,
I tell Jeanna that I want stop and watch the train, but what I really want is to just take a break. However, it is a good senility test. I figure as long as I can count to one hundred (or more) without losing track, I'm not there yet.

Kerry
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4 years ago

Jayme JohnsonTo Keith A. SpanglerAs I thought about that campsite on the Klobuchar ride, it was at the Cook city park and not in Orr. Same ambience, however.
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4 years ago