Ghost Court

This is a Tennis court not far from Our House which has been totally neglected. We happened to find it while searching for available courts to practice at in Our area.The picture doesn't show it well but the closer of four courts is the best of the lot--and thats not saying much!Looks very spooky with the fog that was rolling in from Lake superior that day!
  I always think its sad to see Houses,buildings and facilities like this  fall into disrepair. Recently the older wing of the Elementary school where Our children went to school was demolished. I always liked the older part of the school better than the new! Must be My age :))
73--Tim

Grandma's Marathon 2014

We are lucky to live in an area which sponsors a premier marathon like Grandma's Marathon. Our Daughter ran Her first Half marathon Yesterday and was able to finish with a smile on Her face. She didn't train for the run as much as She would have wanted but did great anyway. First Marathon was a thrill for Her to complete. Weather was real typical for Duluth area-cool and foggy but for running it was maybe ideal conditions as the course record for the full Marathon was broken after 30+ years!
I also had an opportunity to listen to the local repeater and was impressed (as always) with the professional communications for the Marathon by the local radio club - The Arrowhead Radio Amateur Club! Congratulations on another well-planned and executed event - And also a Heartfelt Congratulations to Our Daughter for a well run race :)
73---Tim

ARRL June VHF contest 2014

A very stormy weekend and some inside work in the basement gave Me incentive to at least monitor and maybe participate in this Years June VHF contest. Conditions for the weekend were not spectacular but I managed to hear a small opening on 6m Sunday and added a few QSO's to the total.
I also snagged a few locals on 6,2 and 432. Participation did seem to be less than previous years so that was too bad but because of the little activity , I'm happy to report I finished My projects! Wahoo!!!
It's also interesting to note my choice of antenna for 6m-- using My 10m beam and tuner. Not great but passable. At the very end of the contest I happened to try tuning My actual 5 element 6m beam at 50 feet and lo and behold-- less than 2:1!!!
Wow-- this antenna has been out of commission for several years with high SWR and no one to climb and repair! Oh well-- maybe some e-skip this summer and I'll give it another try.
Not a great number of QSO's-- really needed a good long 6m opening!
73---Tim