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The latest from @lorenkarr on Instagram

I woke up early this morning to get my second Moderna jab (so far, painless). Afterwards, I went for a little drive, and I caught UP 8697 in charge of a fast moving eastbound stacker just east of Jordon, Iowa. 4/17/21. Out with the old, in with the new. 4/16/21. A red-winged blackbird. I think I agitated him. I have that effect on critters and people. 4/16/21. Work continues on the realignment of Iowa Highway 17 a few miles east of Boone. UP 6875 has just passed through Ogden, Iowa as it leads empty hoppers back to the coal fields out west for refills. The train was close to being made up of all UP cars (or UP predecessors) -- could have been dubbed the flat spot express, though. 4/11/21. After holding west of Ogden, Iowa for quite some time, the 7117 West gets underway again, and is ready to rattle a few windows in the town of Beaver on 4/11/21. I don't think I ever posted these -- I think because I wasn't happy with the lighting. On 4/5/21, the SD60 sisters blocked my path to picking up my grocery order, then heading on to work, as they worked the east end of the yard at Boone. And the Bird Alert System has been activated... I'm just sitting here, looking through pictures, realizing that I haven't been on Amtrak since 2018. 2019 brought a new position at work, and I didn't think that I should travel then. 2020, a pandemic. I'm really looking forward to riding the rails again. Amtrak 6, the eastbound California Zephyr, arrives in Osceola, Iowa on a dreary Wednesday, May 2, 2018.