Thank you guys for all your support here. This is the most fun I have had since 1986. Shirley's and Commo Central both seem like good ideas.
I stopped by Howard's and talked with Buddy. The report is that nearly all the military vehicles are gone to scrap. What is left is junk and piece parts. There are some conex's full of parts, and a few hulks, but due to pouring rain, I didn't go too far. I only investigated back about 100 yards on the east side of the road. Also the rain, no pictures.. As a reward for getting wet and muddy, I found 4 LS-454 speakers (VRC-12) and 4 of the short 2'? VHF antennas, two of which fit a sugar scoop, hummer mount, or equivalent, and two of which are the kind with the ceramic insulator. Also some kind of fuel-fired personnel heater, maybe 8" diameterand 18" long, with sort of a 1" diameter tube running halfway down its length, and a box full of electrical stuff on top. There looks like an exhaust pipe on the bottom, not sure. I has a motor inside and says it draws 8 amps while running and is 20,000 BTU. Buddy has alot of hummer seat cushions, offered them to me for $5 each in quantity but I was low on cash after buying the electronic stuff. Someone should go by there and make some deals on what's left, I can't really describe it all, not sure what most of it is for. There was a load of what looked like 28V 400A power supplies on a trailer, supposedly someone is coming to get them.
It rained all day. After leaving Buddy's, I went north on 189 to Uncle Lee's hardware. nice big store with sporting goods too. looks like wal-mart has not got him yet!
www.unclelees.com
Drove on out intending to make Charleston for Clark's, but the rain slowed travel. It got dark, and with the poring rain I had to take it slow and easy. The deuce windshield wipers are terrible. I used rain-x and it helped alot. Had to stop every 100 miles or so and put more on.
There is some kind of predator that is not afraid to fly at night in the cold rain. whatever it is, looked like a huge bat or something. It smaked into the passenger side window and busted the wiper balde off the arm. It's a good thing it was the passenger side or I would have been skee-rewed! there's no place to pull off on the what it is I believe the blue ridge parkway which goes up to Lexington.
After making it through Lexington, stopped at the "95 truck stop" in Winchester for dinner at 11PM. To my surprise the wiper blade was lying on the hood of the deuce. The little clip that holds it on the arm was busted off. How a wiper blade can be smashed off by a dragon in the middle of a storm and not fall off the vibrating hood of a deuce for 50 miles or more is beyond me.
The 95 truck stop in Winchester is a classic piece of olde-tyme America. You can smoke in the diner, there are truckers and rednecks and former military guys and some bikers (maybe from the concrete? plant across the street) and the food is great, surly/sweet waitesses, home style cookin', real tough lookin guys talking about Jesus at the next table, a great atmosphere. Maybe this is part of the America I am looking for. I don't want to inject politics or religion, I am just glad I happened to stop there.
Deuce ran good all day, post turbo pyro held at 900 for quite a few of the interstate hills. Would not go higher. I think I will leave things as they are unless anyone objects. Hope the rain is gone in the morning.