May 11, 2012

First, I must thank Tweell, Cousin Linda, my Aunt B.J. and Uncle Rob, my uncle "Mad Dog", Dave, Sneaux (really Sneaux, the laptop was more than enough!), and a HUGE thank you to Granny B! Yer damn straight your subscription is included Granny! All of y'all are keeping these stories going, and if either ever gets published you'll all get a signed copy for sure! Thank you so much for all y'all have done for me. I'm eternally grateful, and this installment is dedicated to all of you...

11:30 A.M. We stopped at the scene of what had been a huge fire fight. Burned up military and civilian vehicles alike are scattered over a couple square miles of open fields, and shell casings are everywhere. So are the bones of the fallen. With solemn respect for those who fell here, we carefully searched the scene for anything that might be useful to us. Didn't find much besides a few knives, a couple jerry cans, and some camouflage netting. Having packed these few things in the Scout, we quietly left the area. After we put that place a few miles behind us we stopped to eat, and I took a few moments to put this down to paper while it was still fresh.

9:45 P.M. We moved north/northeast alongside Interstate 81 today. The good news is that there's a lot more dead vehicles on this stretch of highway. And the bad news is that there's a lot more dead vehicles on this stretch of highway...

We topped off our fuel tanks from the numerous 18 wheelers we encountered, and made good use of the Scout's winch to clear our path on several occasions this afternoon. One "bonus" we did manage to capitalize on was a grocery store truck which still contained several partial pallets of canned food. Much of it's load had already been taken, but there still remained several weeks' worth for the three of us. Another lucky find was an auto supply truck which carried a bunch of fuel stabilizer, amongst other stuff. I've begun to worry about how long the fuel we find will remain usable, but this stuff will help prolong the life of the diesel we find along the way. Otherwise, we would soon be faced with the task of "brewing" up our own fuel from grease bins and/or animal fat. This would slow our progress significantly.

Kevin and I went hunting again this evening, and tonight we brought down a calf which was wandering aimlessly in a field nearby. I hated to kill something so large, knowing we wouldn't be around long enough to make use of it all, but I consoled myself with the knowledge that a lot of other critters would certainly take advantage of what we leave behind.

Once again, Josey made an incredible meal out of our kill, and we stuffed what we could into the propane powered freezer in the RV. That's one good thing; we are able to find lots of propane cylinders, and the stuff doesn't go bad. Maybe we should start looking for a propane powered vehicle. When all the diesel has gone bad, propane will still be out there in large quantity. It's definitely something to think about. That, or switching to travel by water.

Meanwhile, our purpose is still unclear. I suppose we're looking for other survivors, but on the other hand we're trying to avoid them. I am trying to avoid them anyway, given my past experience. Maybe Josey and Kevin have a different perspective. I should ask them about that. But the fire is getting low, and the hour is late. There's another day of who knows what ahead, and it's time to rest...