Saving The Old Rustbucket--My 1982 FJ40 Tale (8 Viewers)

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Oh my.... :confused::rolleyes::confused:

:D

TJK

Commander Armstrong, please remind us of what year this adventure took place? Things, among them Lee, the Turtle and technology, have come a long way since this memorable road trip occurred.
As you were...
 
Commander Armstrong, please remind us of what year this adventure took place? Things, among them Lee, the Turtle and technology, have come a long way since this memorable road trip occurred.
As you were...

Steve, the great road odyssey took place in March-April-May of 2005. Most of the mileage was racked up in April. You may recall that I was back from the Big Island in time to be at your casa for Crase Bash 2005, which I think was in June? July?

Technology and The Turtle have certainly improved since then, but I'm just 7 more years out of date than I was in 2005.:eek:

Lee :beer:
 
This is my first time being on MUD on a computer in a while since I now use the MUD app on my phone. Congrats on making it to STICKY status haha
 
Thanks

Thanks for letting us live these little adventures with you. Can't wait for the next installment of this serial. I can almost hear a 1940's radio announcer telling me to "tune in next week for more adventure and excitement as Sea Knight travels America on his quest to deliver his vital cargo to the far off tropical isle of Hawaii. Now a word from our sponsor..." Although, now that I have given it some thought, maybe the 1940's wouldn't be the best time for delivering a Japanese product to Hawaii!

Krusty
 
I never thought of this as book quality material but now that I'm into it and there seems to be some interest, maybe it is?

Trust me, it is.

Carry on.
 
Lee, forget the book, I want to see the movie with Clint Eastwood as Army! :beer:
 
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Lee, if these detract from the thread, let me know. I didn't get one of the cowboy statue yet, but I'll try to get one soon.
D1lES.jpg

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The view of the side of the Silver Spur from the Holiday gas station. I ate there a couple times a while back- probably 14 years or so ago, but then there was a hepatitis c outbreak linked to them that they shut down for and I haven't eaten there since. :doh::lol:
5M4o4.jpg

Your description of it is pretty spot on from what I remember it. Except I think we had different waitresses.
I think it closed for a while. The last thing I remember hearing about it was that some guy that killed his roommate had breakfast there with his other roommates shortly after.
8UfaP.jpg




the view slightly below the motel 6. It was probably not as sunny or warm during your trip.
 
OMA has made it out to Katemcy! I'd have posted a pic but we have spotty service. I can tell you he is alive and well folks.
 
So, Kona Hawaii is in Alaska, eh? Those Aleutian Islands must really stretch south!

Krusty
 
Inspiration and life reminders for all.

I would first like to thank Mr. Lee, or Commander Armstrong, for his wonderful stories. He is truly talented in the art of story telling as well as reminding us to remember those that are important in our lives. We often get busy with our own pursuits and forget to slow down and be thankful for what we have.

I'd also like to thank the Commander and his dad for their service to our Great Nation. Without their selfless devotion, I would have grown up speaking a different language and would not have the amenities afforded to us as Americans today. There are many servicemen and women in these threads that I would like to thank because far to often, their sacrifices go forgotten as the generations pass us by.

Lastly, I would like to let all of the forum contributors know that I am truly grateful to be able to learn through your trials and errors. This is helpful to us all and at a time when our resources are under serious stress. This community is a great one and I hope to carry on its tradition of quality information and integrity.

Again, thanks to Lee for inspiring those of us who have forgotten what this country was built on; God, Family, and Country!

Respectfully,
Brock
 
Subscribed!

Amazing thread! I just stumbled across it, and read almost the whole thing last night! I'm thoroughly entertained! One thought, everyone keeps talking book, (don't get me wrong, I'd definitely buy it) but. I can't imagine a book touching this thread! The ability to interact, add comments and caption, and hear those that know and have been part of these journeys, and even add our own feedback on it, make this journey we're all riding in the backseat with you as someone already mentioned, makes this better than any book I've read! Thanks for your sharing your experiences! I feel as I've known you for years and have been cruiser buddies like those you've already run into. My dad passed a number of years ago as well, and the opportunity you and army had to share this forum, and us with you has blessed us all. I also would like to thank you, army, your fallen friends, and everyone on here that's served my gratitude as well. I'm going to be following every step of this amazing journey as you go along, thanks commander!

:popcorn::clap:
 
Catching Up

Gentlemen:

I've fallen behind on my MUD duties, both reading and writing. Have been keeping a low profile while wrestling with paperwork and other issues related to Army's estate. I did manage to take a break and hitch a ride to Katemcy last weekend. Best therapy there is, hanging out with old friends from distant places, friends I rarely see. In dark times it's easy to lose sight of the friendship and support offered by the Land Cruiser community. I came away from Roundup thinking that family was a fitting description for this remarkable group. Saying thanks for the support hardly seems adequate, but I'll say it anyway, for both me and Army. Thanks men !

Getting back on track. I opened the rustbucket thread this morning for the first time in a week and found a dozen new posts I hadn't seen. Comments in no particular order...

I'm not sure who to thank for making this thread a sticky. Maybe Poser? That strikes me as an honor, and I hope the thread continues to be worthy of sticky status. I'm also grateful that it was allowed to remain in 40 tech. Moving to chat would have been a death sentence. There will be actual tech content when I finally get to the rustbucket, but that's several 40's and a few thousand miles ahead.

Thorvald, your Silver Spur and Motel 6 photos do not detract. This is a photo loving crowd, and I appreciate all contributions. The Spur looks about the same as I remember it. Your hepatitis story creeps me out; fortunately I dodged that bullet. The new building in front of the motel was not there in 2005. There was nothing there but a snow covered field. I didn't realize it was a field until I started driving across and bogged almost hub deep in mud. Nothing The Turtle couldn't handle with ease. I'm still hoping to uncover the Sheridan photos. Somewhere there's a pic of The Turtle parked in front of the motel, covered with ice sickles. Yosemite Sam may even be in the photo. Seven years ago, hard to remember whether I got him in the frame.

Brock described some of this tale as inspirational, and a reminder of things long forgotten. Yes, it's been that way for me. That's probably a big reason why the writing hasn't gone faster, and the reason I keep veering off on tangents that have nothing to do with Land Cruisers. If I was more focused, this thread would have been all tech and done a couple of weeks after it started. The way it's going, I'll write something, which reminds me of something else, and off we go into uncharted territory such as the Spearman chapters. Since I'm not a professional, that's probably the way it's gonna be until the end. If there is an end.

The thing is, this tale may never end. Yesterday I received a PM from someone who's followed this thread, asking if I'd be interested in picking up an early model 40 in the southwestern US and driving it 3,000 miles to his home...in another country. Am I interested? Does a bear s**t in the woods? If that pans out, we'll be looking at new material, and many more stories from the road. In my experience, the older the 40, the better the tales.

This thread as a serial. That was never the intention, but it definitely has become a serial. I agree that the comments have made it develop into more than anyone could have envisioned. A few pages back, someone (Fireflyr?) remarked that the comments were as good as the narrative, and they definitely are. This has become an interactive organic thread with hundreds of participants. It's the most unique thing I've seen on MUD, or anywhere else. I hope the interest and participation will continue. I don't see how it could get any better.

Book? One of our distinguished MUD members is in the publishing and editing business. He's followed the thread, and has offered some excellent ideas and constructive criticism. He thinks there's something here, and I'm listening. First let me finish the tale. Then we'll talk about the next step. If this thing ever goes into print, naturally we'd have to offer a generous MUD discount. :D

Clint Eastwood as Army in the movie version? Come on guys...The possibility of that happening is slim to none, a lot closer to none. That said, it's not a stretch to see Army as some combination of Gunnery Sgt. Highway from Heartbreak Ridge, and Walt Kowalski from Gran Torino. Even without a movie, it's easy to think of Army in that way.

Time to get busy and finish up the Montana chapter. Everybody climb in the back seat and buckle up. There's adventure ahead.

Lee :beer::beer::beer:
 
Go for it Dude!!!! :cheers: Lee, it was definitely good catching up with you at Round Up. I hope we all can do it again real soon, maybe at Hidden Falls.
 
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