ArmyofOne

Sorry I have been MIA lately folks. For those that dont know, it has been a REALLY rough year for me so far. I am trying to retire (medical) from the Army after 8 years. My mother was diagnosed with hashimoto's disease in february,. A month ago, my grandmother had a stroke. My wifes family has their health issues as well, So the *BLEEP* just keeps coming. I have been keeping busy lately at home and work, trying to keep my mind off things Yesterday and today were spent removing and replacing a humvee drivetrain. Picked up the new transmission/transfer case assembly. Pulled as a whole unit from the boneyard. For those wondering this is a Turbo 400 Trans (4L80): The burnt up 4L80 and T-Case. They share fluid through a fluid coupling between the components so if you burn the trans, the t-case goes with it. Pretty stupid design if you ask me, but eh: And this is what I found when I pulled the pan and valve body off the burnt up transmission: The fluid, when removed was the color of 10,000 mile motor oil, and stunk like only burnt Dextron ATF can. Pix speak for themselves. Meanwhile, I also kept busy with the truck, and I have a new car in my fleet. A 1992 Ford Escort LX 5 spd hatch. She is an awesome beater/runabout that just rolled over 100,000 miles last week. I took time out last weekend and repainted the trucks brake calipers in candy apple red metallic. Had some leftover paint so I went and dressed up the engine bay a bit. After that I washed and waxed the truck and beater, and called it a day. And beater pix:

I am still here ya'll! Thanks to steve!

Thanks guys, thanks to all my fellow vets. "Only the dead have seen the end of war"

OK, I am biased here, but...do you need a pickup? If so, you can get a REALLY attractive deal on a Ram Laramie right now. I have seen guys getting 16k off MSRP. If you must have an SUV, there are awesome lease deals on the '12 and '13 Durango Citadel's right now, and they are super nice as well!

NC...You really...REALLY need to go test drive a Ram 1500 with the Hemi. Before you buy, talk to me and I will tell you exactly what to look for. I will never not have one now. I am on my second one and not looking to upgrade for at least 10 years.

No response, kind of has me worried a bit...

^On the way out, Mr. Ranger was using a chevy to herd Bison. He would give them a gentle nudge in the correct direction, off of the road. ^And they were none too thrilled about it. At the end of the day, we ended up in Butte MT: The next morning, the final leg took us home. ^Getting ready to cross the Columbia river a couple hours from Seattle. We made it. Long trip, but it was worth every second and every penny it took to make it happen!

^Hi ^Play? ^Entrance to Yellowstone.

Leg 11-Rock Springs WY, Through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, to Butte MT: ^At the entrance to Grand Teton National Park ^My first try at a panoramic. How did I do? :P ^startin’ to show her dirty side.

Once we made it to the bottom, it was time for the next leg… Leg 10-Colorado Springs CO to Rock Springs WY ^Denver ^Scenery North of Denver.

We start our descent^ ^I stopped along the way to snap a couple. :)

^Random Lake, hard to tell which one from 10k feet above it. Elevation at this point was roughly 12,000 feet. The air was getting really thin… ^Finally we summit. ^The Ram doesn’t look any worse for the wear, but my nerves were shot.

Leg 9- Goodland KS to Colorado Springs (Pikes Peak Hill Climb): ^Elevation…at the park entrance… O_O ^The main reservoir that feeds Colorado Springs (I forgot the name), and my nose. Pay no mind, sometimes my enormous schnoz gets in the way of things. ^Same reservoir… ^Yours truly…trying not to look down.

Random Pix from Gatlinburg^ Leg 7-Gatlinburg TN to Clarksville TN: ^Nashville TN Leg 8-Clarksville TN to Goodland KS: ^St. Louis, MO ^Kansas City, MO ^Badass sunset in Kansas.

^Took a Tram Ride up the mountainside in Gatty. ^The wife and I at the bear exhibit. ^They have kind of a mini-zoo there, Bald eagle exhibits, bears, owls, etc. ^View of the Smokies from a tourist attraction called Ober Gatlinburg. It’s like a mini amusement park. ^Meghan’s Cousin and I had a luge race down the mountain…He won. Physics favored him, if you know what I mean LOL. Meghan’s Grandfather on the left.^ Cancer Survivor 3x, WWII Vet, 82 years old, and he still rides amusement park rides, up to and including Roller Coasters.

And that’s Fort Worth. The next day, Leg 4 began. Leg 4- Fort Worth TX to Gatlinburg TN: We took 2 pictures of Memphis TN, just because. Leg 5-Gatlinburg TN to Deland FL: ^Marv is tired…of riding ^Jacksonville FL While washing the truck in Deland, I had nowhere to set my beer to keep it cold so I used my cupholder and the A/C LOL. Leg 6 was back to Gatlinburg TN. No pix from that trip (same going up as it was coming down). On my father-in-law’s land in Gatty TN^

I couldn’t resist ordering some mods while in TX: 6,000k HID Low’s from XenonDepot. 5,000k HID highs from Xenon Depot. Going from HID in the old truck, to halogen was KILLING me. To wrap up our time in DFW, We treated my folks to a Rangers Game the night before we left. Man this was expensive, but well worth it:

^Yours Truly ^All at the Fort Worth Stockyards. All in all a neat place.

double post....derp.

^Scenery on US-89 south of Bryce canyon and east of the Grand Canyon. Leg 3-Flagstaff AZ to Fort Worth TX: ^Bug soup. LOL.

^That was all Bryce Canyon National Park in Southern UT. ^Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern UT. I only had one pic, my wife’s computer took a crap so we lost the others, thankfully it was just the grand staircase pix. ^Grand Canyon North Rim. Spectacular Views!

Leg 2- Salt Lake City UT to Flagstaff AZ: ^Starting out the day good! (That says 23.4mpg average) To be continued…