I have been cruising past 31 miles of massive debris piles on Goat Island and Bolivar Peninsula, just east of Galveston, Tx. I have seen several boats, large and small, beached upright and upside down, capsized, and 1 even planted in the mud at it's stern, so that it's bow points to the heavens. I have seen some of the best lumber and timbers, seasoned and treated, plastic barrels, boxes, campers, 1 house (looked like Dorothy's house/Wizard of Oz after landing), several armed (shotguns) cadaver dog teams (yes, they are still searching the rubble), and many, many other useful items to someone in a survival situation.

That brings up the question, where are the best places to look for manmade items that would be useful to someone in a survival situation.

Water being more powerful than wind, I tend to look along creeks, streams, rivers, and lakes. Many things go over a waterfall to run aground just below the waterfall along the edge of the bowl. These items, among others seem to be common: large and small line, fishing line (with equipment attached), 5 gal plastic buckets, lumber, garden hose, life jackets and rings, and old cars, to name a few.

A motorcycle riding friend of mine, driving down old farm roads once came across an old southern style mansion, abandoned and vandalized. After looking over the house, he noticed a garbage pile in the backyard. Being a bottle collector, he started digging in the pile, searching,,,,until he came up against a door. The door led to a Fallout Shelter that was stocked with canned water, C-Rats, and boxes upon boxes of legal type records (land deeds and who knows what else).

What places would you tend to seek out to find materials in the mountains, snow covered hills up north, out on the plains, etc???