CAUTION: This LARC vehicle is FAR bigger in person then it appears

I remember when this nearly unidentifiable vehicle was sitting in a dirt field at the eastern end of the Gandy Bridge just after crossing Tampa Bay. It stood there, solidly parked, as though it was the premo cream-puff on a used car lot. No bunting or streamers but it did scream take me home every time I drove past. Believe me, it towered over the passing cars and trucks. It disappeared and I hadn't seen it or thought of it for years. I just remembered it was a huge, hulking thing, way, way out of its element as it sat, high and dry, alongside the highway. Talk about lost and forgotten, this was it. Lo and behold, as I stood today taking a few shots of the boat slips and docks, it appears out of the heat and hazy sun right across the channel, parked behind a warehouse building and definitely not in the water. I snapped a couple of shots of it, and now that it had found me again, I promised myself I would find out exactly what it was. So, after a few minutes on the Internet, and after trying every combination of descriptions I could think of, I found it. Or I should say I found its sad and forlorn brother for sale at YACHTWORLD.com and located in Louisiana. Here is their online ad: "The Ultimate 4 Wheel Drive Vehicle, LARC LX AMPHIBIOUS LANDING CRAFT. This unit has been totally refurbished by the military and is in bristol condition. Hull #20 was the only unit in the fleet to get a total restoration. It was disassembled, blasted, painted inside & out. Everything in this unit has been updated, from new 48 ply sidewall tires and flared wheel wells to reduce drag. All systems are new including engines. Pilot house & Crews quarters are air conditioned. All overboard bilge plumbing has been routed to holding tank for regulated discharge. Extensive set of spares with sale along with full set of blue prints & tec. manuals... [length] 62.6 ft. [width] 26.9 ft. ...HEIGHT-19.6 ft ... capacity 50,000 Lbs. ...Top land speed 12.75 mph. to 20.5 mph depending on load. Water speed 6 to 10 knots depending on load & sea conditions." With a little editing for length, this is the seller's complete description of this unbelievable vessel/vehicle in Louisiana. But it is a twin to the one I found here today. And to think I was sure i could the words, one-of-a-kind. Obviously there are at least two. Almost TWENTY FEET TALL. Try to guess the tire size. Try filling them with air at the convenience mart. Built in 1952, it is selling for the blowout price of $245,000. Now I wonder if somehow we could get a deal for the two...and have LARC races on and under the bridge. Now that would be a sight.