Seems like the only ones left are localized first responders, and then it takes a running leap into doomsday preppers and conspiracy types. Maybe you might here the rare "CQ, this is W-9 GFO here. Come back? Copy, W-9 GFO. K-4 WLD here."
On a lark, I watched Smokey and the Bandit for the first time in decades, and watching them on the CB was such an odd bit of nostalgia. The original group chat
It's funny how well that movie held up over time. I'm glad you brought it up, thanks. I miss the whip antennae and tennis balls on trucks for some reason. It made everything look like a toy truck to me.
To elaborate, on the east coast US, using portables such as the Sony SW-55 and the Sangean 909-X, listening in daytime and nighttime, in the past month or so I'd find at best one or two stations broadcasting in English. This was hardly the case 20+ years ago.