Very interesting. I am sure you have more stories to tell. Looking forward to get more whenever you feel like typing. No pressure, no rush.

You're kidding? When I was in the military Asmara was a place we could have been sent. Other's who went there said they did a lot of hunting Monkeys. No one in the military seems to like where they are stationed. I was sent to Sinop, Turkey.

@JackPedigo - what branch were you in? yes, some people chose to hunt with weapons - I used cameras & tape recorders... & I may seem unusual, but most people I know who were stationed or spent any time in Asmara (all branches of the service, as well as civilians, dependents, & travelers, have extremely fond memories of the experience

@SkipD I was in the Army Security Agency. One place we did not want to go was Shemya Alaska. I also caught the camera bug. Had a Pentax SLR and Yoshika Mat Duel lens box. I later discovered what a special place Sinop i was/is.

@JackPedigo what was your MOS? I was 04B/98G Arabic linguist - spent a year at DLI/WC Monterey before Asmara.

@SkipD Mine was 33D20 High frequency intercept recorder maintenance. Spent a year at Ft. Devens (near Boston) going to school.
You know Arabic? My late partner spoke Farsi (she gave up trying to teach me).

@JackPedigo yes, I took the 47 week intensive Arabic class... btw, Farsi uses the Arabic alphabet, but is an Indo-European language (not a Semitic language) fairly closely related to Sanskrit, Russian, Greek, & of course a whole lot of others... I actually have studied quite a lot of languages in addition to Arabic - Russian, French, Tigrinya, Italian, some German & Swedish, a little Greek, Icelandic, & Old Norse, & a smattering of Ancient Egyptian... your MOS sounds like a much more recent one than were around when I was in the ASA... I never was stationed at Devens, but after I got back to the States I lived for a number of years in Boston

Did basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood. Although the trees were nice, the heat and humidity were not pleasant.

@NoMagicCookie I did basic there and I ended up getting stationed there as my last duty station. But I’m from Louisiana. So the heat and humidity didn’t bother me at all. Lol. In basic, they were canceling ranges and I was confused as it was like 90 degrees and 40% humidity. That’s a pleasant day where I’m from. ???

@Leo716 I'll never forget our walk back from bivouac. I was warned before Basic Training to fill my canteen and drink as much water as possible every time the water truck stops on the walk back. The truck (water buffalo) ran out of water about half way back so a lot of kids had no water for the last hour or so. If memory serves, the "wet bulb" (cut 4 inches of shoe-lace dip it in water and swing it around your head for two minutes) was 88 degrees. The look of disgust on our seargent's face when he turned around and looked back at us on the last hill before hitting camp was memorable. . . then his "Ok . . . um . . . just . . . go sit in the shade. If you have water share it with people." I, fully hydrated with more then a half full canteen of water was feeling great but when I turned around and looked back - - - there were people passed out on the road. I used a lot of my water dumping it on people that were passed out. . . .

@NoMagicCookie TRADOC got a lot more strict in the last few years. Even back in ‘07. When I was there in 2011, it got crazy because they were field testing all sorts of “New training” aspects. Cadre and Drill’s couldn’t yell at a trainee unless they were threatening safety. And running out of water is like taboo number 1. As a range medic, we were having to test water levels and bacteria levels in the water. You’d be surprised at how nasty some of those buffalos were. But I saw an entire command team either get transferred out of TRADOC or relieved of duty due to “unsafe training conditions”.

At least you did the good thing by helping some of your battle buddies. Heat stroke is no joke. I lucked out and was already acclimatized to the weather there. We started in May and I think we finished mid-July’ish. But some of my battle buddies from the North were having a lot of issues with the weather as well. And I forgot to say, thank you for your service. From one soldier to another.

@Leo716 Thank you as well. I have a great deal of respect for those in the medical core.

The greatest "life lesson" I picked up while in Basic Training was from a Dr. who taught us field first aid. - - He finished his hands-on lesson with a discussion on "I really don't even want to tell you about this because - - - (long list of bad outcome for a tourniquet)" he then asked us what we could use to build a tourniquet. Someone (thankfully, although I thought it, not I) stated "My Belt." "WRONG!" Shouted the Dr. "YOU need your belt. If you give up your belt YOU become a causality and others will have to take care of your "insert polite explative" . Your number one concern in the field is your own safety, then the safety of others. You use his belt. He won't be needing it any more." I have learned his lesson applies to more then just physical safety in the field but all aspects of life. I often share that story (watered down but including the long list of why not to use a tourniquet) with many students.

We only lost one recruit from my group. His name was Homie (from India). I'll never forget the last time I saw him. Training was almost over. It was the night before the "Confidence Course." I went into the open bay bathroom to find Homie distantly staring into the mirror above the sink. He looked extremely worried. . . "Homie, What's the matter man?" "I am verry verry worried that something terrible is going to happen tomorrow." he replied with a thick accent. "Don't worry, we're done. Tomorrow is just a fun day" I happily replies." get some sleep it's over." "Something verry terrible is going to happen to me tomorrow I know it." The next day the first obstacle to enter the "what I would consider entertainment park" was a large trunk suspended by two huge (ship to ship) ropes. The hundreds of pounds of the log was swung back and forth and the recruit was to jump on top and roll over it. . . . Homie jumped on top, froze with his head below the log so as the log swung back, Homie's head was caught between the ground and the log causing his spinal cord to be partially disconnected from his brain. Although he was still alive and they did bring him to a hospital where they drilled holes in his head with bolts attached to a halo to suspended him several inches above a bed but with that outcome, and no positive word about him, rather sure he didn't make it. Although I was not in the medical ranks, I did run across many stories of folk (outside the field of combat) that just didn't make it. Sounds like your time there was very good.

• • • Returning to the North after basic training made winters much less tolerable as I had acclimated to the South.

@byrdsfan i loved berlin,too. Being there during those cold war years changed my life in more ways than i can ccount, most of them for the better.

@Byrdsfan No, I was a soldier stationed at the US Army Hospital on Unter Den Eichen. Then I returned on my own and lived in Tegel. Married a Berlin girl and my oldest daughter was born in Berlin. I was there when JKK gave his famous speech. Yes, much of what was then East Berlin was still in a shambles from World War II.

I gave you a thumbs up for admitting you like disco. Brave very brave.

@Mokvon Well, I really didn't, but that's where all the women hung out, so...

@zeuser more respect!

@zeuser

Wouldn’t be the first person to put up with crappy music to get a date.

I once saw The Nobody’s and Damnation AD at a place down close by The Mercury Cafe which used to be a discotheque. Bet that place used to be one of your old stomping grounds.

What about fires and earthquakes?

@Akfishlady We have the same issue here. Last night we finally got some rain after months of drought.

@Akfishlady Right, there's always a risk. However, it's a lower risk compared to other areas. Temperature extremes are more likely everywhere, so I'm looking at areas that won't be as impacted compared to others. Some here have mentioned earthquakes on this thread, but that's a constant reality that is purely geology. Climate change is happening right before our eyes, so we just have to adapt and make an informed decision based on the data we have. If the rain became less frequent, then desalination is a great option in the region, which one can't do in Denver, Santa Fe, Austin, or any other desired areas.

What lake? We have a place on Elk Lake east of Traverse City.

@jwd45244

Long Lake in Commerce Township (formerly Union Lake, Michigan)

I’m an inveterate skinny dipper - when I lived in the Boston suburbs, I used to go at night to a state park called Breakheart Reservation, where there were several ponds for swimming, including one that was oriented East-West... it had a huge glacial boulder at the shore that some people dove off, & another submerged one in the middle of the pond, that I accidentally discovered one night, but swam to directly every following time that I went there... I sat on the boulder with the water up to my upper chest, my arms floating in the cool water, watching the moon travel over the length of the pond, listening to the bullfrogs croaking on the banks, & smelling the pine resin... it was a magical place, & I wish I lived near there still

I’ve also enjoyed several places that were clothing optional, including Gunnison Beach on Sandy Hook in NJ, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area (Federal laws don’t prohibit nudity, so there often are areas set aside for clothing optional use)... during a visit to Sweden to trace my heritage, of course, there were many places where I could go sky-clad

I lived in Vancouver from 1971 - 1987. I loved it. Housing prices and overcrowding are crazy now, though.

@Stephanie99 I lived there from 1983 to 1997. My parents bought their house for around $200,000 in 1983. Now that same house is worth around 1.25 million. Actually that is just the property value because the house is old and falling apart. If the house is fixed up or in good order it would be worth a lot more.

@graceylou My dad still lives there and I have a lot of friends there. My parents bought a house in 1972 that my dad sold in 1990 with an enormous mark up after my mother died. Then my dad did a lot of buying and selling and can afford a house in the UBC area. Any of my friends with houses are in the outskirts. Except for one whose parents bought her a house back in 1990. I won't be moving back there with those prices.

@Stephanie99 Yup my parents live there. My brothers too. That would be the only reason I go there. Yes, and some of my friends from childhood as well. My parents still live in the same house they bought for the family in 1983. They are in the process of selling it now because they need to move to a care home soon.

@Omen6Actual
My last duty station was Ft. Huachuca (Libby AAF)
I wasn't thrilled with Tucson.... But Tombstone, Bisbee, Huachuca..... I really liked.

Nice!! That looks glacial!

@HippieChick58 yes near Kootenay Crossing in British Columbia.

@MiltsterD When I was in the Seattle area we'd take the kids on hikes in the mountains, and we learned about glacial rivers. I love the colors!

While I was active duty I lived in Okinawa. OMG humidity!! Mold grew quickly there. While I was married and ex was active duty we lived in Louisiana and Virginia. I don't deal well with humidity. I was not sad to see Ft. Polk in my rearview mirror.

@EarthKate the humidity in Arkansas is brutal!

Portland is also my favourite in the states (I actually lived over in Vancouver). I miss it horribly.

@Ozman Yeah, a couple years ago I got priced out of my Portlan dapartment, and I moved in with my sister in Battle Ground, WA... and I really miss living in Portland.

This is a photo of La Madd.

You can view my home on my profile page.

Sounds like paradise.

I went to college in Nashville ( Go Commodores! ). Great town!