Shy, I thoroughly enjoyed every word you wrote; thank you so much for sharing this story. (you write so well!) I used to hear some of these stories from my dear FIL years back----he lied about his age so he could join the Army---- I think he was a strapping 16 year-old boy when he signed up. As you've written here, he also said the conditions for man and beast were horrific, but would only say so much, and then no more. I truly hope you will write more pieces; this was just rivoting. I can't tell you how many years (DECADES!) it's been since I've heard the word, "Darn!" used!!! I LOVED seeing it in your piece---it brought back a lot of memory-snippets! KJ PS---next time, don't type 'very long' next to your thread title---something so interestingly written was not long at all!

Depends on what you call camping, and where you are. basic types to me: 1) RV camping, park in lot with other RV folks, generally drive to places, might day hike into a wilderness area, running water and power 2) car camping, big family size tent in campground 3) back packing, everything is carried by you, wherever you go 4) canoe or kayak camping, you portage your boat and gear on your back I am from the Upper Mid-West and I generally do items 3 and 4. That said: Backpacking that I have enjoyed A) Porcupine Mountains in Western UP of Michigan B) Isle Royale in Lake Superior C) Beartooth Absaroka "Beaten Path" northeast of Yellowstone in Montana D) Adirondacks High Peaks region near Mt Marcy E) Sylvan Lake and Harney Peak area of Black Hills F) Idaho side of Grand Tetons (Teton Creek) G) Newport State Park, Door County Wisconsin H) Devils Lake State Park northwest of Madison Wisconsin Canoe Camping that I have enjoyed A) Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota B) Sylvania Wilderness of Northern Michigan near Watersmeet C) Rock Island State Park, Wisconsin Car camping -Minnesota North Shore -Lake Itasca Minnesota -Door County Wisconsin State Parks -Copper Falls State Park Wisconsin

Wow....what an amazing list of people.... too many of them no longer with us or active here. It is nice to remember some of their names and their struggles that we shared. Thanks for the memories.

ginny12--re Kristin Lavransdatter. I loved the old translation, which was a heavily archaized English, so much so that for some 40 years no one on whom I pressed the book could get into it. I always assumed the original Norwegian was an archaic style as well. The new translation by Tiina Nunnally caused a furor when it first appeared, outraging many people like me who had read KL many times and had loved the strange style. However, it turns out that Sigrid Undset, who won the Nobel Prize for literature for KL, had written in a perfectly modern Norwegian. So the style that I and so many others loved as part of the book itself was in fact an artifact of the translation. In addition, the older translator apparently shortened or omitted several scenes which he thought too risque, though what was thought to be risque by the standards of the late 20s/early 30s could hardly be deemed so today. The new translation is a very fine one and I would encourage people to read it, though I still find myself going back to the older one sometimes. I first read KL when I was 17 and have reread it about every 10 years. I'm now 61 and remain in awe at Undset's insight into the mysteries of the human heart. It's also, of course, a magnificent portrait of 14th century Norway and it deals very seriously with issues of sin, obedience, and what humans owe God.