Here are a few more pics of Camp Anaconda taken while driving down the road. The armored vehicle is and ASV (Armored Support Vehicle). It may look big and heavy but it's surprisingly fast. Notice the speed limit. The max is 40 KPH, NOT miles per hour. So 40 KPH is about 23 Miles per hour and is just a little slower than what I do on my bike. This is also one of the few bases with street lights (of which only about half work or are turned on).

At night, there are at least 1-2 bats per streetlight swooping around catching bugs. I don't ever recall seeing so many bats at night in any city in the states but there sure seems to be no shortage of bats here. At the main camp in Baghdad there is a bat house on the base and I've posted a pic here what a bathouse looks like. There is not one here at Anaconda though.And it has cooled considerably here FINALLY. It's still got to a high of 112 at around 2 PM today but it's much cooler the rest of the time. Ah, fall has finally arrived at Balad