Well October is coming to a close – hard to believe that the summer went by SO FAST!! My last blog was when I got back to Crested Butte last April; and now I am getting ready to hit the road again for this winter.
Back in April the snow was still piled high along the Crested Butte roads:
And when I went out to camp in June, there was still lots of snow along the back roads. At least it kept the big campers from going out there! So I had a couple of weeks with minimal crowds.
Of course, the end of May brought us to Memorial Day. It is so moving to watch the service men march out to the Crested Butte Cemetery
In June, some of us celebrated our “June Birthdays” and then went hiking and looking for wildflowers. It was still early, but we did find pasque flowers. And we had a great breakfast and then hike.
I camped in one of my favorite spots up Washington Gulch. I was among the wildflowers: the glacier lilies, sunflowers and a myriad of other flowers! And I have bought a new (to me) van! It is a RAM Promaster City Van (I bought it from my old partners in Solutions, Joe and Bev Fitzpatrick). They had had it all decked out for camping and I think it is going to be perfect for my winter road trip!
I did a lot of hiking to see beautiful wildflowers as they came up around Crested Butte. Because of all the snow last winter, there were lots of flowers this summer even though they were a bit late blooming. It was a beautiful summer!
I also did lots of activities with the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte. They got me out hiking, biking (both on the back roads around Crested Butte and Gunnison), downhill biking on the ski area in Mt. Crested Butte (yikes that was a bit scary – but I went a couple of times), and paddle boarding on different lakes around Crested Butte. It was great to be able to be so active (even with just one leg!) I even signed up for the Lady’s Session. There were handicapped ladies from all over the country. It was good for me to be with people who are in the same boat as me or even having less abilities.
In late July, I rode up the Silver Queen Chair Lift and cheered on the people who were hiking the peak for the Living Journeys Summit Climb (remember last time I hiked up as far as I could). I was able to do a lot more varied activities this summer since I wasn’t “training” for the peak climb!
In September I rode my recumbent bike in the Bridges of the Butte – you do loops around the town crossing 7 little bridges. I did 12 loops this year.
After a beautiful summer – we also had a beautiful Autumn this year! We had a fun snow mid-month, and then it continued to an awesome Indian summer through most of October! One of my activities with Adaptive in late September was to bike from the Lily Lake Trailhead up to Ohio Pass and then all the way to Gunnison. It was a beautiful day and a great way to end my summer with Adaptive.
Tomorrow (10/28) I will finish packing my little van and then I will be “on the road” for the next 5 or 6 months. This year I am taking my recumbent bike with me. So look for me on the road!
I made it! Yes it was a 4-month “road trip”! What a hoot! My goal was to see if it would be possible – not if it would be easy, but could I manage 4 months living out of the back of my car? My attitude has been to continue to focus on what “I can do” rather than what I can’t do. So: I guess I can do it !!
Most of you, who have been following me know that Crested Butte is at 9000 feet elevation – which equates to long, cold, snowy winters! Which was great when I was a skier – but now with one leg, it becomes much more difficult! Walking in snowy conditions is pretty problematic when you only have one leg. I decided to go to lower altitudes and warmer temperatures for this winter. It was a good winter to be gone: Crested Butte got 325 inches of snow this winter! That’s 26 feet of snow!
I had done some camping in the back of my 4 Runner last summer. My friend, Vicki, (from Kansas) spends her summers camping in the back of her 4 Runner. We had some fun times camping together in our cars in the national forest just outside Crested Butte. Some of my favorite things are to camp under the stars and to sit outside in the mornings and enjoy my coffee while the sun comes up! I knew that the “camping piece” of this trip was possible for me.
I planned on leaving Crested Butte mid-December and come back mid-April. My main goals were to visit with my son, Craig, in Santa Barbara CA and my son, Steve, in Jacksonville, Fla. That’s both coasts of the United States. The rest of the trip was to be a “work in progress”!
I had gotten home from Nepal on December 1st, so I had 2 weeks to pack and prepare for this road trip. Unfortunately, on the way back from Nepal I got a terrible cold and cough. Thus my 2 weeks were spent laying on the couch! l finally started feeling better on December 14, so I just tossed a few things in the car and left on the 16th! That morning it was -5 degrees with a foot of snow on the ground. Six of my good friends showed up at 9 am to help me put the last few things in the car and to wish me well as I drove off.
The first two days across Colorado and Utah were cold and snowy. My first night was at Green River’s Super 8 and the second night was in a motel in St. George, Utah. I was a little worried about this start of the trip: I certainly couldn’t afford to spend 4 months in motels!
Luckily, when I got into Nevada, the weather became warmer. I camped out at the Valley of Fire National Monument. It was beautiful – warm during the days and not TOO cold at nights. Perfect camping weather! 6 bighorn sheep came by my campsite while I was there – that was pretty special!
The Hoover Dam
From there I headed down to Lake Mead – there were lots of camping spots near the lake – and no crowds this time of year!
Lake Mead
After a couple of days at Lake Mead, I drove a short way to Las Vegas to check in with my friends, Debbie and Michael. I met them in San Diego and they have since moved to Vegas.
They had invited me to spend Christmas with them – very generous! We had a great time and they were tour guides extraordinaire! One night we went to a Cirque de Solei – all done to the Beatles music! Amazing and fun. We took my wheelchair since there might be a lot of walking involved and in the middle of crowds. We also went to the Lion Habitat Ranch. This is where the MGM lions have gone to retire. They also have a great giraffe named Ozzie – you can feed Ozzie and buy some of his paintings! Way fun. We also went exploring some of the area around Vegas – I had no idea there was so much to do in this area. That’s the beauty of having local guides! Celebrating Christmas with their friends, Jo and Deb, was great fun too!
Lion Habitat RanchYahoo!Cirque du Soleil
After Christmas, I headed to Santa Barbara and spent a week with Craig and his family. I had a lovely time with him, Deb, Dakota, Teddy and his family. So fun to see Craig being a grandfather (is that possible??)
I drove on to the Phoenix, AZ, area. I camped out in Gold Canyon a couple of nights. Reconnected with my friend JJ and then spent a couple of nights with Becky and Terry Hamlin. I also drove over to visit Levi Jackson in the prison complex in Safford AZ. I got connected with Levi when he was on death row in 1999, and I have been writing and going to see him since then. I hadn’t seen him since the start of Covid, and it broke my heart to find out that I was the first person to visit him since then.
After another couple of nights back with Becky and Terry, I headed down to Tucson. All my Tucson connections were pretty busy with first of the year projects, so we had a lovely lunch and then I drove on down to Green Valley (where I had spent so much time a couple of years ago). I also booked in to see one of my favorite chiropractors, who gave me a great adjustment (preventative maintenance!).
That’s me camping out in the middle of the desert!
Another of my favorite places, at this time of year, is Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area. It is where the sand hill cranes come to spend the winter (only about 20,000 if them). It is way fun to listen and watch them! As I was wandering back to my car (there is camping right there near the cranes, I heard someone shout, “Talie!” A really random meeting with old friends, DJ and Karen (from Atlanta and Antarctica). They were staying at a B&B and the owner suggested they go out to see the cranes. If either of us had been a few minutes earlier or later, we wouldn’t have seen each other. Such a random meeting and SUCH fun!
Sand Hill CranesDJ and Karen – random meeting!
From Whitewater Draw, I headed into NEW Mexico. I stopped to visit with Dave Rose and Ceil Murray – friends from Crested Butte. They moved to Silver City several years ago, so it was great fun to see them again. As I continued across New Mexico and Texas, I camped out along the way. Do you know how big Texas is? It is BIG! It was a bit hard finding camping spots, but I did manage. And then I ended up in San Antonio, to see my friends Diane and Chuck Isler. Chuck had Covid, so he isolated himself in his bedroom and I didn’t see much of him But it was great seeing Diane and their kids. One day, Diane took me sightseeing in San Antonio and we visited some of the old missions.
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San Antonio MissionWith Diane
The next stop in Texas was to see Allen and Judy Cox (of Crested Butte and Houston). I had a lovely time visiting with Allen and Judy. Judy and I went for walks every day and out to lunch along the water one day.
With Judy
The next segment of my trip was to follow the Gulf Coast through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to Florida. It was some beautiful camping and like before: no crowds this time of year! And it was a good time to get raw oysters!
Camping on the Gulf Coast Beach Yum!
Once I got to Florida, I went to stay with my friend Ann Clark in Destin. We had a lovely week and I ate lots more raw oysters! Destin is a lovely place right on the Gulf.
Beautiful Day in DestinWith Ann
(This might not have been the most direct line) I went up to Hamilton Georgia to see Martha Walton. We had a lovely week together and Martha took me to Calloway Gardens and Roosevelt State Park. Things weren’t quite in bloom yet, but it was still beautiful. We also went to see the “raptors” – awesome!
With MarthaRaptor Exhibit
Then I headed back down to Flagler Beach, Florida, to visit with my niece, Heather, and her husband, Grady. They have a beautiful house just one block from the beach. I was able to fix my early morning coffee and take it to the benches overlooking the beach. I saw lots of beautiful sunrises! My favorite time of day. Flagler Beach is a little “laid back” beach community – not quite as crazy as some of the Florida beach towns. I was able to also practice my walking out on a boardwalk over the marshes, and Heather and Grady took me canoeing one day (left my prosthesis locked to the palm trees). Great fun. I also spent some time with Heather’s women’s group on the beach (had to leave my prothesis in the car). And we even got a chance to go see Willie Nelson in concert! I even went down to Orlando one day and got some “gait training” from the good folks at POA.
Early Morning Sunrises at Flagler BeachCanoeing with Heather and GradyYea Willie!
After a couple of days, I headed up to Jacksonville to spend a week with Steve and his family. It was great being with them. Gates has gotten his pilot’s license and is getting an associate’s degree in aeronautics. He and Steve took me to Steve’s work place and Gates had a great time asking Steve all about the King Air (the planes that Steve flies). Steve and I also went out for sushi for lunch one day – yum! Not to over-do my visit, I headed back down to Flagler Beach before I was ready to head North. I spent another weekend with Steve, and Heather and Grady came up to hang out by the pool and have a barbeque.
Steve and GatesWith a King Air Airplane (which is what Steve flies)
I headed up the Atlantic coast, and camped out near Savannah, Georgia. It was warm and lovely weather for camping, but the bugs were out! Little biting gnats! Bummer. I pulled out my bug net and covered up my head so they wouldn’t bite me on my scalp.
Springtime!
Two nights there in Savannah, and then I drove up to Brays Island, SC, to visit my friends Jane and John Ellsworth. Jane and I went to high-school together. They have a lovely house in a beautiful area. South Carolina was beautiful – the spring flowers were starting to bloom, and there was lots of green grass, trees, and Spanish moss. Jane and John took me into Charleston for a look around and we toured lots of plantations around Brays Island.
With Jane
My second stop in South Carolina was near Charleston. Another high-school friend, Sue Brown, had asked me to house/cat sit for her and Herb for a week. What a great opportunity. I had a lovely time with Mosby and Jeb and enjoyed being in a house by myself for a week. Sue even arranged for me to have a golf cart to get around in. I did lots of walking practice on the docks around her house and going to the county parks nearby.
Jeb and MosbyWith SueGreat place to practice walking
It’s a lot harder to camp on the East Coast than out West. There is not nearly as much public land and the campgrounds are pretty full. So most of my time in the East was visiting friends and staying with them.
I headed up to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to visit my friends Ron and Tamara Propst. Tamara and I started the Montessori School in Spruce Pine together and spent several years raising our children together. We have been best friends ever since! It was great to see Ron and Tamara, their kids, grandkids, and even great-grand kids! How did all that happen? Tamara and I went to several of the parks around Winston-Salem for my walking practice. The flowers were out in full bloom: lots of daffodils, azaleas, dogwood, and tulips. I had forgotten how beautiful March is in the Southeast.
With TamaraYea – FlowersInstagram post from “my savior”
One evening as we were coming home, my prosthesis broke! YIKES! One of the plastic straps, which holds it on my waist, broke in half! There were a couple of hours of worrying about it – but Ron was pretty sure he could rivet it back together. Tamara had met a neighbor who had a prosthesis shop, and the next morning she went to see him. He took the strap and riveted it back together and then re-attached it to my prosthesis – whew, good to go! What a lucky place for that all to happen! And I was so lucky to have it happen when I was with good friends! (I also contacted POA in Orlando and they overnighted me a replacement part which got there in 2 days!)
I had met a fellow amputee on line, Mallory, and I knew that she lived in Charlotte, NC. She had suggested that I come visit her if I was going through North Carolina. So I put Charlotte on my route, and after I left Tamara’s I went to Mallory’s. It was great comparing stories and experiences with a fellow amputee. Mallory has a hemipelvictica – which means she doesn’t have a hip bone so it is hard to have a prosthesis because it can’t attach to the hip. She lost her leg about 20 years ago, so she has been at it a lot longer than I have. She and her partner, AJ, were very welcoming to me and it was a good visit and a good connection.
With Mallory
One last stop for visiting friends and family: I drove from Charlotte to Asheville, North Carolina. My nephew, Trey, (Heather’s brother) lives in Asheville. I spent a couple of nights over Easter Weekend with Trey and his kids, Sydney and Michael. We even did an Easter Egg hunt for the kids on Easter Morning (you are never too old for that kind of fun! After breakfast and the “hunt” I packed up and headed West. I was now on my way home to Crested Butte.
With Trey, Michael and Sydney
I had some great camping spots in Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. I was going to have my last night camping at the Great Sand Dunes Park in Colorado, but it was 32 degrees, raining and windy. So my last night I ended up in a Motel 8! Ironic that that was the way I started this trip.
Campsites on the way homeColorado!
And then on April 15th (4 months after I had left), I drove back into Crested Butte. Wow there is a lot of snow still on the ground here! But it is good to be HOME!
Someone told me there was a slight earthquake while we were there – looked it up and sure enough on Nov 9 there was an earthquake in western Nepal. We never even felt anything – whew. Are these things following me around?
So I survived 3 weeks in Nepal. It was awesome! I didn’t know how this new “regimen” would work, but with help from my friends, everything went perfectly!
We started out from Denver – and had a 30+ hour journey to get to the other side of the world. That was a bit harsh – but it’s the price you “pay”. We flew Denver to New York, New York to Doha, and then Doha to Kathmandu. Oofta!
With not a lot of time to get our “feet under” us, two days later we were on a helicopter to get to the mountain community of Teka (just above Lukla).
The helicopter dropped us off at the Bpemacholing Monastery, where we met the Rimboche (a respected, notable and learned Llama and teacher). It was quite the honor to be able to share a couple of meals with the Rimboche!
From there we had a couple of days of trekking to get to Teka (Pemba’s home town). This was my opportunity to be on horseback! I had a lovely “sure-footed” horse named Diamond. A couple of places were a bit “dicey” and I was glad he was so sure footed. His handler, Kami, is also an amputee. I was most impressed with his handling of the terrain, the horse and his ability (he is pretty strong!) We spent the night in Tucherma Ami along the way.
(Tengu wanted to get into this photo with Kami, Jangmu, and Diamond!)
We spent 5 days there in some to the most beautiful mountain scenery. It was really basic – they still cook by wood. Even though it is basic, it is still really comfortable, cozy, and warm. We all loved it. One afternoon we hiked up to where Pemba’s children were born when he lived there. We met so many wonderful mountain people in such a great community!
This is how my wheelchair got to Teka!
Nuru and Angie – we stayed in their home in Teka. It was awesome – Great food, great community, and great people!
We gave the Rimboche a ride back to Kathmandu in the helicopter.
After 5 days in the mountains, our trusty helicopter (with an Australian pilot) came back to get us. We gave a ride to Kathmandu for the Rimboche also. Back In the big city!
Pemba had hired a car and a driver who then took us from Kathmandu to Chitwan. Whew, the roads are terrible! But it is amazing that they are even there – it is such rough country. We spent a couple of nights in Chitwan and went on “jungle safaris” during the day. We also visited an elephant training center (it was a bit sad to see the elephants chained up, but we did get to see them go off into the jungle for “lunch break”. We also managed to get into dugout canoes to see the alligators and wildlife along the river.
That’s an alligator!
From Chitwan we drove to Lumbini, which was the birthplace of the Buddha. We were there on the day of the election voting and there was hardly anyone there. How nice – no crowds! The next day we did a day trip to Kapilbastu – which was where the Buddha spent his childhood and teenage years. We got a little sidetracked (not exactly lost), and drove through some pretty remote roads.
In Lumbini
From Chitwan, it was another long drive to get to Pokhara. None of these places are far in distance, but the time it takes to get there is another matter! The roads have lots of rubble spots and the traffic is amazing!
We spent a couple of nights in Pokhara. We had a lovely peaceful boat ride out on Fewa Lake with the mountains off in the distance. We also visited the international climbing museum there in Pokhara which had lots of history of climbs up Mt. Everest. There was also lots of info about the Nepalese tribes and cultures. Well worth a visit!
From Pokhara, it was basically two days drive back to Kathmandu, but we stayed in a lovely little lodge along the way. It was on the other side of the river, so I got to walk another long swinging bridge! Then they put me in the back of a small truck (tuk-tuk) to get the rest of the way to the lodge. Of course, the next morning – it was back across the long bridge!
With a couple of nights in Kathmandu before heading home, we visited the Monkey Temple, a workshop where they hand make prayer wheels, a silkscreen shop where they print prayer flags, and had some time to go “shopping”.
A couple of young monks
I now know that I can do most of the things that go with travel, but I also now know that I will always need a bit of help along the way. It is nice to know that it is “do-able”.
A final dinner with all our Nepalese friends!
So tomorrow (12/16) I am starting another adventure. I am heading out for a 4 month road trip. It has been rather hard to negotiate the snow and ice in Crested Butte and I need warmer (just a little bit) weather! It’s a rather “loose” trip – I’ll visit Craig in Santa Barbara and Steve in Jacksonville and who know what in between!
Well Tengu and I are on the move again! We are going to Nepal! Yikes – this should be interesting!
After a beautiful summer this year, we also had a super spectacular Autumn Show! Every year I say, “This is the best year ever”! Maybe this was it!
I do live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet!
With my friend, Skip, overlooking Mt. Crested Butte
I don’t go very fast, but I do get there eventually!
Amazing!!!!
So in September, I went out to LA to attend the Biohacking Conference. These are my tribe (Bulletproof, Biohacking, pushing the envelope!) It’s great to be around like-minded people!
Way fun to hang out with my “tribe” from all over the country (and world)
Of course, I had to do the ice bath! Burr!
With Dave Aspery – my Bulletproof guru!
I spent some time “practicing” camping out in the back of my 4Runner. It is a little tight (“the world’s smallest camper”) but definitely doable. I plan on driving South this winter to stay OUT of the snow! But that will be December’s adventure!
Back in Crested Butte and I camped near Gothic Mountain until mid-October. Got to love it!
A couple of Moose who came by my campsite!
Crested Butte Mountain in all it’s glory!!
With my friend Danny (from Kansas) – camping at it’s finest!
Another hike with friends (Amy here) from Adaptive Sports
Often in the spring and fall, you have to share the road with a cattle drive!
Here I got to hang out with one of the “Better Day Burros”. This burro ran in the Leadville Burro Race (featured in the book: “Running with Sherman” – an excellent read!)
So, Tengu and I will be taking off on Monday (November 7) for the rest of November. It will be great to be back in Nepal (NO earthquakes this time!!!)
It is almost August – hard to believe that the summer is over halfway gone…. It is SO beautiful in Crested Butte for the summer – it is worth putting up with the snow in the winter to get to the beauty of the summer!
As soon as the snows were melted, I went over to Colorado Springs and picked up a recumbent bike. It is dialed in so I can power it with one leg (I prop the prosthesis on the front). It is great to have something to get around town easily. We have a great paved bike path which is perfect for me so I can ride up to Mt. Crested Butte. That’s quite a workout for one leg! It is a great way to get more exercise. The bike also lets me get around town – to the grocery, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. Crested Butte’s speed limit in the whole town is only 15 miles per hour – so I feel fairly safe pedaling around town.
On the bike path
To celebrate Memorial Day, Crested Butte has a community luncheon and polka party. I used to dance every polka – so my friend Bob Mothershead was determined to get me up on the dance floor. As long as I could hold on for dear life, I was actually able to do a couple of polkas. Way fun (and a bit scary!)
Then I woke up one morning and said to myself, ” I wonder if I could do the Living Journey’s Peak Hike in the end of July?” It is a fund raiser for Living Journeys, which is a support group for people living with cancer. They have been SO helpful to me – they helped us pay for stair railings and bathroom bars. They also work with Mountain Roots and deliver a bag of fresh organic fruits and veggies to me on Mondays. And they provide a lovely homecooked meal once a week. It is so awesome to living in such a supportive community. So I talked to Adaptive Sports (another awesome support group in Crested Butte). I asked them to help me train for the peak hike (which was scheduled for July 23rd). All told, I think I went out with them 15 times.
Hiking on the trails (especially where there are roots and rocks) is really challenging! I might even say it is downright “hard”! But that has never stopped me before! The instructors at Adaptive were SO supportive, enthusiastic and helpful. Not only was I training for the hike, I was also having fun! Especially since the wild flowers this summer have been outrageous (that’s pretty normal for Crested Butte!).
One day it was raining, so I got a chance to play around on the Adaptive Climbing Wall. That was way fun!
It didn’t take me too long to realize that “the peak” would not be happening for me – but I just wanted to get as far as I could. The actual event was set for July 23rd and I was on the chairlift at 8 am – raring to go! I knew I could get to the “picnic shelter” and I was hoping to get to the next ridge. I did get there and it was plenty for me! I had great helpers: Regina and Cam from Adaptive, Judy, Joni, Cassi, Ryan and Addy as helpers and for moral support. It was GREAT fun! Since I had trained so many times, I was not sore the next day (a bit tired though).
I have also tried camping this summer – I am able to sleep in the back of my 4 runner – so it might give me more travel options this winter…. But shortly after the camping expedition, my car went into the shop in Grand Junction and it was almost 6 weeks before I got it back. That has put a damper on the camping! But I am now back on track and hope to get out camping some in August.
I have been living in downtown Crested Butte since last September 1st. Even though it is a basement apartment, and the windows are at ground level – it is still great to be able to be living in town where everything is so convenient. During the snows last winter, it was like living in a cave. But I managed to get out everyday and park my car in the sun so I could enjoy being outside (even in the freezing temperatures).
So almost all my photos are of “training hikes” with help from Adaptive. I have enjoyed getting out amongst the beautiful wildflowers.
I guess it will just be a bit of time for me to figure out this “leg stuff” – One step at a time (or as Craig says, “One hop at a time, Mom!”)
Oh, gosh – it is already April. Where did the winter go?
At the end of my last blog, I asked you all to pray for snow for us – you all did a GREAT job. I when I pushed “publish”, it started snowing. And it didn’t stop for about 10 days! And at the end of the storm, we had 6 feet (2 meters) of snow! Yea! BEAUTIFUL!!!
Elk Avenue – Our main streetThat’s a lot of snow!The UCC ChurchThe snow is almost over the street signs
I got a really great Christmas gift on Christmas Eve when I got a call from Orlando (from POA: Prosthetic and Orthotics Associates) and they said that Medicare had approved my prosthesis! YEA. So, putting it all together and talking to Steve (who now lives in Florida), I made plans to go to Florida on January 22nd to get a prosthetic leg. I started isolating myself, as Covid was pretty rampant in CB at that time – and I didn’t want to get sick and miss my opportunity to go to Florida. It was a long month being isolated and waiting to take this big step (pun intended) in my life!
My friend, Hollywood, had told me about a charity called “50 Legs” who help people get prosthesis’s. 50 Legs is AWESOME (50legs.org)! They put together round-trip airfare for me and a “companion” (my friend Dave went with me to help me travel) and 2 weeks in a hotel in Orlando. It was perfect connections and smooth traveling. Dave only stayed in Orlando for a couple of days (visiting his daughter) and then flew home. But I stayed for 2 weeks.
A fancy new leg!
It didn’t occur to me that I needed two shoes once I had this new leg. So the first thing Steve did was take me “shoe shopping”! Pretty fancy!
It was great getting fitted, adjusted, and learning how to walk with this new leg. It’s a “trip”! I am putting in lots of steps, and my goal is to be able to walk without crutches or a cane. But I have many steps of practice to get there!
Orlando was wonderful. Coming from cold and snowy Crested Butte, it was great to be able to wear shorts and short sleeve shirts! Steve and I drove around Orlando and explored one of the parks – and even stopped at “The World of Beer” alongside the lake. Back at the hotel, I even got a couple of times to get in the pool. It’s really different to swim with one leg – hard to get any momentum from kicking! But it was fun trying.
Having a beer with Steve!Swimming in January (NOT in CB!)
I made lots of new friends in Orlando. The folks at 50 Legs and POA were awesome!
Roger was the “main man” to put the nuts and bolts together!My friend Roxanne – a dancing fool!This is Jude, a little guy from HaitiGirls I met at the hotel!How to use a wheelchair with a prosthesis! My “party trick”!
After my two weeks of learning how to walk with this prosthetic, I came back to Colorado. I flew into Denver (I was able to travel by myself coming home), and my high-school friend Nancy picked me up at the airport. I spent the night with her and Tony in Denver and then she drove me ½ way back to Crested Butte and Dave came ½ way and picked me up and took me the rest of the way home.
Putting in walking practice in the world of snow has been a bit of a challenge. When it was too cold and snowy outside to walk, I would go to the UCC Church and walk laps around the sanctuary. It was a lot more fun to walk outside – but sometimes that was just too rough.
Still lots of snow!
February and March have been rather cold months (nothing unusual there), so the snow has lasted pretty long on the ground. But now at the end of March, the roads are finally clear. At least I can put in my “stepping” on dry roads (we don’t have much in the way of sidewalks here in CB).
The last day the ski area was open was April 3rd. Things are pretty quiet in this little town now! It is still extremely beautiful!! Now I have to figure out how I can go camping with this new leg (might have a few challenges there!). The micro processor knee has to be plugged in at night, so I have gotten a “car charger”! I have also ordered a recumbent bike and that might give me some different exercising.
This is looking out my windows before the snowWe are getting a bit more snow covering the windows.Now the windows are covered with ice that slid off the roof!
We will still be having snow storms through April (and probably May) if it is anything like what has historically happened. We are glad to have the snow because it is all moisture for our summer wildflowers! And I will continue to keep putting in the “mileage” on my leg and progressing toward my goal of walking without crutches!
In Mt. Crested Butte with my friend, Addie
I hope where ever you are, you have a beautiful Spring (unless you are in the southern hemisphere in which case you are going into a beautiful autumn). This morning on my walk around town, I actually saw some crocus’s! Spring is coming!
Greetings of the 2021 Season! Get out the holiday decorations and celebrate life on Earth!
I am in Crested Butte this year – I wish I was in New Zealand, but that is not to be this year (lots of New Zealand is still in “lock down”). What a crazy time we live in! So my biggest news is that I am cancer-free. Having my left femur operated on 3 times this summer finally paid off when we did the “disarticulation” (removing the bone at the hip socket). They got ALL the cancer with good “margins”. Three major surgeries in 3 months, has taken its toll on my body though, but we are “coming right” and now it is just for me to put my life back together with only one leg. I have submitted all the paperwork to Medicare and am awaiting (anxiously) to get a prosthesis approved. I can hardly wait!!!
So here is my 2021 Christmas photo – I am enjoying the UCC decorations this year!
Crested Butte is very dry! There is skiing on a little strip of man-made snow – but we need so much more snow! And we will take any moisture we can get!
I wish you a very happy Holiday Season, a lovely New Year, Peace in the World, and Snow in the West!
It seems like a long time since I have done a post – but I just realized that it has only been 6 months – lots has happened in those 6 months! It seems like forever.
I continued my wanderings in New Mexico – having gone to Silver City and the Gila National Forest. Pretty awesome! Then I wandered over to near White Sands National Park, New Mexico. It was beautiful and the White Sands were really WHITE! The sand consists of gypsum and calcium sulfate. Thus it is a very powdery sand totally different than Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes. Also because of it’s consistency the sand is cool even in the hot sun.
Camping under the Organ Mountains
I had a beautiful campsite just under the Organ Mountains at Aguirre Springs Campground ($3.50/night with senior discount!). One day I drove into Las Cruses to get an x-ray of my left knee – looks like screws are coming loose again. Aarguh! I called Dr. Kelly and we decided that I could probably do the 2-week volunteer stint that I was signed up for if I took it easy on my knee.
Screw on the move again
Michelle had headed to Texas to visit friends, and we planned on meeting up in El Paso to volunteer with the Annunciation House. It was a program I had heard about from the UCC in Crested Butte – they were looking for volunteers who could commit for a 2 week stint. Our time began on May 1st, so Michelle flew to El Paso and I met her at the airport.
When there are lots of immigrants, these empty spaces are full!
Both Michelle and I were very impressed with the program and felt like we were really helping real people with real needs. It was amazing to see young people (in their 20’s) who were volunteering 6 months to a whole year helping others. It did my heart good! Michelle was in high demand as Spanish is her “first” language – so she was a wonderful interpreter. Being that there is so much unrest in our country around the border and with the border issues, there was a lot of security (“don’t open the doors unless you actually recognize the person coming in”!). The facility looks like a big unmarked warehouse in amongst other big warehouses – but we were “hopping” on the inside! In order to “take it easy on my knee”, I volunteered to do Laundry! (Hey – I’m trained in in “Laundry” after all those months in Antartica!)
We had our own “rooms” in the warehouse. It was very interesting sleeping in a “room” that didn’t have any windows! Michelle and I were so used to being close to the outdoors – under the stars and moon – this was pretty different! But at least we had our own “space”. Since I had my car with us, we were able to get out several times and explore just a little bit of El Paso.
Brightly painted areas in the large warehouse for Annunciation House
However, even taking it easy, I could tell after 8 days, that my knee was going to need some serious TLC (also known as an “operation”!). So, I had to break my commitment (so sad!) and I told them that I was on my way to Colorado to have it taken care of.
Sleeping in my hammock at Hope and Thom’s house
I stopped part-way and hung my hammock in the back yard of Hope and Thom Kiah outside of Santa Fe. It was so great to be in my hammock again! Hope and Thom offered to let me leave AJay parked next to their house while I went to Denver. That made being in Denver at the hospital SO much easier.
That screw is on the move!Yikes – it broke the skinPesky Screw!
The morning of surgery, I got up early and when I looked down at my knee: holy moly – the screw actually broke the surface of my skin! YIKES! Good thing I didn’t wait any longer to drive to Denver!
Dr. Kelly’s associate (Dr. Tuttle) took the screw out and filled the area with bone cement. Dr. Kelly suggested that I get another PET Scan to see if we could tell what was causing the screws to keep loosening up. The PET scan showed that there was some tumor reoccurrence (major bummer) and they suggested a biopsy for more information. The biopsy did show that there was cancer in that area. After much sole-searching, I finally agreed to have an amputation (after all the doctors told me 4 years ago that it should be amputated – and I got a pretty good 4 years out of it!). Now amputation seemed to be the best decision for getting the cancer out of my body. We scheduled the surgery for June 30th, so I had a couple of weeks to get used to the idea of one leg. During that time I did get to Crested Butte for a little bit.
Love that mountain!Martha Walton let us use her condo for the month of June.
Our friend Martha Walton let us use her condo for the month of June. Long enough to do some hiking and enjoy some of the beautiful wildflowers. I do live in the most beautiful place on the planet – won’t get a chance to get out the rest of the summer. So I took advantage of my time with two legs!
Aspen Sunflower
Shooting Stars
Scarlet Columbine
Columbine
Green Gention
Lupine
We scheduled the Amputation for June 30. And after the amputation, the pathology reports showed that the end of the bone still was showing cancer. BUMMER! So, Dr. Kelly had to go in and take 10 centimeters (about 2 ½ inches) more bone. Unfortunately, there still seems to be cancer in the bone even above that. Bummer!
Luckily Steve and Craig were able to “tag team” their Mom in the hospital. I am very fortunate to have two such AWESOME sons! Steve was able to be there for the first two weeks and then Craig came for the next 10 days and brought me back to Crested Butte.
Steve Dobbin: My own Maitre’D – 3 weeks in hospital – # meals from the hospital kitchen: 3 – all omelets! Not hospital meals!Yum!
I went back to Crested Butte while we were figuring all what the next step would be, while letting what leg, I still had, do some healing. My friends, Joni and Neil, took me into their home while I learned how to get around on one leg (walker, crutches and wheelchair).
Back in the Butte – Craig spent some time with me
My friend, Lucy Zavalla, (we are both morning people) has gotten me out at 6:30 am to go “walk-a-bout” in CB on Friday mornings.
early morning walk-a-bout
On one of my follow-up appointments with Dr Kelly – Lucy convinced me to go play in the fountains (with all the little kids!).
Playing in the fountains
That gives a new definition to “cold shower”
And I have started using equipment from the Adaptive Sports Center, so I can ride a recumbent bike with one leg. I even participated in the Bridges of the Butte fund raiser for Adaptive. (Crested Buttians love to “dress up” – and fund raisers like this give us a great opportunity to do so!)
Talie’s Posse for Bridges of the Butte
So now here I am, waiting to have the rest of the femur taken off at the hip. It will create a very difficult prothesis – but at least the cancer will be gone from my body and no chemo or radiation. My thought processes has been: cancer or hard prothesis? Hum – I think I choose “hard prothesis”.
This is what it is now….
I have found a second doctor who will be in the operating theater with Dr. Kelly and who will attach the severed nerves to muscle tissue. Hopefully that will ease the phantom pain that I am still feeling.
While I am waiting for all this to happen (we wouldn’t want any grass to grow un her my “foot) I have gone to Orlando, Florida, to attend the 7th Annual BioHacking Conference, I had a full weekend of “hanging out” with all my “element fringe” health friends. It was AWESOME. I got to see and hug (my heroes) Dave Aspery and Dr. Joseph Mercola.
With Dave AsperyWith Dr.MercolaLove the Ice Baths (check out the ice cube on my head!)
And what was incredible was that I was hanging out with people who understood my “language”. After a weekend of being with these folks, my heart was just filled to the brim with love!
I had arranged, before I left CB, to visit a facility that works with prothesis’s there in Orlando (POA). I was very impressed with the facility – very professional and well run. After seeing their operation, I have decided to go to Orlando when I am all healed and ready for my prothesis.
And my next BIG NEWS: is that I have moved indoors. I have actually been “living on the road” since August 2002 (almost 20 years). It’s a bit difficult to be living in a camper with only one leg – and several surgeries. The humorous part of moving back indoors is: In 2002 when I took off living in my truck (by choice remember), I had been living in Jane and Robin’s house: 120 Teocalli Avenue (Crested Butte of course). And here almost 20 years later, I am moving back into 120 Teocalli. My driver’s license and my passport have both shown my “permanent address” all this time as 120 Teocalli. I don’t have to change anything! This time though, I am in the basement apartment rather than the upstairs. But I am living “in town”, by myself, and loving it! So that is another “chapter” in and of itself!
Through all this journey, one of my high-school friends: Alison Carrillo (Hillsdale class of 1964) wrote a poem for me. This seems to be an excellent place to insert it. Thank you, Alison!
Here it is “mid-April” and I am still “in the desert”! My last post was just before Christmas.
I spent Christmas and New Year’s parked in Kathy’s driveway and celebrated with Jane and Robin and Kathy. After the holidays, I moved back out to my favorite spot near Green Valley, AZ. It is about an hour away from Kathy’s – but it only 15 minutes to Green Valley. There is a Sprouts, Starbucks, and Goodwill in Green Valley – all the things I need! (There is also a Walmart – but I never went there…)
I took a sunset photo almost every night! I won’t bore you with all of them!
Near my camping spot, there were plenty of places to hike in the desert, hike in Madera Canyon, and ride my bike. I finally got some toe clips to keep my left foot on the pedals – so riding became much more doable. I think the motion of biking really helps the mobility of my knee.
Love the desert landscape
I stayed in the same camping spot for almost 3 months – that’s pretty unusual for me! This being the “winter of Covid”, I decided it was much better to just “stay put”! Hard to believe that I was sleeping in the same spot for 3 months (actually 4 if you figure in the time before Christmas!). But I loved where I was and I got into a pretty good routine. Luckily my camping spot had good cell service, so I could text and check emails regularly. I drove into Green Valley to use either Starbucks or McDonalds WiFi if I was doing a Zoom meeting or other internet stuff. I was able to either walk or ride my bike near my camp – so I could continue to work my knee and leg and stay in shape. Every night was a beautiful sunset (so I took lots of sunset photos!)
Yep – More sunsets
My tiny home!
Oops – a bit of snow
Beautiful though
Saw a Javelina on one of my walks
Love the clouds
I also took advantage of the accessibility of Tucson to get some dental work done, see a dermatologist, and get my two Pfizer Covid Vaccines – yea!
Yup – it was well done!
Another “new” health modality I have taken on is the “Wim Hoff Method”. Wim is from the Netherlands and he has been nicknamed “The Ice Man”. His method uses a combination of breathing techniques and cold water to increase blood circulation and strengthen the immune system. (I am always looking for something to make me healthier that I can do while living my current crazy lifestyle!) I do the breathing exercises in the morning, then take a cold shower outside my camper. I do have an outdoor shower, but during the winter I don’t have the water tanks filled in the camper (I don’t want them to freeze!). So, I got a “garden sprayer” that I can put water in and pump it up for pressure. Then I stand outside (waiting till it is at least 45 degrees!) and spray myself for about 5 minutes: REFRESHING!!! Do you think I am “going off the deep end”? You might be right! On days when I went into Tucson to see Kathy, I took a dip in her not-heated pool. REFRESHING!!! I have to admit that I am not sure I see any real difference in the way I feel, but it certainly isn’t hurting. I felt great before, and I feel great now!
Early March, my friend, Michelle Patton, came down to the area in her new camper. Michelle has just started living “full time” in a camper and wanted me to “show her the ropes”. She set up in a spot close to mine and we had lots of fun going for walks together and having dinner either at her place or mine. It has been nice having a compatriot out here.
Full Moons were awesome
My new “tiny” grill
Lamb and Artichokes
Having Sushi with Kathy in Tucson
Hiking in the snow
By the end of March, it was definitely time to move on! Our friend, Rose Marie in her camper met us at a paid campground only a couple of hours away: Caballo Loco. We spent a couple of nights there – such a treat having flushing toilets! Rose Marie even gave us haircuts!
Packed and on the move
Rose Marie and Michelle
Another visitor on one of our walks
Spring is happening
Another sunset!
Spring!
Hiking in the snow
Having Sushi with Kathy in Tucson
After Caballo Loco, Rose Marie headed back to Tucson and Michelle and I headed to Cochise’s Stronghold (you may remember, I camped there last year). We went through Green River and were able to stock up on organic veggies etc. at Sprouts. The Stronghold is a paying campground also (only pit toilets) but in a very beautiful spot. After one night, Michelle took off to go visit with friends in the Austin area, and I stayed at Cochise’s Stronghold through the Easter Weekend.
This dam was filled with water last year – not this year!
Cochise Stronghold
After Easter, I called my friends, Dave Rose and Ceil Murray, who live in Silver City, NM. I visited with them for 3 days (parked on the street in front of their house). Other than being right under a very bright street light, it was a lovely place to sleep in AJay. It was great exploring Silver City with Ceil, and I always enjoy listening to Dave’s wealth of stories.
Silver City is very close to the Gila National Forest and Wilderness Area. I found a great little campsite in the National Forest and set up for about a week. There were some Cliff Dwellings about an hour away, so one day I went to see them. Very awesome!
Hot pools next to river
Gila River below my campsite
Inside the cliff dwellings
Camping above the Gila River
Great to have a place for my hammock
Amazing cliff dwellings
Tucked in the cliffs
Campsite near Silver City
Roughing it: with lobster tails and artichokes!
That brings me up to the present. I will do a little more exploring this part of New Mexico for the next two weeks then Michelle and I are going to reconnect in El Paso on May 1st. We have signed up to volunteer with the Annunciation House for two weeks. We will be helping with the processing of immigrants coming across the border. Michelle is fluent in Spanish. Even though I am not, I am well trained in cleaning and cooking! I can help “behind the scenes”.
(Word Press has changed their systems – so to see a lot of these photos, you need to “drag” the middle line one way or the other. I am not really very happy about this system – so I might have to change my blog provider!)
My last blog left off with the leaves changing in Crested Butte. It was, as always, a spectacular autumn show!
Pretty nice “front yard”
My friends, Jane, Robin and Joni and I headed to New Mexico and camped at Albiqui Lake. It was good to be in some warmth again. We got to see some flowers and colorful leaves (which were all gone in Crested Butte!).
Robin, Jane and Joni (and Rosie and Sky) at Albiqui Lake (drag the middle line!)
Back in Crested Butte – Early snow – Yikes!! Time for me to head South!!
Coffee and Make-up in bed in Albiqui
I had a couple of doctor appointments in Denver in late October, so I needed to stay relatively close to Colorado. So I headed to Grand Junction (which is right off of I70 so I could zip right over to Denver – well “zip” might mean 5 hours)!
Colorado River near Grand Junction
I left AJay with a friend near Grand Junction and stayed with Nancy (an old Hillsdale classmate). The doctors were pleased with the progress on my knee/leg. Yea!
While I was on the front range – I visited with my friend, Roberta. Jane and Robin came over from CB and we had a fun weekend together. Roberta is/has moved to Minnesota, so it was good to all be together before she left. While I was there in Fort Collins, it snowed – beautiful! But I stayed an extra couple of days to avoid driving in the snow.
Fort Collins – Good Friends and Snow!
Back in Grand Junction, I picked up AJay and took off to Utah. Of course, my favorite place to camp is Crystal Geyser near Green River. It was the full moon (actually a blue moon) for October, so it was especially beautiful! I stayed a couple of nights at Crystal – it is such a spectacular place!
Crystal Geyser
Crystal Geyser
From there, I went to another one of my favorite spots: Hovenweep National Monument. Hovenweep is right on the Utah/Colorado border. What was especially nice was that for only $7 a night I got flushing toilets – a luxury if you were to camp with me! I did some exploring in the area and went to other Anasazi ruins.
Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument
Still staying close to Colorado, I found a great place to camp near Durango. I needed to talk to one of my doctors again because I needed him to change my antibiotics – too many side effects! By the time, I connected with him, another snowstorm was on the way. Yikes! So this will blow your mind: I stayed 3 nights in motels! Definitely not my usual MO – but driving and pulling AJay in the snow on slippery roads is not one of my favorite options! So two nights in Farmington, New Mexico, and then another night in Holbrook, Arizona.
Yikes – still too icy for driving (in Farmington NM)
Finally, I got south of the snow clouds – into the desert. Unfortunately, because of the roads I was late getting to camping areas. Both the spots I had planned on camping at were closed! NO! One was closed because it was in a National Forest (I can’t believe that they think it is beneficial to close campgrounds – which are just pit toilets and picnic tables). Anyway – on I went to find my next campground closed because of a forest fire from last summer. Bummer! A third option had a sign that said “no overnight parking”! So I ended up on a little bit of gravel (probably illegal) where two roads split. By that time it was dark and I left the next morning early – so I wasn’t bothered by anyone.
I wanted to camp near Phoenix for a couple of days, so I could go visit my friend, Becky. I found a great “boondock” place to the East of Phoenix, near Apache Junction.
Desert Camping – and Trader Joe’s next to Sprouts! Yea!
Finally, I had a good spot in the desert – whew! I did get to see Becky (being socially distant because of covid) and another friend, JJ, who lives in Mesa. And for me – the ultimate shopping configuration: a Trader Joe’s right next to a Sprouts! Have I died and gone to heaven?
The next stop was Tucson. My friend, Kathy, has space in her driveway for me to set up AJay, so I can use her bathroom and laundry and still sleep in AJay. We were able to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with friends. We sat outside and everyone had their own table. We had a couple of fun outings: to Agua Caliente and then to Sweetwater Wildlife Refuge (where we saw a bobcat in the wild). Also lots of ducks, swans, and herons.
Setting up at Kathy’s and Agua Caliente
Agua Caliente (thanks to Kathy for the photo)
Beautiful Bobcat!
Back out into the desert – I am now camped near Green Valley, Arizona. I have a great spot off of the road (you can just barely hear the cars) so it is really convenient.
My new “home”
Sunsets and hiking in Madera Canyon
Wild Turkeys and a view of the area I am camped in – pretty open!
It’s about 15 minutes in to Green Valley where there is a Sprouts Grocery, petrol station, laundry, etc. And about half an hour to get to the trails in Madera Canyon. I have also done a couple of other hikes. My leg is behaving itself – I can hike fine, but it doesn’t bend enough to ride a bike yet. (I’m working it!)
Desert cacti
A white tail deer – and some wilderness!
Kathy has a beautiful back yard!
So as the year of 2020 finally is coming to an end – I think we are all ready to see it go – I wish you a very happy holiday season. Whatever that looks like for you. Just be sure to stay safe and healthy! We will get through this and things will be better next year!
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