The time has come...

Well, my long wait is over, and the time came for my full knee replacement surgery scheduled for September 10th. We woke up early for the drive over to Duke Med and

 got all checked in. I sat down and within a few minutes I was called in by a nurse. She took my vitals and then took me to my pre-surgical room where I got into my lovely hospital gown. 

Next, I was hooked up to several machines and given an IV. While waiting for the doctor I got to know the nurse who was in charge of me really well. I met the doctor once again who was performing my surgery as well as the attending fellow. Also swinging by to meet me was the anesthesiologist who would ensure I felt no pain, at least for now. 

Before I knew it they were giving me a spinal block and that is about the last thing I recall before waking back in post-surgery recovery. 

Surgery took a total of only 55 minutes.  2 hours was scheduled and I'm sure glad they didn't need all 2 hours of it. In recovery I was a bit groggy but totally aware of my surroundings.  I was also aware of the long road ahead of me. 

Once home I realized how tough this was going to be especially with all the inactivity I must endure. I started my pain regimen to stay ahead of the pain and on day 2 (post-surgery) my PT (daughter Katie) took off my ace bandage and exposed the bandage. All in all it looked okay no for the long road of healing.

And here I am about 6 days post-surgery. To say the last 6 days have been unpleasant would be an understatement. I am lucky if I sleep 2-4 hours a night, usually less. The pain hasn't been too horrible and I'm already off the oxycodone originally given for pain. It's mostly the lack of sleep, random nerve pain and the dull ache in my back from laying in the same position 24 hours a day.

I have started my PT which for me now means painful time and not physical therapy. I'm looking forward to getting the first two weeks out of the way as I understand that's the most challenging. 

I know I too will survive this challenge as many others who have had this procedure done before me.  From here on out it will be one day at a time as I begin day six today. I am fortunate that our daughter is a PT who assures me I am progressing normally and the whole family is trying to make life as comfortable as possible. I really look forward to getting back to my normal life and seeing my friends on the road of retirement sometime soon.

Made it to North Carolina

We moved the RV from Apache Wells RV Resort over to Towerpoint RV Resort and set up at our usual site. We would only spend one night at Towerpoint before our flight to Raleigh, North Carolina the next day. We left our keys with some great folks at the resort in case of emergency, so we felt so thankful for them! 

As morning broke, we contacted Uber for a ride to the airport. Amazingly we were able to pack all of our stuff into carry-ons, passed through security at American airlines with ease and waited at our gate for our flight. 

When boarding began we worried about being group 6 but thankfully were able to secure an overhead bin for our carry-ons. Sharon and I settled into aisle seats across from each other. Lucky for me no one sat in the middle seat, but Sharon wasn't as a lucky. 

Fortunately, the flight wasn't too bad. There was some turbulence during the flight, but the worst part was the landing. I'm not sure if this pilot's flown very much but it might have been the worst landing I've ever had as we hit very hard. But with that being the worst that happened, we were pretty pleased. 

After debarking, Sharon and I headed down to the departure area where our son in law, Brooks, picked us up within 5 minutes! (Thank goodness as it was already 11:00 p.m) We surely knew at that hour we would not see our daughter awake nor our grandchildren since they had work and school the next day. 

However, the next morning we had some time to spend with the grandkids and the granddog for the first time in awhile before they headed to school. And of course, after school we had much more fun with them. Likewise, we will have plenty of time to reacquaint and watch them grow up a little bit since we will be here for at least the next 6 to 8 weeks while I have my right knee surgically replaced. Stay tuned...

Back in Mesa AZ

Well, it looks like our fun in the mountains would end sooner than we hoped. We wanted to extend longer at Mund's Park RV Resort but were unable to. So, the time came to head down the mountains and into the furnace of the valley below. 

It would be a rather lengthy drive of 150 mi which was pretty much all downhill as we wound down the mountains to the valley where Phoenix lies below. Happily, it was yet another uneventful drive as we pulled into our next stop at Apache Wells RV Resort. 

We have arrived in Phoenix about 5 days earlier than planned because we were unable to secure reservations in other spots. So here we are in the greater Phoenix area in August. Not the time you want to be here with forecasted temperatures of over 110 F on the way. 

We came to Apache Wells to check it out and also because it was considerably cheaper than staying anywhere else in Mesa Arizona for shorter stays. Apache Wells RV Resort is another one of the Cal-Am parks found on the north end of Mesa. It is also the smallest of their parks. After staying a few days, we now know that this is not a park for us for a long-term stay. 

While here we did take advantage of their small fitness room and continued to try to make meals out of what we have left in our refrigerator and pantry that might be perishable as we get ready for our long stay in North Carolina. 

After our brief stay at Apache Wells RV resort, we moved a short distance over to our park where we will be for the winter. We have arrived early because we plan to leave the motorhome at Towerpoint RV Resort while taking advantage of their inexpensive fall special rates. 

We will fly out from Phoenix to Raleigh, North Carolina where we will stay with our daughter and son-in-law for the purpose of surgery on my right knee. Since our daughter is a physical therapist, we will stay there after surgery and let her take care of me before returning back to Towerpoint for the winter. So, get ready for lots of pictures of grandchildren! 

Munds Park RV Resort and Flagstaff AZ

With only staying one night at Homolovi  State Park we didn't even have to hook up the car the next morning before we hit the road.  Our next stop was only 84 miles in distance but up several thousand feet in elevation.

It wasn't too long before we pulled into Munds Park RV Resort. We have stayed here before so we asked for a site under the trees. The sites are very tight but people come for the location, not for large sites 

With the RV park being only 3 hours from Phoenix it's a very popular spot in the summer, especially with temperatures in the Phoenix valley reaching in the 110's this time of year. I tried to book a week but there's no way to book on short notice a weekend spot. During our stay the highs were in the upper '70s to low '80s with overnight lows in the '50s... perfect.

We decided to make the most of our time with lots of outdoors time. We played disc golf at the nearby Ft Tuthill course, about 15 minutes away. By dodging afternoon showers we were able to slip in a couple of rounds on two different days. 

 

We also took a couple of hikes at the Kachina Wetlands Preserve. It's nice walking there because of the beautiful views of the mountains just outside of Flagstaff. Also, this is a great birding site even in the summer. 

 

Of course, we had to drive into Flagstaff to check out Northern Arizona University. We returned to our favorite Flagstaff brewery called Lumberyard. Not only do they have a great happy hour but they have tasty IPAs and an excellent Porter. We were also intrigued with their very popular $10 mason jar drinks...maybe next time

Alas, before we knew it, time was up again. Unfortunately, that meant we're headed down the mountain and into the heat. We will arrive in Phoenix 5 days earlier than planned but fortunately for us the excess heatwave has diminished and thankfully we don't expect temperatures in the 110s.

Wish us luck...

El Morro National Monument and a check engine cod

I almost forgot to mention a trip we took to El Morro National Monument. What a cool place this turned out to be. It was a good 45 minute drive from the casino we stayed at. Upon our arrival we were in awe of the huge sandstone bluff that is the El Morro, a beautiful historic landmark! 

I found a hike that short and very popular we decided to do. As we began the hike it was clear we were to climb atop the El Morro on one side and descend it on the other side. We followed the well marked trail consisting of lots of stairsteps.

Even more surprising, was that the trail was not really designed for those with a fear of heights, like Sharon . Nonetheless Sharon gutted it out and after we descended she was really happy to have conquered the trek across the top of El Morro 

At the tail end of the hike we added the 1/2 mile trail taking us by inception rock. Here are numerous inscriptions carved into the rock by early explorers, as well as some petroglyphs carved into the sandstone by the native Americans.

What a great hike this was. We had a good two days at the casino campground but It was time again to roll. Our next stop would be down the highway some 180 mi to Homolovi State Park near Winslow, Arizona.

This was just a one-night stop because we wanted to get to the higher country to escape the heat. It was 100° the day we arrived at Homolovi State Park and thankfully we've visited before so we didn't feel the need to hike the ruins.

We set up and walked around the park before one of those little thunderstorms which blow up in the desert this time of year during the so-called monsoonal season dropped some rain on us. It did leave the remnants of a rainbow behind so it was enjoyable. And oh how I love watching a good thunderstorm.

The next morning we took our time to head to our next destination because it was only a little over 80 miles away. We broke camp and about 30 miles down the road we had a check engine light flashing. I noticed it alerted me to a scan code that suggested our ERG cooler or valve was malfunctioning, code 412.

Those who don't know what the ERG valve is, it is the exhaust gas recirculation valve which basically is a component of the pollution control system. It helps reduce the NO2 which helps reduce emissions. 

It sure was nice having my scan gauge to pick up the code and have Sharon read about it to me while we were driving down the road to discern if it was something urgent or not. Discovering it wasn't urgent we had already had a plan to stop and get diesel at a casino travel center some 40 mi down the road from where we started.

As we filled up with diesel, we decided on a whim to go over and check out the casino. This would also allow the engine to cool a bit so I could check the radiator fluid. At the casino we received a little bit of free play from Sharon being a new member and me being a veteran.

After playing a little bit and taking some of their money (not very much), we went out to check on the motorhome. It started up just fine, didn't give me any codes and didn't act funny so we headed on down the road to our next stop at Monds Park RV Resort.

We set up and I did a little more research on the code suggesting the ERG valve was defective. After reading everything, I'm guessing that the valve was sticking just a bit. This I'm not too worried about making it on to Mesa after we leave Munds Park but will check it another day after we get settled in there.

Until then...