Lazy Days on the Joe

Last weekend, we drove to one of our favorite campgrounds, Huckleberry. It sits on the bank of the St Joe River. We met up with Bill and Teri Burch.  Also joining us were our next-door neighbors, Jodi and Steve. We had a fun few days playing cards, tossing bean bags, and taking walks. We ate, drank (some of us), told stories, and laughed a lot. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed every moment of our stay.

Wild protesters gather around a fire pit.

On No Kings Day, we silently protested by making signs and taping them to our rigs.  Midway through the afternoon, a camp host came by and said, "Your signs make people uncomfortable,"  and that we should take them down.  We stated our right to free speech and said we would not remove the signs. The host drove away without further comment.  We were ready for more comments, but nothing came, so we quietly enjoyed our little political altercation.

No Kings!

Steve and his bike.

Explanation

While in Yuma, Linda and I joined Steve and Jodie in volunteering at the Yuma Food Bank on Fridays.  On one of our sessions, when I twisted and picked up a box, I felt a pain in the lower right side of my back. This was the start of thirteen weeks of pain and frustration.  

By morning of the day after the injury, I was so stoved up that I could not stand up straight and had to move in a bent over position. After having to wait 3 weeks to get in, I started PT, but it did not seem to help.

The only positive in this event was that I could sit with very little pain, and sleeping was something I could also do.

When it came time to leave Yuma, I could drive, but could not do much else. I posted the return trip adventures for all to read.

At home, I jumped into the health repair cycle and went to my primary doctor, who eventually set up an MRI and then referred me to a neurosurgeon. We met with the surgeon, and he immediately recommended surgery. This was a month and a half AFTER I returned home.

Surgery went well, and I am in full recovery mode.

That's the short story of what we've been doing or why we haven't been doing it.  Now, the adventures will continue, a bit at a time. We're leaving on our next trip today!

Windy Wanapum

Looking at the Columbia from our camp spot.

When we arrived home from our big Yuma adventure, we took the truck to our mechanics and had them take care of all the little repairs needed so we could feel good about traveling. After waiting for the repairs to be completed for almost two weeks, we were ready to take a short drive to Wanapum Recreation Area near Vantage on the Columbia River.  Our very good friends, Caroline and Don, from Westport, WA, were traveling our way to attend the graduation of their granddaughter from WSU.  We met them about halfway between their house and WSU at the Wanapum Campground, and enjoyed catching up on our lives.

Windy and a bit cool.

We spent three nights at the campground. The first two nights, the wind blew harder than I have ever felt in our camper. It shook everything and made it hard to sleep. During the day, the wind let up a bit. Caroline had parked their trailer in a position that blocked most of the wind. We were able to sit in the sun and chat. Visiting those two is always so nice; we love their company.

On Thursday, we had to get up early and head back to Post Falls. I had an appointment in the afternoon, so we hit the road at about 8 AM and were home by noon. We love spending time with Don and Caroline. We wish we could get together more often.