I know it isn't, but nevertheless it feels like a miracle how well my foot is doing. It is actually due to the skill of a physician. I can now hike without the constant pain that I had when I first moved to Whidbey Island. I hadn't realized the degree to which arthritis and an un-repaired bunion had destroyed my foot until I got to my THIRD podiatrist, my first at the Everett Clinic, who immediately recommended surgery, saying it was the worst foot he had seen in years.
Three surgeries later and I can hike several miles with only mild soreness, probably a bit more than the average person who hikes regularly, but still so much better than before. If I had not gone to this third podiatrist I would probably be on my way to being an invalid by now.
The first surgery to repair the structure of my foot was a failure, partly because of how far gone it was by the time a doctor took it seriously. The second, two years ago, by an expert in performing surgeries when original ones are failures, corrected the structure of my foot. My third, almost a year ago, was more or less a touch-up, fixing toes that had become deformed from the years of degeneration and correcting a small bunion on the outside of my foot.
Even though the foot is doing exceptionally well, we are mindful of not pushing it. For the foreseeable future, we are going to limit our hiking to four days in a row, followed by a day of rest. And yesterday we tripped that number. So, today we did something different--we once again rode our bikes on the trail through Red Canyon. We did two loops, totaling 35 miles, with around 2000 foot elevation gain. It was a beautiful day, and we felt good riding, even though we had a strong headwind for half of the ride.
The other thing we did today was test out one of my anniversary presents to Vicky--a 12-volt crockpot. We made stew in the morning, and then let the crockpot crock away for the rest of the day. We wanted to experiment on a day when we wouldn't be gone a long time from the camper because we weren't sure whether the solar panel could keep up with the energy demands of the crockpot, which are considerable.
Well, it did. The crockpot, because it generates heat (and a lot of it) requires a lot of energy. However, the solar panel kept up with the demand. This is great news, because it showed how powerful our solar panel is.
It seems that many people with campers have to organize their days around when they can crank on their generators. I like RVs with generators about as much as I like hikers with big dogs. The generators make a lot of noise, and for what? To be able to use a microwave for a few minutes?
Our solar panel powers everything, as long as there is even a little bit of sun. We are completely free of RV parks because of it. That fact, plus the fact that we don't have to invest in a generator or gasoline to power it, will pay for our solar panel in less than two years.
Our home smells so good tonight--beef stew cooking away thanks to the energy of the sun. I can't wait!
That's our camper back there.
Solar power to keep my coffee warm!
Today's nature photograph. A wild Vicky. Rarely seen. If you happen upon one, talk quietly and back away slowly. That's what I do.
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