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Leaving Grassland: for the winter

It’s that time

We aren’t leaving forever

It’s just a bit too cold

For this trailer and desert rats

We will be back

But until it’s warmer

We will be south of here

That’s a pretty crude poem but practice makes perfect and besides I’m not charging for this content.

So today we left Mancos and Grassland to head south for the winter. Our plan is to spend some time in Tucson and Phoenix. Then head west to Havasu and then further south to Mexico.

Last night was chilly. The furnace ran most of the night. At least until it ran out of propane. So then the fresh water tank or tubes froze a bit and the water pump wasn’t working so well. So we hand sandwiches for breakfast as they require no water to make and little washing afterwards.

Kate had coffee with our friend Kelli and her little one Rayne. He isn’t even a year old yet but seems huge.

We locked up the gate and bid farewell. Until New Years Eve anyway but we won’t bring the trailer up for that.

Our plan today was to make it to Flagstaff and spend the night in a friends driveway. The drive took us through Kayenta in the Navajo Nation in the northeast corner of AZ.

The scenery in this area is like being on another planet. The roads are a little bumpy but not as bad as most roads on the east coast.

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Mancos for a day

On our way south we stopped in Mancos to pick up my bike and say hey to a few friends. Did I mention it is cold here? Once the sun went down the temps plummeted. Winter is here.

Tomorrow we head south to Flagstaff then Tucson for a week or two. It will be nice to get to some warmer weather.

Knee is feeling good. I need to remember to take it easy and let it heal from the surgery. I think I should be able to ride a bike by next week though.

The dogs seem to be handling the cold and moving well. I am sure they will be very happy once we are in warmer climates as well though.

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Post op follow up

Doctor says the knee looks good. The level of swelling is down to what it would look like two weeks after surgery. RICE RICE baby!

Was talking with my doctor about needing to act my age. His reply:

Everyone acts 20 years younger than they are.

Thoughts for the future of my knees:

Lateral posting orthotics to take pressure off inside of knee.

Some meniscus left but I need to stay away from repetitive hard hits. Aka no more running

Bike or in-line skate

Stretch and strengthen

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Back home

Well back to where the trailer is parked in Grand Junction, CO anyway. We drove back from Frisco, CO this afternoon after spending another night in the hotel after my knee surgery on Thursday. Kate drove and did a great job as always. Enzo is still panting a lot in the truck. It’s a little annoying but he doesn’t seem overly stressed.

We stopped in Edwards at our friends Jen and Derek’s for some vegan nachos and some sort of margarita thing made with apple cider. I think it’s called a Manzarita and it was delicious. As were the nachos.

Then our mutual friend Nina showed us photos from this crazy river trip she just did in Ethiopia. She’s pretty sure that she is about the 50th person ever to raft/kayak this river which is wild to consider. There were sections of water that they did not float down as it was just too wild.

Then there were crocodiles and that’s when I decided I probably wouldn’t ever do that trip. But I have been known to change my mind on crazy things.

The knee is doing well. It’s still pretty swollen from surgery but it doesn’t hurt. I’m trying to keep it elevated and iced and of course I’m resting a ton.