Roadtrip Plans & The VA Cirus

Within the time it takes to sip a cup of coffee my Sunday plans changed from wanting to find Carr Canyon waterfalls or the Coronado Monument to a trip to Tombstone. The surprise I had was not only how packed Tombstone was with people but how I felt within the first 5 miles of my trip. Something was wrong. Before I even saw the crowd at Tombstone I knew I wasn't staying long. I continued to drive though, enjoying the 'wild west' scenery on the way.

I can't remember if I mentioned on this blog or my bicycle blog but for the past few weeks at about the one hour twenty minute mark of riding, my right buttock (surgical side) gets really sore from sitting on that bike seat. Now for someone just starting riding that might be normal until you can get your butt in shape while riding a lot of miles. This is a distinct discomfort and it's not from lack of seat time. It's the new hip thing. I may have to pull out some anatomy websites to get the correct name of the muscle but it goes from the lower back stretching over the back of the hip. It gets really sore and close to tapping a nerve. I found out by accident if I stop and get off the bike for five or ten minutes it goes away completely when I finish the ride.

Five miles down the road in the FJ Sunday morning I had the same feeling. Did my longest ride since surgery end up being too much from Saturday? I had felt good all Sunday morning so I didn't think so. I felt that I could ride again Sunday afternoon so I knew all the muscle activity for two hours and twenty seven minutes had recovered. Maybe it was the way I was sitting in the FJ or was it how I got into the FJ? Whatever the cause, there was more than a little discomfort in that hip joint area.

As you can see, Heidi was pretty sure the sun would not be out for long today. It was on the cold side and in her book there is nothing better than a day of sleep. She has declared it a "3 blanket winter" and will move them different times of day or night to the correct position. At one time this week the Mexican blanket was completely off the bed.

She, like Stella has turned into a professional food beggar.

So I pull into Tombstone expecting it to be me and a bunch of empty streets. I could tell by the number of people walking from their parked cars and the distance we were from downtown, that it was nothing different than the highest point of tourist season in the summer. I have yet to walk the streets of Tombstone after a few trips to do just that. Combined with too many people and a sore hip, I turned around and headed home. No roatrip to blog about.

The highlight of that trip was stopping the FJ in the middle of the road to wait for a deer to cross the road in front of the credit union as I was leaving town. Did it know it had to go the other direction in the drive-thru? It stopped and stared at me before I could pull the FJ over to the side of the road and take this picture.

I was about to make a left turn into my neighborhood when I had a flash thought, it might be a good time to check out the movie Ford vs Ferrari at the mall theater. Am I really thinking right ??? Three days before Christmas on a Sunday and I would think the mall would be as empty as it usually is? What is wrong with me? I had barely pulled into a parking lot full of cars when it dawned on me what day it was. I can see the same movie during the week at 2:15pm and I might be the only person in there. I turned around and headed home. The hip joint was feeling the same.

Evidently it snowed a little up on the mountain last night. I am not sure which one this is but that should be completely white Friday morning if the weather forecasters are right. With the cool air I agreed with Heidi, nothing better to do than a Sunday afternoon siesta.

You cannot tell from this photo but the Aerostat is in the process of landing. Does that mean bad weather will arrive a day early? So far the weather app shows no rain until Tuesday. I would love to get inside that thing to look around sometime. Not possible of course but it would be something to see.

Monday morning I almost missed this sunrise. You will see later it only lasted 15 minutes.

All taken standing on the patio.

15 minutes later those skies looked like this. It was cold too with the wind blowing. Stella turned around and came back inside.

This is zoomed in so not real clear this time of day.

I was going to have a busy morning and a frustrating morning. I knew that beforehand. It's the main reason I hate anything medical. It's the reason I never wanted to be involved with medical anything. It should have been simple. I had an appointment to get blood drawn for labwork. I had fasted since 8:47pm last night, skipped black coffee (permitted) this morning and kept drinking ice water.

Since it's been a big pain in the ass to get things done in the civilian sector of the medical field I decided I'd use my VA benefits. Last month I took all the paperwork needed, filled out a new income form and explained why I wasn't eligible with their letter from 20 years ago. When I walked away from her desk 4-6 weeks ago she said I was all updated and they would be in touch to set up appointments.

I never heard a word from them. No email, no text, no phone call or regular post office mail ... nothing.

When I gave my friend a ride to VA last Friday I set up an appointment for me to have some labwork. They brought up my record, assigned me a team for my doctor appointment on Friday and the appointment for my labwork this morning. They did NOT tell me anything else except "see you Monday."

Some of you may have figured out that I have very little patience for bullshit. I assume it's pretty easy to do your job so I've always had a hard time with mistakes and errors when it comes to work. This morning only confirmed my beliefs.

I check in early this morning. He makes copies of the records I hand him from my hip replacement and cardiogram. He tells me I can sign up at the kios for a VA ID card. I know things are running too smooth and 20 minutes later the circus begins with the lady in enrollment telling him "he is not eligible due to making too much income".

Now ... two things or three.

First, she said it loud enough for everyone sitting in the waiting room to hear. (Fantastic) Second, she is the same lady I spoke to last month to correct that problem with proof of current income and showing her that reason was the one they gave me 20 years ago, as I handed here a letter from them 20 years ago as proof. Three, this same lady just told me a month or so ago that she had corrected my record and I was eligible for VA benefits. I sat at her desk for 45 minutes watching her do all kinds of data input with my DD-214 in hand and asking me questions for current address, phone number and email.

So the excuse today was ... my record had not been updated since the changes last month. BUT ... "yes you can still go to your lab appointment" How can that be? Am I not eligible until my record is not updated? They had no answer to that question.

Bottom line, blood was drawn and I'll get the results back on Friday during my next doctor's assistant visit. Oh ... that ID CARD ... go to the kios and log in to get a number. 20 minutes later the SAME LADY telling me to do that tells me "you cannot get a VA ID card today because your NOT UPDATED in the system.

Friends and family wonder why I hate life and most people .... this is just one of many examples that answers that question.

Still, everyday in the 'Wild West' is a good day as long as I stay home alone with the hounds.

A Short Trip To Miller Canyon

I had seen the road sign "Miller Canyon Rd" every time I was driving south to the Coronado National Forest or down further where I could turn back north on Hereford Rd. It's a popular road for the local mountain bike riders and was part of the weekend ride a few weeks ago in honor of a young lady that had passed away too early in life. So today I grabbed a few cameras and drove down to see what I was missing. It is not as high nor as steep as Carr Canyon or Montezuma Pass but the road is narrow and in many places just one lane.

Turning off Hwy 92 I passed through a small residential area of very nice homes that had fantastic views.

It would be the first trip for the 2007 FJ but from the past FJ's I've owned I know what it can do in this type of terrain. It is the best 4x4 of all the cars and truck that I have. I started the morning by trying one more time to find the camera shop in town. I had a phone number this time and a better idea where it was located. Only one problem .. the number was disconnected and in that small shopping center there wasn't a sign that a camera shop ever existed. So I had four different cameras with me including the iPhone camera.

See if you can tell which camera took which photo.

As I pulled into the Lower Parking area there was plenty of room for RVs, trucks with trailers, and had restroom facilities. I am not sure if overnight camping was allowed but I did NOT see any signs saying it wasn't allowed. Based on the map I had, it was farther than I wanted to walk to the trails and possibly too much incline for my walking at this time ... so I took a few photos, hopped back in the FJ and headed to the top.

Believe it or not, that FJ hit the road for the first time in November 2006 ... 13 years old and only one owner before me. There is not a scratch or dent anywhere and it's very possible that it never drove off paved roads until I bought it.

I was not going to the top of this, it was just a closer view of what I took standing by the FJ.

Looking at this picture I have to wonder just how many different kinds of landscape do you see between the trees, wild grass, flowers etc.

At this point of the drive there was enough room to pull over and let a large truck towing a horse trailer pass by, coming at me. Up ahead I would have had to backup to a place I could pull to the side of the road. It wasn't scary steep but quite narrow at times.

From the way the map looked I didn't think this road was going to get too high in elevation. I did know for sure that I was not going to be driving along the side of the mountains straight ahead nor going to the top of them.

As I pulled into the Miller Canyon Upper Parking Lot, there was a U-turn with a sign for private property straight ahead ... or to the right of this picture. I didn't see a sign but the maps call that property the Beatty's Guest Ranch and Orchard. I did not see any entry or road leading to the Miller Canyon Recreation Area ... unless we are looking at the entry point in this picture.

Behind me and to the left of where I am taking this photo, all parking spaces were taken, leaving me no room to park and check out the trails. I had only two choices and that was to head back down to the lower parking area or head home.

If you can try to picture a 26'-29' Class C RV coming from the other direction. Luckily we were at a point I could slide to the right edge in the rocks to let her pass by. She would barely have enough room to make the U-turn at the top ... then again, she might have been too long to make the sharp turn back down the hill. Something tells me that wasn't the first time she had driven her motorhome up there.

I was able to go up and back down in 2-wheel drive. It just wasn't that steep and maybe two switchbacks at the most with plenty of room to turn out around the corner. It was the perfect weather to go hiking but I had done what I came for ... find out what is up here and take some photos. I'll come back another time to hike those trails at the top of the road.

Once you hit pavement it's just a short drive to Hwy 92. Those snowcaps you see are north of Tombstone almost 40 or more miles away.

When I walked into the house Heidi was nowhere to be found. She was outside sleeping in the sunshine but by the time I went back to get my camera, she heard me and met me inside. Stella on the other hand was sound to sleep in her crate. Once I opened the door she stopped as usual to get her collar put on then trotted outside. She wasn't finished sleeping and she loves the hot sunshine.

It took this with the patio post in the picture on purpose. I just wanted to show what a nice day it was. A little cool but still nice bicycling or hiking weather. I was/am going to take one more day off from riding. I am having very little if any pain at all in my lower back or right hip. Two of my bicycling friends feel that cycling will keep that hip loose and will help the healing process instead of causing any damage. Better to keep moving instead of being stagnant.

By the time an hour had passed, Stella had moved back inside because she gets too hot after about 15 minutes then came back outside to do the same thing she did before when she ended up getting too hot. It's a vicious circle I guess.

Here she is showing the the thoughtful process of a bloodhound sunbathing in the winter.  LOL

This is a zoom photo of Carr Canyon I think. If you look closely you can see the road in the center, switchback to the left and climb ... it would go behind what the photo shows. It is a road that I classify as 'scary' in some parts, 4-5  of them.

By the time I gave myself a haircut (13 years experience), Stella had moved back inside and was sleeping in the living room where it's nice and cool.

I'll end this post with some short notes, questions or comments ----

Those that use Blogger as your blogging platform, how do you like the "new Blogger"??? They are slowly changing it page by page. Is it time for me to install a new design??  (theme)

When I moved in June my old Dyson had been picking up dog hair out of the carpet for almost 11 years. That's a lot of dog hair. It was still working perfectly but more than a few people told me it was time for a new one. I waited until I moved before buying another Dyson. This time I went with the cordless model (can't remember the number) and that has really cut down on the time it takes to vacuum. Good purchase.

I have too many cameras.

I guess I should have NOT tried to save money when I bought the Nikon D3200 4 years ago and spent 2x or 3x as much to get a professional camera that does everything that I want. Instead I have spent too much money trying to save money. So I have two Nikon's and the small Canon G9X and EACH does one thing the best. Then the iPhone 11 camera improves so much it moves to the top of the list beating the DSLR's in everything but one thing ... 300mm zoom.

I replaced the D3200 with the D3500 because in the 4 years I've had the D3200 I've dropped it in a snow bank, had the wind blow it off a chair and bounced it a few times on my gravel driveway back in Indiana, plus it needed to be professionally cleaned. It looks like somewhere in Tucson is the closest place I can find to do that. Yet with the "Deal" at Best Buy this fall I could buy a new D3500 AND the 70mm-300mm lens I wanted for LESS THAN just the lens !!!

I am still not happy with the quality when using the 300mm zoom on the mountains from the patio. I am trying a different camera for that, "a loner" if you will, with 65x zoom and it is bringing in the mountains quite sharp and clear .... but that same camera does NOT take better pictures in low light, inside or even outside in the sunshine ... it has a "soft" picture quality.

Without any adjustments, the iPhone 11 camera I have now blows all of them away in picture quality ... except for the zoom.

I think I'll find a few camera shops in Tucson where I can sell some used equipment and get down to my iPhone camera and the camera that does well in max zoom. OR trade all that I have except my iPhone camera for something more professional that will do everything I am looking for in a sharp clear high quality photo. Stay tuned.

One thing good about blogs ... you can go back to any year you blogged, a lot of times on the exact date and see that things really haven't changed that much. I just found out this morning on this date just last year I woke up at 3:10am just like this morning. I also didn't get back to sleep in either year and got up to start the day a little after 4am. IN BOTH CASES, 2018 AND 2019 STELLA WANTED TO EAT HER MORNING KIBBLE WITHIN MINUTES OF WAKING UP AT 4AM !!!!  LOL

I was over on Wordpress this time last year claiming I was going to be more 'transparent' in my blogging and opinionated ... that didn't last long ... it was fun while it lasted but really not a good move. I came back here because it's free and Wordpress was wanting to charge me for a free account and they always had a limit on how many photos I could have in my account.

Their photos are better quality on the blog because they do NOT COMPRESS the photos like Google does on Blogger or in Google Photos. Bye bye sharp and clear when that compression happens to a photo.

(I hear the music for the ice cream truck that passes through the neighborhood every Thursday)

That music brings Stella out of a deep sleep.

So that's it for today. I am still debating on whether to take a 'short' bike ride today or hold off one more day. It's a confusing time for what to do.

These photos were taken with the following cameras/lenses:

Nikon D3500 / Nikon 18-55mm lens
Nikon D3200 / Tamron 18-200mm lens
Canon G9X
iPhone 11 Pro Max

Beautiful weather here in the 'Wild West' again today ... as usual.

Back To Normal

As I saw a similar view from my bed Sunday morning I knew with a sunrise like that, would lead to a great day. At the time I just didn't know how nice of a day it would be. Within a minute I knew I'd not be able to enjoy much of the day outside. My hip and waistline felt almost like the first week after surgery. Only this time I knew the cause and once again I was the culprit. It all started Saturday morning, more stiff and sore than normal. I had done something Friday afternoon that I guess I shouldn't have.

There are some mountains somewhere in there.

The wheels I ordered for the FJ came in on Friday, or let me say three of the five ordered arrived on Friday. Due to a UPS screwup the other two wheels were delayed. I was feeling great on Friday so I didn't think anything of it when I decided to drag a box weighing 63 pounds from my front porch, across and down the driveway to the back of the FJ. I would then break the banding and load each box that contained the wheel into the cargo area of the FJ. These will be mounted downtown.

Taken within minutes of the first picture.

I bent my knees and lifted the ~20# boxes (3ea) into the back of the FJ. Hours later that night sitting on the couch watching the Pac12 Championship game I knew I may have screwed up. It was getting harder each time I stood from the couch and I started taking some Advil not for the pain but to reduce the swelling that had to going on inside my hip and lower back. This was the exact muscle I had stretched a few months ago by making a mistake on a day I was feeling great. I knew what the plan of attack would be to fix it. I also knew it was going to take a couple or three days to heal.

With more sunshine you can see the reflection on the mountains. This picture was also taken within minutes of the second picture, all in a sequence of four.

Saturday didn't help because I spent a lot of time sitting on a comfortable soft couch watching the SEC Championship game, a basketball game and then the B1G Championship game Saturday night. I made a point of standing every 15-20 minutes but all that did was tell me how sore I was.

While the hounds were sleeping the day away on Sunday, I applied one of those temporary therapeutic heat pads to my lower back not he right side. I was going to keep that on all day, at least for eight hours and I was also going to spend a lot of time in bed, just like I did a couple of months ago. It must of worked because the sleep app on my phone also records detailed times for any siesta taken. I was catching up on a lot of missed sleep from the past two night.

By Sunday night I took off the heat pad and moved to the ice packs I had used the first month of rehab. I placed one under my lower back and the other to the side of the hip. Within minutes I could feel more relief. Movement of my leg was returning to normal without stiffness or pain. I could feel the improvement throughout the night each time I got up. Not only do I get up different times in the middle of the night but Heidi will at least once. We are both getting older I guess.

I could tell Sunday night that Monday was going to be a day of rain. WeatherBug app forecast confirmed my suspicions.

To see if my new iPhone camera would work like the advertisements I saw on tv last month, I held the phone up in the air in a pitch black bedroom and aimed it where I thought Stella would be sleeping ... right next to my bed. This was the result although I had to hold the phone camera still a few seconds for the auto flash and shutter to work properly. Not bad for a room that was dark.

I woke up at 4am when Heidi woke me up with her dangling tags as she shook her head. She was headed to the patio door to go outside and I always plan to get their first. I quickly got out bed and felt all the pain and stiffness was gone from my hip and lower back. I felt normal again as I walked fast down the hallway to catch up with her.

What happens if I don't hear her? Two options, Stella either wakes me up by whining to tell me Heidi is gone or Heidi will lay down by the patio door until I get there. Most of the time I do here her and get up.

Sunday I pulled one of her favorite blankets out of the closet and put it in the corner of the room. It's winter and she likes to have blankets in different parts of the house for a nap. You can see she preferred the blanket to be out in the middle of the floor instead of the corner. I have just enough room to step around it to sit in my desk chair. As long as she is happy I am happy.

Monday morning's sunrise didn't have a lot of sunshine. That's fine as I needed another day of rest before getting back on the bicycle. I will have to watch it though as the last two wheels are arriving this afternoon. Since they came from the same warehouse in Colorado there were be two boxes banded together. If I can catch the UPS driver in time, I'll have him load them into the cargo area of the FJ.

Duluth Trading Co finally shipped my order without telling me. They also sent it 2nd Day Air but that does not mean it was delivered on a weekend. Still nice to get another flannel shirt and a pair of Keen shoes I wanted. Plus Heidi will have a strap that connects her collar to the seatbelt the next time she is riding in the passenger seat. She and Stella have not been on a road trip lately.

For not doing much on Monday things got busy enough that I didn't have time to blog last night. The hounds slept more than normal and I sat outside watching the clouds developing into some afternoon thunderstorms. I never heard thunder but saw rain, not heavy. My friend in Phoenix sent me a text mid-afternoon telling me it was HAILING ???? where she was. I glanced at my iPhone weather for Phoenix and it was showing me it was 61° ... how could it be? Well last night on Twitter I saw what looked like a blizzard north of Phoenix.

The hounds were a lot like I was yesterday. I felt like doing something but didn't know what. Heidi would go outside expecting hot sunshine to sleep under but it was cool and overcast. When she looked at me wondering what was up, I had no answers for her. She would turn and head back to her favorite bed back in the corner of the bedroom.

I anxiously awaited to see that brown truck show up in front of my house with UPS on the side. I really wanted to get my last two wheels early enough so I could get them mounted at one of three tire stores here in town. I played a lot of Mahjong and some PS4 ... I'm not a big gamer but like I said, Grand Turismo is a favorite of mine. Honestly with those two games I have felt it helps with hand and eye coordination and that can't be a bad thing as I get older.  (Or that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

Stella was like Heidi. She was begging to get outside and take that daily nap in the hot sunshine up near the back of the house on the warm stone yard but not today. The later the day got the grayer the sky got, plus it was a cool 50's in the temperature department. She too turned immediately and headed back into the house to one of her many sleeping spots.

Those last two pictures were taken within 30 seconds of each other.

It was past 3:00 pm and UPS had not arrived. Between 2-3pm is their normal time but with Christmas two weeks away they are a little busy right now. I was going to be surprised if my wheels showed up before 5:00 pm. So I went back outside and watched the storm clouds get a little more intense to the west and north of me. I was back in my weather pocket where I live, where it's normal for all the intense storms to be around me and rarely on me.

It rained solid but not hard. No lightning or thunder as my young neighbors stood out in the rain trimming back one of their overgrown shrubs. I couldn't tell from my vantage point but it looked like what they were cutting and loading in their truck could be used for making Christmas wreathes. Why else would they be in the rain trimming only one of many overgrown shrubs?

A little after 4:00pm the brown truck showed up and by the time they had the 63 pound box with two wheels out of their truck, I had the back door of the FJ open where he could put it without me even touching it. After my bad back episode over the weekend from dragging and lifting those wheels into the FJ, I wanted the least amount of interaction with them.

After making three calls I found that Big O Tires was open until 6:00 pm and was looking for some action. One part of their problem is having only one entry that does not go directly into their parking lot while the business sits on one of the busiest intersections in town. Now I know it doesn't mean much to 99.9% of you but I've always wanted my first FJ back ... it was a 2007 Voodoo Blue with black wheels and rock rails. It came that way back in May 2014.

So with rock rails installed last week and the wheels last night, I now have what I've wanted every since I traded it. Those are the exact model of wheel the other one had. I haven't made up my mind whether to sell the brand new OEM wheels I took off or keep them. I have no plans of selling or trading this FJ so there won't be a need to give a new owner the option of different wheels.

Here is my first FJ I speak of ... I'll have a better picture of the new setup later today since last night did not have the best lighting for that picture with it dark and raining lightly. Current picture added Tuesday at 3:35pm MT.

My plans are to ride my bike today outside for a short one hour ride just to loosen those muscles up in my lower back and hip. They both feel like they can handle a short ride on fairly flat roads. I will make it a point to keep my ride to that one hour and not ride longer just because I am feeling good those first 15-20 minutes.

I found out this morning, since I was up so early (4:10am) and thinking clearly, that while coffee is being made I have time to do some basic exercises for my hip. Two of them were given to me by the doctor back in October. I haven't done enough of them on a daily basis and that may be some of the problems I am having right now. From now on it will be a daily routine to start my day.

I see 10 days of sunshine in my forecast and that is always a good thing for my mental outlook. Expect some posts this week about some local hiking or road trips ... I am in the mood to get back out on the road again, with my camera(s) in hand.

An early morning blog post from the 'Wild West' this morning.