Back from camping, about a week ago. My sister and her hubby, along with friends of theirs, co-own a 10 acre lot in McCall, ID. It's loaded with evergreens, including larches which are so cool. Larches are a type of pine that is deciduous. That is, their needles go yellow and fall off in the fall. They are tall with branches that start 20 feet or more up the trunk. Also ponderosas, lodge poles, fir trees, etc. Part of their property is a sandy beach area on a slow moving river, the Payette. COLD cold water that is slow and clear and green-brown. So beautiful. We had a great time every day at the beach. Drank some beer, partook of some green.
The sun was bright in a clear blue sky every day but one, and we took advantage of the cool to do a neat craft with driftwood and little rocks for hanging decorations. I made one and have it hanging off a shelf in my living room, near a mirror. All it needs now is some lighting
Every day I walked up to the bridge, and it was just about the hardest thing I've ever done, physically and emotionally. Physically I was a wreck. I had to stop frequently, out of breath, lower back pain, sweating, huffing and puffing. The scenery was unbelievably beautiful and the walk was totally worth it, but dang it was hard to do. So much easier to sit back in our anti-gravity camp chairs and stare at the sky.
Emotionally difficult: I hate that I've gotten so out of shape, grateful for knees that actually allow me to do that kind of walk, pissed at my sister for pushing me every day, and a little sad that I couldn't just walk on an easy gradual incline, on a full bore road (not some trail sneaking through the undergrowth) and enjoy the walk. Because I did NOT enjoy the walks. Not even a little bit. I hated them. I would have rather done anything else.
Now it's also a gladness that I did it. Five days in a row I went up that road, less than 1/2 a mile (though I didn't measure it, but it felt like just under a half mile) and saw this amazing view with mountains framing the sky, a river full of rocks and boulders, the babble of the water, the fresh scented air. And five days in a row, even though the view from the bridge was amazing, I hated the walk. And I LOVE WALKING. It is my FAVORITE EXERCISE.
Before we were done I had figured out that the low back pain was from me trying to go as fast as my tri-athlon winning sister. Also on subsequent days I didn't have to stop as often as the first walk, so there was immediate improvement. The Day Three walk reduced me to literal tears. Pain, anger, sadness all welled up and I stood there wishing I was anywhere else. Thankfully Wylie was with me and my sister had walked on without us, so I didn't have to hold back the tears. I was mad at myself for getting so fat and SO out of shape. TBH that self-anger colored the whole week. I want to go back up there as a fit and energized person capable of doing things like walking and even hiking. Life would be so much more enjoyable if I could FREAKING DO THINGS.
Okay...enough.
The absolute coolest thing that happened on that camping trip was that I saw an American Dipper. It is the only song bird that swims. They stay on the edges of waterways, dipping in and out, bopping up and down, and even surfing the rapids. They have a sharp beak and regular bird feet (not a bill and webbed feet like most water birds, nor long skinny legs like a wading bird) and they love the water.
I first learned about American Dippers online in a YT video years and years ago. Late 90's? And I've always wanted to see one in person. I love birds, though I'm not a birder with binoculars, etc. but yeah...I'll take a glance out to the bird feeder to see a Western Oriole or a painted bunting. Walking up the street and look at a bush on a cold January afternoon...bush full of juncos like a little junco condo LOL So yeah, birds have always kind of been there, and I've always kind of noticed them.
While we were sitting near the river/beach I saw the little guy on a sand bar upstream. He was going in and out of the water and bopping up and down. A charcoal gray color, about the size of a robin. I spotted him and said "That's an American dipper!" and he flew over to the sandbar close by and splashed around right in front of me for a few. SO COOL!
The McCall property has a large yurt, in case weather drives you inside and there's a separate yurt with an indoor flush toilet, etc. Solar power for electricity; the internet is available for short periods (they connect for about 30 minutes a day) Two beds in the yurt, and two seating areas as well as a dining table. A separate kitchen cabin with a gas stove and some counter space, dishes, pots and pans. This cabin was the home of a woman who lived there off the grid for 20 years. She had a job in McCall and came up the mountain at night. She had an outhouse, though. Anyway, they're working on making it a more permanent place, specifically their co-owner couple plan on building a house there and making it their permanent home. It's a wonderful place and I'm happy for my sister having such a place to enjoy.
We brought our pop-up camper and slept there, but the deck of the yurt or the beach is where we hung out LOL We stayed there for five days/six nights and then picked up and went to Lava Hot Springs for two nights where I was able to just kick back with my good friend who lives in Lava and relax. I still got up and walked both mornings, around the campground. The view was nothing compared to what I was priveleged to see at the bridge, but the walk was enough.
We decided while on this camping trip that we need something hella easier to assemble and disassemble if we are going to do any camping. Our current camper is gnarly. Really hard work setting up, and almost as much breaking down. We're shopping for something a little more up to date with possibly some automated levelers or something. It's a 1991 model and is old and creaky.
When we got back on Saturday, I still had Sunday and Monday to decompress and recover from my vacay LOL.
I have kept up with the walking and am going around the block every day. Mostly it's been good, but there was one walk that reminded me of the Day Three walk in McCall...sweaty, in pain, exhausted, frequent stops, crying. I think I'm making improvements, but there's this random weakness or exhaustion that comes along without warning? Is that a by-product of TKR? Of obesity?
AH! one thing I know for sure: Regardless of my ability to walk, swim, hike, or any other thing...my main health problem, and the biggest risk to my life and a HUGE detriment to my quality of life, is my obesity. I've got to take the pounds off. Period. I do not want to live this way. ... so I'm working on it. Yoga every morning, a walk EVERY DAY, keep the fats out, keep the refined foods out.
1) choose fat free for all meals and snacks
2) stand up and move around every hour
3) daily mental bolstering by imagining myself thin and healthy
4) chair yoga/standing chair yoga
5) take a walk
So, I'm bringing the daily walk back
Currently capable of going around the block, which is actually four blocks since I live on a street that is two blocks long. Half a mile a day? I'll take it. And I will go SLOW. As slow as I need to, eh? and here is where I give a shout out to an awesome man, don't know his name. He created a short on YouTube, the very first day of his fitness journey. He weighs probably 500 lbs and his first day workout was standing for five minutes. That man and his enormous courage have been at the front of my mind this past few weeks. I'm not walking two miles to work every day or hustling out the door at the crack of dawn for a fast walk/jog around the park (which I WAS DOING in 2013) but I'm doing what I can after two TKR surgeries, under a depression that is bearing down on me, and having actually put on weight in the past year.
My hero can stand for five minutes; I can walk around the block. Let's see where I am this time next year
so that's my daily goal that I'm doing the best at and most consistent. 
