Footprints in the Ka'u Desert

 As our Valentines Day treat we decided to take a hike on the Ka'u (Caw-oo) desert trail, a part of the Volcanoes National Park. The first section (which we did) is a bit less than two miles round trip. It is a hike most people would not want to do in summer as it is very hot, the terrain is composed of lava and lava ash/sand from Kilauea volcano. The short version of the story of these footprints involves King Kamehameha and his cousins fighting over control of the Big Island. The battles between armies of the cousins was during the 1780's. The treks and battles  included traversing this huge desert area between Hilo and South Point.

You can read more of this story here: Ka'u Desert Footprints  

Here are some photos we took along the hike. It is not a desert in the usual sense of the word, but the ground is composed of layers and layers of volcanic ash, which, when mixed with rain water become hardened. Those people involved in the cousins' battles were not just warriors, but included their extended families and livestock. It was during one of the battles that Kilauea blew out a tremendous volume of hot ash, killing many people unable to escape. There are over 1700 recorded footprints through the area some of which sadly have been vandalized. The photo here is of an impression of an adult and child.

The area has a stark beauty with a backdrop of Mauna Loa. While we are familiar with the beautiful Ohia trees in our cloud-forest area of Volcano, the tortured Ohia trees that grow in the desert area have struggled to survive and are as contorted as the Sierra bristle cone pines!

By the way, this is the first big hike Lunel has taken with her new knees on the 8-month anniversary of her bilateral knee replacement. The next day the knees were tender, but her regular walks in our neighborhood are over 1.5 miles and she's improving weekly.

Six Weeks Post Knee Surgery

42 days later just look at this happy girl in her garden weeding.

"Blue Nitrile Warriors" 

St. Phil was there to "spot" Lunel going down the stairs, and managed to rustle up her garden bench, her walker, a bucket and her favorite tools and a big glass of iced tea for a sunny day.

Although it was due to hit today, once again, the Big Island of Hawaii was spared a direct hit from hurricane Douglas, thanks in part to our two 13,000+ volcanoes Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Spending less than one hour, taking great care producing 1/2 bucket of weeds, she went in to rest, massage and ice the knees and is planning NOT to repeat the task tomorrow -- even though the bed was not completely weeded. (Good grief, is she finally learning something about moderation??)

Last week she received an inquiry from the Hilo Medical Center's Bone and Joint Clinic to provide copies of her "Blue Nitrile Warriors" collage. Phil got them printed on Friday and they'll be in the mail Monday. She dedicated this piece to the staff there who took such excellent care of her during her stay.

Meanwhile, we're remaining vigilant about Covid19 precautionary measures, limiting trips to Hilo and keeping friends and neighbors at appropriate distance. As so many slogans indicate, we may be alone (for now) but we ARE "together" -- just in a very different way.

Take care, be safe!

Onward!

It's been three weeks since Lunel's bilateral knee surgery and she's up and moving. Yesterday was pretty exciting as she make numerous trips around the house using a cane rather than the walker. Physical therapy at home was the right decision, but until she can handle stairs to get out to her garden, she's house-bound.

For a couple weeks Phil was doing double duty and a fine job of it too, but it was taking a toll on his energy. Fortunately we have a friend who does housekeeping who is able to come a couple times a week now so Phil can be in his favorite place -- our delightful art studio.

It has been interesting for Lunel to move at such a slower speed than she is used to, but as always, she puts 100% into any challenge. She's decided to call it "Slot Speed" and even bought a cute sloth puppet on-line much to the curiosity of the corgi dogs!

The state of Hawaii, and in particular the Big Island has been pretty pro-active about control of Covid, but even here we see numbers rising. Residents are most concerned about visiting vacationers who may wrongly think that because of our lower numbers, it is "safe" to be thoughtlessly unsafe.

Love to you all -- take care, be safe!

Lunel's bilateral knee surgery is the 16th so we are likely to be a bit distracted for a week or two. Having both knees done at once is a big deal, but after the last two years we've been through she does not want to give up more time by having them done individually.

You're welcome to call, leave a message and we'll get back to you. She's confident in her doctor and her physical therapist is two streets away as is our wonderful massage therapist. She's supervised the planting of dozens of shrubs, trees ground covers and plants she'll be able to watch during her recovery and we've got a beautiful summer comin' in. 

Thanks for all your good thoughts and well-wishes!

And It Came To Pass....

This phrase is a well-known one from the bible -- in fact, counting the various translations, it appears over 600 times. It's generally applicable in most situations. When we first arrived in Hawaii in 2012, we found a local translation nailed to a mango tree on the drive down to the ocean; it said simply -- "it's only a matter of time."

And so it is -- Lunel has reached the decision to proceed with bi-lateral knee replacement. It was this time last year she met with two orthopedic surgeons whose opinions both resulted in the same diagnosis. There will be continued pain, inflammation and swelling due to bone-on-bone condition in both knees. But it was only a year-and-a-half since the traumas of 2018, and she was not prepared to make the decision at that time. Since January of this year the situation has deteriorated further.

Surgery is set for June 16th here in Hilo, so between now and then, she is directing a massive up-tic in the landscaping projects. Since we have cleared back so much undergrowth, there are now numerous blank canvas areas. Fortunately, we have a weekly young friend who devotes four hours every Wednesday to bring Lunel's vision to life. The photo below are rough -- but she hopes to have lots of plants, and shrubs in the ground so she can simply enjoy her recuperation watching them grow.

Of course Phil and the three corgyn will be on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th helping her achieve a "home run" recovery!

NIDINI News Flash

Finally, after what feels like months of waiting (because it actually WAS months) we have a knee surgery date -- Dec 12th.   (hmmmmm?)  Now why does that date sound familiar? 12/12 -- because, we arrived at our new retirement home on 12/12/12 just one year ago.

During the last few months, we have formed a knee support group that reaches across the Pacific.  NIDINI is the Hawaiian phonetic spelling for Needy Knee and is pronounced just the same.  Members include folks from Ferndale and Eureka, California with headquarters in Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

I met with my ortho surgeon and really like him.  He's got a sense of humor and did a great job explaining the procedure to me.  But, because I had the same job done about 12 years ago in Eureka, it wasn't too scarey.  (That is as long as you don't look at the picture.)

Needless to say, I am hobbling around with the brace on, trying to get all the last minute things done that I can -- especially taking care of all the new plants.  Unfortunately the surgery falls in the middle of our friend Esther's visit -- but it will be nice to have a little distraction for a few days.