Picking up our mail

We had originally planned to spend two weeks at Kodachrome Basin State Park, and then a couple of nights boondocking near Capitol Reef National Park before continue to a state park near Moab where we planned to visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Because of our plan changes, we cancelled the second week reservation at Kodachrome, and the state park near Moab.

I had decided to order our mail to be delivered sometime around Memorial Day -- the post office near Moab did not indicate that it would accept General Delivery mail, so I sent it to Green River, Utah, a town that we planned to be passing through between Capitol Reef and Moab. The mail was already sent by the time our plans changed, so our mail was on its way to Green River, regardless of the fact that we weren't planning to go through there anymore. We were tracking the progress of our mail as it traveled from Livingston to Green River, and it transited through Salt Lake City -- I wished that there was a way to say, "Hold it! Times! Wait!" and let us pick it up there. But... alas, it went on to Green River.

It was due to arrive in Green River on Saturday (of Memorial Day weekend) by 9pm -- so we decided our best option would be to drive the Jeep to Green River on Tuesday (after Memorial Day) since we could not be sure that the package would arrive before the post office closed on Saturday (at noon). I got a notice on Saturday morning that it arrived at about 7:15am -- which would have given us enough time to drive there before noon on Saturday (it was 133 miles, a little over 2 hours driving time). But, we already had our minds set that we would drive on Tuesday and then head out on Wednesday, so, we stayed with that plan.

On Tuesday, we headed out. We took a few pictures on the way... 

...we took US 6 most of the way -- on the western end near Spanish Fork, it went through a canyon and though there wasn't much plant life, there was a little and it looked green.

As we got to the east side, nearer Green River, it was much flatter and much more barren.

After getting our mail, heading back west the same way we had come.

It took us about 5 hours with stops to get the mail, fuel, food, and changing drivers. We went in the Jeep so could go closer to the speed limit (which was as high as 70 during much of the drive -- we don't usually drive Gracie towing the Jee-rage more than 64-65). It wasn't as comfortable a drive in the Jeep, but we got a *lot* better fuel mileage! And... we got our mail!

Hawaiian Food in Spanish Fork? Yes, Please!

After our bike ride, Carl had suggested that we try a Hawaiian food place in Spanish Fork (he got to experience Kalua Pork in Kona and has a taste for it now!).

The restaurant is called "Mo' Bettahs"!

Menu (https://mobettahs.com/menu/)

We decided to share the largest plate -- with 3 servings of entrees (we got 2 of Kalua Pork and 1 of Pulehu Chicken), 2 sides (we got mac salad and Korean (spicy) cole slaw) and 3 scoops of rice (2 white and 1 brown). It was a LOT of food! We decided that if we go back, we would share the medium plate that has 2 servings of entree, 1 of side and 2 scoops of rice. It was Ono! (delicious!)

Information about the restaurant and its founders

Yummy lunch!

Biking in Spanish Fork

We decided to try out the bike trail along the Spanish Fork River...

Views of the disc golf course nearby where we parked

We are getting a little better at getting our bikes in and out of the Jeep and set up (and disassembled at the end). We had not used them for almost a year and had forgotten a lot!

On the other side of the parking lot is an old sugar beet factory (https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/33, https://servedaily.com/blog/the-sugar-beet-factory/) that is in the process of being dismantled. We have heard from our Harvest Host family that high-density housing is going to be built there once it is demolished, to the chagrin of many in the area.

We headed out on the trail...

... it was a warmer day...

... but the flat trail...

... and frequent shade...

... and beautiful views...

... kept it enjoyable!

The path was plenty wide which was good because in many places there were numbers of walkers -- large families with strollers, little ones on balance bikes (many of whom had difficulties with "stay to the right"), and dogs too.

Crossing one of the bridges -- I didn't notice until later that the sign asks that we walk bicycles across!

We rode a little over seven miles out, ending by riding up to a neighborhood high above the town -- with beautiful houses!

On our way back, we stopped at a point where we could see the windmills in the valley to take our obligatory selfie!

A view along the way

Total of 14.4 miles! Glad to get back on our bikes! Glad that Carl felt up to planning and doing the trip!

So sorry that there are no pictures of Carl actually on the trip! My lack of photographing and biking talent continues!

Some more pictures around the farm

The Harvest Hosts folks here have been so nice to allow us to stay -- a total of more than a week! We have been able to take advantage of purchasing some pork sausage and beef to enjoy both while we're here and to take with us to enjoy after we leave.

When we got here, the grass was a bit deep -- I didn't realize that they planned to make hay from it!

One morning, a mower came through to cut the tall grass.

I had never seen a mower quite like this one.

I still thought it might just be mowing, but the farm wife let us know that they plan to bale hay off of that cutting.

Another morning, when there were no other campers around, Carl decided to get his drone out and practice flying it. He did several circles around the field, at a relatively low height (4-5'). He was surprised to discover that he had killed several flies and/or bees in the blades of the drone! What a mess to clean up all the bug guts out of the drone -- and one stinger managed to sting him even disconnected from its host!

We have been hearing such beautiful bird songs here -- this was outside our window -- one of the pieces of equipment that are stored around the field.

The bird perched upon it -- we think it is a black-billed magpie...

... on top of another item (a container) in the pasture. Note that we don't think this is the source of the pretty bird calls as the magpie is not a pretty singer. But he is a large beautiful bird!

We have also been entertained by Abby, the daughter of the farm family ---

... at 4 years old (!!!) she loves riding on the 4-wheeler!

This is looking toward the east one evening at sunset -- the colors in the western sky were unremarkable, but the eastern sky was gorgeous!

We were so grateful to this family for allowing us to have an extended stay on their farm! A week after our trip to the hospital, Carl was feeling 100% better. He got feeling better the next day after the trip to the hospital and starting the antibiotics, and although everything we heard indicated that the UTI should not have caused the pain, and the pain should not respond to the antibiotics, it was certainly coincidental that pain relief followed quickly after the start of the antibiotics. The professionals at the hospitals had also indicated that the pain may last as long as 14 days, but that it would go away on its own... so maybe it just happened to decide to go away about day 7. We are grateful to God that the pain is gone!

Our campsite at the farm -- Spanish Fork, Utah

We are staying in a field on a family farm near Spanish Fork, Utah through the Harvest Host program. They grow beef cattle and pigs producing pork.

The couple who are hosting us are a young couple -- they have recently taken over the running of the farm from his father who passed away about 4 years ago.

We are parked in a small field near the main house -- sharing the field with some farm equipment...

... some is in current use, but I think that much of it is intended for disposal/sale as it was for operations (mining) that they don't plan to continue on the farm.

Carl got the drone out and took some overhead pictures --

Looking west...

... north -- notice snow on the mountain tops!

... east - more mountain top snow!

... and south, and more snow on the mountains.

Dronie looking down on us as it comes in to land.

They have been such great hosts! We are so grateful to have this safe place to park Gracie while we're trying to get other things done!

A trip to the hospital

As I indicated in the previous post, we drove from Kodachrome up to Spanish Fork, Utah, with the plan for Carl to seek medical assistance for abdominal pain. We decided to drive to Intermountain Health Utah Valley Hospital in Provo.

We found the hospital with no problem, and there was parking relatively near the emergency entrance.

The ER reception folks got Carl checked in quickly, and we were taken back to the area where the ER rooms were -- it was a large emergency room with private areas for each patient. Carl was seen pretty quickly by a PA who was definitely concerned by the degree of tenderness that Carl exhibited when she pressed on his abdomen. She ordered a urine test, blood work, and a CT scan.

The urine test and blood work could be collected right away. They needed the results from one of the blood tests before doing the CT scan to ensure he would be able to eliminate the dye that would be used during the scan, so the CT scan needed to wait for an hour or so.

Before the CT scan was done, the PA came in to let us know that there was bacteria present in the urine sample, so something was going on there. She still wanted to do the CT scan. After about 2 hours, they did the CT scan, and soon after that, the PA was back with the diagnosis:

When she first said the name of it, the second word sounded a lot like "appendicitis" but it isn't related to the appendix at all.

Information from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiploic_appendagitis):

Epiploic appendagitis (EA) is an uncommon, benign, self-limiting inflammatory process of the epiploic appendices. Other, older terms for the process include appendicitis epiploica and appendagitis, but these terms are used less now in order to avoid confusion with acute appendicitis.

Epiploic appendices are small, fat-filled sacs or finger-like projections along the surface of the upper and lower colon and rectum. They may become acutely inflamed as a result of torsion (twisting) or venous thrombosis. The inflammation causes pain, often described as sharp or stabbing, located on the left, right, or central regions of the abdomen. There is sometimes nausea and vomiting. The symptoms may mimic those of acute appendicitis, diverticulitis, or cholecystitis.

The PA described that the fat-filled projection along the surface of the colon somehow got twisted which cut off the blood supply to the projection -- this causes the fat sac to die, which produces pain. There is no treatment for it other than anti-inflamatory (ibuprofen) and/or pain medication (same, ibuprofen). It may take up to two weeks to resolve.

They did prescribe an antibiotic for the bacterial infection (UTI) which is wholly unrelated to the epiploic appendagitis and for which Carl has had no symptoms. There were no diet restrictions and they sent us off, though asking us to stay closer to "populated areas" for the two week duration of the antibiotic, just in case there would be any side-effect of the antibiotic.

We were so grateful to have a diagnosis and that it was not something that would require surgery or any significant longterm issue!

Drive from Kodachrome Basin State Park to Spanish Fork, Utah

When we left Kodachrome, we weren't exactly sure where we were going to end up in the Salt Lake City area... the ranger who helped us with canceling the remainder of our reservation at Kodachrome had recommended a hospital (St Mark's) that her grandfather had gone to. We called them to see if they might have parking where Gracie would fit, and while they tried to be helpful, but it didn't sound super promising. I had checked with one of our RVing friends who is now in northeastern Nevada, and her husband had been inpatient at University of Utah hospital, but she didn't think they would have parking for Gracie (though she offered for them to come and get Gracie and take the rig to their place in Nevada). We knew that there was a clinic in the small town (Cannonville) near Kodachrome that was open on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and we were leaving on a Tuesday) -- but we weren't sure that they would have the diagnostic facilities that we thought might be needed. The closest hospital was in Panguitch, a bit over an hour away -- but we had the same concern that it might not have the testing facilities and might not have the skills if something more extensive was needed (i.e. hospital stay and/or surgery). So, as we drove, we decided against stopping at Cannonville or Panguitch, opting instead to head to Salt Lake City area.

Heading out from the campground...

Such beautiful blue skies and interesting rock formations!

As we got near Cannonville, we saw this rock formation that looked like a temple on the top of the Acropolis in Athens!

We decided not to stop at the clinic in Cannonville...

So we turned west to drive past Bryce Canyon National Park. This was the parking area at the trailhead for Mossy Cave Trail.

"Smile, Carl!" The blessing with his pain was that it wasn't severe and it wasn't constant, but it was very tender and it wasn't going away (even after 5 days).

We went through tunnel #1...

... and tunnel #2 on Route 12. (While we would prefer to go through these tunnels by ourselves so we could easily hug the center line, it seems that there is almost always oncoming traffic right when we get to the tunnel!)

Red Canyon Rocks

We had also discussed whether we would be better off turning south to go to Mesa, rather than north to Panguitch or Salt Lake City, but Mesa was about 150 miles further (450 versus 300) and in the opposite direction from where the remainder of our summer travels are planned to go. So, we turned north when we got to US 89. And we continued driving when we got to Panguitch.

The views continued, though not the pretty red rocks...

Along the way, we went through a canyon area with a river and a bike trail (rail-to-trail) next to us (I can't see either the river or the bike trail in this picture, so you'll have to believe me on this!). The bike trail is named Candy Mountain Express from Sevier to Big Rock Candy Mountain (yes, really!) and, since it is a former railroad route, appears to be relatively level.

As we drove, we discussed different alternatives -- going to St Mark's, trying to find parking somewhere else, other hospital options. We would be getting there late afternoon, and we weren't sure that was a great time to visit an emergency room. We decided that a better option might be to find a place to stay the night, and leave Gracie there and drive the Jeep to an ER the next morning. I found a Harvest Host farm that indicated that we could stay additional nights, and sent in a request. They responded almost immediately that we could stay, and we decided to head there. 

The wife of the farming family greeted us soon after we arrived, and we talked with her about hospitals in the area -- God provided an amazing resource in this young lady as she has had multiple abdominal issues and surgeries. She was able to give us good input on the two closer hospitals (though she also shared with us that her surgery was done by a doctor from St Marks and so she gave it high marks too). We decided that waiting until morning was the best strategy -- we'd be able to better deal with any potential delays after a night's sleep.

Sunset out of our bathroom's window over some of the farm equipment that is sharing the field where we're parked

We were grateful to have a plan and a safe place to leave Gracie while we take care of this concern.