June 21, 2018 ----- Today, the day before the days get shorter, is when I officially start planning for OTR-9, which I hope to set out on in mid-August, returning in late October.
The Defender is still having a starting problem which I have to resolve or the trip is off, at least in the Defender. I have had a lot of work done on it over the last two years and I am determined to get that machine back on the road.
My own recovery is finally making progress. After a year of seeing one doctor or another, physical therapy with a therapist twice weekly, and physical therapy on my own every day, the problem has been diagnosed as a weak abductor muscle. My guess is that this started as the result of my first road trip in 2000, and took a serious turn down after my hip surgery. I am undergoing three Platelet Rich Plasma treatments which are supposed to jump start the muscles again. Regardless, I can take he trip in the condition I am now, although I would still have to use a cane for long walks. No big deal. A lot of people have it much worse.
Donner is doing just fine, relatively speaking. An MRI showed that he has a serious spinal issue and arthritic hips, either of which will cause him to go lame eventually. I am not going to put him through surgery, only to find out after he lost six months recovering from the surgeries that they were not successful. I will manage him conservatively until he becomes lame, and then put him in a wheelchair like his two predecessors.
As for the destination, I have a lot of options, like all of North America. I hope to narrow them down over the next few weeks. Maybe I will just get on the road and plan each day as it comes.
