The Slippery Slope, The fall and It’s Aftermath; last nights freight train to Fairbanks

Some readers will recall that day late last fall when I inadvertently sent Sancho into a branch of the first birch tree on the other side of the creek to the left of this short train bridge below Dog Wash Overpass. It took me a good half hour to find Sancho and when I did the drone was 90 percent submerged in the creek. Actually, that was Sancho II, successor to Sancho I who I had earlier crashed in the marsh behind our house and broke a tiny, plastic prop lock that probably cost no more than a dime or so to make but rather than provide me a with a cheap replacement part I could have easily installed myself my Best Buy insurers had me bring Sancho I in and exchange it for the brand new DJI Mavic 2 that became Sancho II.

The fall into the creek ruined Sancho II, soon replaced by Sancho III. Sancho III proved to be defective and was quickly replaced by Sancho IV through whose eye I took this drone selfie. I just call him Sancho.

That was not the worst of it. During my search last fall, I walked sideways across the stretch of steep, bare, bank between the tree and the bridge, slipped and fell onto my right forearm. This forced my right tibia up over the titanium shaft that reaches down through my artificial shoulder and fractured the bone in the same manner an ax splits wood.

Since then, my fractured tibia has seemed to heal several times, but then something minor jars it and it hurts all over again. I almost didn’t go to Utqiagvik earlier this month for fear I would badly refracture my now fragile tibia all over again. When I first drove the snowmachine I borrowed from NSB Wildlife onto the sea ice and over the first patch of rough rubbled, it jarred my arm badly enough I thought I would have to give up but I really wanted to reach open water. I pressed on, slow and easy. The trail turned out to be pretty good. My tibia held up well.

I’m afraid to say I might finally be healing for real, but maybe I am.

5/26/21