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Rob: Great for you! When I commercially air travel, I always go to the new scanners. I love watching the operator as he sees my replacement ankle, two replacement knees, and two replacement shoulders. Usually utters holy s h _ t and looks over to see who is grinning back to him/her. I often get asked what happened. I smile and say I sort of wore them out. Other than getting a great surgeon, it is all about the PT. Each joint has it's own protocols, and they DO NOT transfer to other joints. For knees, the PT is can to can't deal. Under supervision, you can work them at your MAX tolerable effort to exhaustion. Do it every time and keep improving that up-slope curve and the "Bean Counters" will keep you getting better. For the knees ten weeks after surgery I was with my wife a Snowbird UT. First run I was being passed by all the first graders. Each run I got faster... first 6th graders, then some high schoolers. After four runs I was feeling 75% of what I was many years before. After run 5, I was feeling stoked and asked my wife if she wanted to bet a pitcher of beer for the winner to the club house. Her response was sure, but I want a 30 second head start. She bought the beer. Point is do the PT and do the PT homework to the max your PT team will allow. Tell them your goal is the knees of a 29-year-old. Then do the work to get them. Now at 74, I can outwork anybody I know even close to my age. I'm still flying paragliders, swimming three miles a week, doing weight training, and of course sure surf kayaking. Aim high! GJ

Really amazing to read all of this! If you are at 119 I’m sure you’ll get to 130. - but depending on the mechanics, that is about it. One recommendation is to also extend the other direction - extension. If you don’t also work with your PT on that, you can ever so shortly decrease your stride. I couldn’t figure out what was going on when my wife started walking faster than me after “full healing “. I’ve focused on it, but there is still a small gap. One of the hardest exercises for me was the bike - so many forward and reverse rotations, but they really seem to make a difference. I live in Jackson Hole and as you might imagine there are a tremendous number of excellent athletes here. When I asked my Doc what was the greatest indicator of potential success he said that those who had a history of working the hardest heal the fastest. He also said that a large percentage of the skiers on the hill have mechanical parts. Personally, my biggest issue is putting weight on my knees on the ground- but otherwise really few limitations as long as I don’t go too fast. Good Luck! You’ll likely do great - amazing really!

Mike Sokol's Newsletter will be sharing his interview with Battleborn

Yes we made advanced reservations but we found many campgrounds less than 50% occupied by mid September. Probably the best to book in advance at the “National Parks “ as they are the busiest. We were in Canada Sept 5-Oct 1 Weather was very mild , in 55-65F range most days . Nights in 40’s. There were 3 rainy days, but some campgrounds are on bluffs so pretty windy.

Greetings to you all! We are the happy new owners of Hull #1665, an Oliver Elite II. We picked up our new camper at the dealer in Colorado a few weeks ago. Our first night in the camper was at a Cracker Barrel on the drive home to New Mexico. Last weekend we had our first official 3 day -2 night camping trip and had a wonderful time. Our previous camper was a nuCamp Tab 400. We really loved that camper and it will be missed, but we both realized it was time to get a camper with more head room on the bed! (Especially Mary who always slept scrunched against the wall with two pups at her feet. :0) ) We live in Albuquerque and have been long time hikers, climbers, skiers, campers, hunters and general outdoor enthusiasts. Having a larger camper definitely makes traveling so much more comfortable. There is much about the camper that we love. We like the fact that the Ollie has a great suspension that will allow us to go on two track roads. The battery capacity and solar means that we can be off grid in NM for quite some time. After our first trip, we both realized just how comfortable and usable this camper really is. This summer we are planning a long trip back east for an archery competition and will be making a stop in Hohlenwald for some minor issues with the camper. We also are planning a long trip to Portland this fall to visit a new baby granddaughter. We look forward to meeting other Ollie owners on the road as we travel and at future Ollie rallies! Zane and Mary Rakes '26 Oliver Elite II One man, one woman, two small dogs and a sense of humor. 😊

Looking forward to reading this interview. Thanks!

I have never seriously damaged my gear by bad decisions. Did get to experience a dust devil as it scooped me from landing to 25' and decided to ball up the glider and dropped me like a rock. That hurt......But no gear damage. GJ

Hey John, did you wreck your paraglider one time? 🤣 My Mom, may she rest in piece, once when watching me do yardwork all day, then work on my old car 'til it got dark on a summer day, said to me, "You're going to hurt when you get older!" She was certainly right, but at 71 I'm still working with all my old body parts! 😎

As a bonus to surgery, I can now squat -- that is, fully down on my haunches like a little kid. Haven't been able to do that in a while. Keep up the good work, and avoid the sock feet on slippery surfaces! Hope to see you on the road.

I loved Nova Scotia and PEI -- but I wasn't pulling an Oliver, I was camping in a tent and hauling my touring bike around with me so I could ride on trails and small roads. I would recommend going to both islands, and I would allow more than a month because there is so much to see and do there. There is a lot of great history, interesting buildings, beautiful landscapes, local music and boat building. I hope you give us an update after your trip!

Our camping trip last week was canceled... 😒 We were headed to St. George for the PPA Red Rock Open (pickleball tournament) at the Black Desert Resort (amazing red rock views) in Ivins UT. We had earmarked boondocking spots along the way and a nice BLM area just 20 min north of the tournament. Then we were going to spend another week in SW Utah. The weather for the second time this WINTER had become unseasonably HOT, low 90s a couple days in Prescott and high 90s everyday in SW Utah. Our drive would have seen 100F temps at lower elevations! But the A/C charge on our tow vehicle had leaked/emptied with non-use since last season. I really wanted to try running our new Chill Cube A/C on battery, which should have been fine when camping, but towing in this heat without A/C would !be unbearable! I could have finished up the A/C work on the TV and left a day later, but then there is the price of diesel fuel, OMG! Why the market is so volatile and why a blockade at the Straights of Hormuz nearly doubles the cost of diesel in the SW US? Who knows, but trip canceled! Our son Adam had some time off and he wanted to camp and learn about the Oliver. She will be his one day! We have a LOT of camping nearby, needing very little fuel. And staying at high elevation, means A/C in the TV is less important. He spent a week on Thumb Butte road where there are designated dispersed numbered campsites. There is about a 10 mile radius around Prescott where you can only camp at designated dispersed sites. Further out you can camp anywhere in the FS and BLM lands. We got lucky towing up on a Friday just after noon to find site #8 open. It's at the top with the best view of Prescott below. 😎 BTW, up here are countless hiking trails and a grand mountain bike trail that runs 8 miles, dropping 1200 FT, running all the way down to the city below. Guys drive up with multiple trucks and bikes to run this trail. Thumb Butte is the iconic Prescott Mountain, the core of an extinct volcano! It's like a baby version of Wyoming's Devils Tower within Prescott City limits! City streets were laid out so that all streets pointing west have a view of Thumb Butte! This campsite is not for everybody! You must climb 1000 FT in 6 miles. The last mile is dirt, heavily rutted and very steep. I towed our Oliver up, parked it and returned with the TV so I could work on the A/C! Trans temp should be about 190F on this warm day, but given the climb <5 MPH, trans temp hit 230F by the time I parked! The views are worth it! Come visit Prescott on your next SW trip and I can point you to 100 amazing campsites with an hour of town! 😎