I departed Quartzsite Monday morning and arrived in Anthem (North Phoenix), Arizona. I usually stop over in Quartzsite for a week every time I come south for the winter. I kind of enjoy looking at some of the early swap meet vendors and picking up some odds and ends.

This time is a little different. During my last week in Las Vegas my back started going out on me and I have been in extreme pain ever since. Nothing I can do seems to help. I've tried taking numerous anti inflammatory meds to get my back pain under control with no results.

Perhaps a little background on this. During the last 4 or 5 years I was on active duty I had a lot of back trouble. I was hospitalized for 16 days in Glasgow, Scotland where I was in traction. I got a little better and was transferred back to Washington D.C. where I had two surgeries at Bethesda Naval Hospital. After the surgeries I was again better until after I retired in 1994. Then in 1995 I had another surgery and finally my back was feeling really good.

Really good until I was in Las Vegas then all hell broke loose. The pain has been the worst ever and it is not going away. While in Quartzsite I found one of the vendors had a bunch of topical analgesic. They had 12 bottles of it which turned out to be about a dollar a piece. They would normally sell for six or seven bucks a piece. While in Quartzite I found another vendor that had a cream for sale that is made with emu oil and glucosamine and chondroitin .

So after making a very painful drive from Quartzsite to Phoenix I am now on a heating pad and topical treatments and anti-inflammatory medicine by the handfuls.

I hope I am able to get this flareup, I hope it is only a flareup, under control soon because if I can't I will have to head back to Boise earlier than I am planning.

For now I am going to take things as easy as I can and try and enjoy my stay here in the Pheoenix area and enjoy my friends.