3/16-19/26 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 4 days: Monday through Thursday.

On the way, I stopped at Leavenworth Electric's office at Cole's Corner and found Rick Hines. I wanted to settle with him for plowing out my driveway so I could easily drive out when I left for home last week. He was very fair and didn't charge me for the work but left me a card with a number to call if I ever needed his help again.

I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 12:30 in a very light drizzle. I carried my gear up the stairs in 2 trips, hoisting the flag in between them. I was happy to find that the power was on but disappointed that the phone was still out. At 1:30, I drove to McComas' place where I got cell service. I called Ellen to let her know the situation and I called Ziply to report the outage. Then I went back to the cabin, unpacked my gear, and had my lunch and a nap.

After I was ready for bed, at 8:30 PM, the power in the cabin went out.

On Tuesday morning, the power and the phone were both still out. I shifted into survival practice mode again and made breakfast on the wood stove in mostly natural light. It was fun.

At 10:00, I drove a half mile up the road where I got cell service and called Ellen to let her know the situation. Then back in the cabin, I had my lunch and a nap. Next, I went for a walk but after downloading the news headlines, I turned around because one of my toes was hurting so badly. When I got back, I split some firewood, built a fire in the stove, and took a shower.

On Wednesday, the temperature outside when I got up was 34 degrees. The power was on, but the phone was still out. I practiced the piano and hauled some firewood. Then I had my lunch and a nap, and in spite of my toe hurting, I walked to milepost 1 where I can get cell and Internet service. I called Ellen, and I called Ziply. I had gotten a text message from Ziply informing me that they had fixed the problem with my phone and had cancelled my scheduled service call. Since my phone is still not working, I rescheduled another service call for Tuesday, 3/24. Then I downloaded the news headlines and went back to the cabin.

While I was in the cabin attempting to read the news headlines, I pushed the wrong button and wiped out the download. This was very annoying, but I decided to go back and download the news again, but to do an experiment while I was at it. I decided to make a longer toe-tube for my sore toe and see if that might help. It did! Big time. It completely eliminated the pain and I could walk comfortably. Going back to get the news again was a good test and it was completely pain free. I was very happy.

I had just finished reading the headlines, when Robert knocked at the back door. He came in and we had a nice visit. He returned a book, titled "Cabin", which he said he had read three times. It is a fun book. We discussed a number of other things including the wiper repair I had done on my truck, my toe problem, and my broken heater in the bathroom. He advised against me trying to fix the heater myself because it might screw up my insurance coverage which would be a bad idea.

On Thursday morning, the temperature outside was 38 degrees. I think Spring is here to stay. I fertilized Tiger and practiced the piano. The phone was still dead.

I began packing my gear and closing up the place. I had my lunch and then left for home at 12:30. I had to leave early because I had a doctor's appointment on Friday. It had been another short week with its share of surprises.