Thanks for your note Seeking Solitude - I appreciate that.   I'm nearly three months in now.  Swelling is improved, range of motion much better but not completely returned.  You get used to it hurting, that's just part of the deal.  A few days ago I started being able to go down stairs one at a time.  One Little Victory.  The idea of kind of limiting myself away from more adventurous trips annoys me, but it is kind of a fact of life.  It might sound weird, but it will force me to enjoy the park in a different way.  I am hoping that for this next trip, I just kind of get through it (Hey, I can still do this!), and can then return to my semi-adventurous-but-definitely-not-getting-crazy-about-it trips for a few more years, and scale it back over time.  Hopefully I'm smart enough to do that.  A titanium rod should act as a decent reminder.   

Well done!  Definitely made me laugh.