Enjoy your retreat. I live way out in the country, so I'm used to the sounds of silence. Yet even here we have to make an effort to hear the slience. Hope the poop situation works out too (no pun intended).
As for the flushes, I usually get a hundred or more stones out. Some have been an inch long. This time I got out many more stones than usual. I am thrilled with the results and hope the every two week flushes will soon be a thing of the past. My long term game plan is Master-Cleanse and a flush at the start of every new season.