betsy update

today is a rest day. as usual, i got up with the sunrise and spent a good amount of time sun worshipping. it's fun to just sit and stretch your muscles, and even better when it's done in the desert under the warm sun.

we finally got ready to go into town and run errands, but betsy wouldn't start. oh dear, finally some trouble with the car. i opened the hood and got john to attempt to turn her over while i stared at the engine hoping that it would be something obvious - something i could catch with my limited and out of date mechanics knowledge. thankfully it was - the alternator couldn't turn = dead battery! i dusted off the battery and confirmed my suspicions when i saw the "recharge by 4-03" sticker on it. hell, i squeezed an extra couple years out of it! we got a jump start from one of the few people on the campground who didn't go climbing and drove to the mechanic. betsy has a new battery now and has promised not to give any more trouble. she's 18 years old and i've already driven 8,000km on this trip.

that was enough excitement for the day, and i am so so so glad that she got us to el paso and that the battery didn't give out on the drive here in the wee morning hours in the middle of the night.

hoping to climb again tomorrow - having so many elite climbers around really encourages me to climb to my full potential. i have a few lofty goals that i can't even speak out loud but hope to reach by the end of this road trip.