This is a blog post from my one of my other blogs, Team Courage Gazelles. I’m sorry if you are a member of all of my blogs and get multiple emails of this post, but I wanted to make sure I reached my followers of each blog. I try not to duplicate posts, but I thought this one was important. To make sure you keep up with all of our Courage News, visit the links at the end of this post to sign up on each blog! We need your help to reach more women! Thank you!)
Team Courage fans know 2012 has been a challenge for us. We approached the year with the audacious goal of racing in 4 countries in 12 months, only to be way-laid by another breast reconstruction failure and brutal repair surgery that forced Michele Martineau out of all racing for the year. But surely you didn’t think Team Courage would just idle while everyone else was revving, did you? Well, you’re silly if you did!
Michele here, writing to you from my recovery couch while Emme Hall is out doing what she does best-kicking ass and taking names.And that’s not all. Not only is she an energetic force to be reckoned with in every aspect of life, she also has a great heart. She has arrived in Vegas and will be driving her new 2/1600 in the Mint 400 with 300 of the off road racings world’s biggest and best drivers.
This will be Emme’s first time behind the wheel of her new baby, and for this special occasion she has teamed up with Dezert Outlaw Motorsports to support Team Tracie. She could have hopped in her race car by herself and rocked out by herself, but that’s not her style. Emme is in the dirt, and she’s using her spotlight to help others.
Team Tracie was founded by Sammy Navarro to raise money to fight colorectal cancer, and their mission is to help spread the word of early detection in the fight against colorectal cancer. Early detection is very important and vital, for over 80% of all cases of colorectal cancer can be prevented with screenings and follow up appointments. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the team wants to pay tribute to Tracie and encourage her to stay strong. Tracie, you are not alone!
“When Sammy told me about Tracie’s story I was only too happy to help. Racing for Tracie in the Mint will be such an honor. The fact that I get to share driving duties with Sammy is just a bonus.”
Sammy is excited as well. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to be teaming up with such a wonderful person like Emme and her motley band of racers. Through this partnership we will be able to spread the word about colorectal cancer and honor my friend, Tracie. I would like to thank Emme for allowing me to bring along my team members Mike Jenkins and Cortney Mcrae and race with the TeamTracie.org and FightColorectalCancer.org names on the new 2/1600. Together we are going to make a fantastic showing at the Mint 400”
I am so proud to be a teammate and friend with such a person. When I had to withdraw from the 2012 Rallye Aicha des Gazelles Emme could have easily found another partner, but she is waiting with me and together we will conquer Morocco in 2013. She has been pivotal in spreading the word about Team Courage and helping us raise money for breast cancer charities, and is now helping out Team Tracie as well. Not many people can take their passion and use it to help others, and Emme is an inspiration to so many.
I have so many friends that will be in Vegas this weekend for the race, and I can’t wait to watch it all unfold. The Mint 400 is one of the best known desert races in the United States. The new 400-mile course is located in Jean, Nevada, and will feature a high-speed passing zone near a dedicated spectator area, as well as rocky washes, silt beds, high-speed graded roads, rock gardens, and the giant rolling jumps The Mint is famous for. Additionally, racers will start side-by-side (two at a time), making “turn one” a new exciting spectacle of the race.
Good luck to all of my friends out there this weekend: stay safe and good luck. And to my friend, I’ll be cheering you on from Colorado!
Along my journey down this road of previvorship, I have posted a few entries that were very hard to write. I can honestly tell you that this one ranks right up there on top. This post is being written with sadness and honestly a lot of fear, but I’m going to take a deep breath and just tell you what’s going on.
This is a post that will be on all of my sites, Courage Is My Strength, Team Courage Racing, and Team Courage Gazelles. Since you are reading this now, you probably know that I had a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer almost exactly 2 years ago. I have been going through reconstruction since, and due to loss of insurance and several complications a process that should have taken just a few months has stretched into years. But I have been using my story as a way to hopefully light the path for other women fearful of breast reconstruction and have wanted from the bottom of my heart to take some of the fear from those women and hopefully inspire them to chase their dreams at the same time. Courage Is My Strength is about educating by sharing my reconstruction story, and Team Courage is about inspiring women to never give up.
Over the last few months I have guessed that I’ve developed a new problem with my reconstruction. I have been so caught up and excited in my upcoming adventure with my Team Courage Gazelle partner Emme that I have been successfully able to put my worries to the back of my mind. I knew I had developed a fairly rare complication called symmastia, but I really tried not to think about it. But now I have to come to the realization that I can’t ignore this condition any longer.
Basically, to give you the quick version, my pectoral muscle has detached from my breastbone. This is exactly as uncomfortable as it sounds. Since my implants are under that muscle, it means that my implants can cross over the breastbone to the wrong side. They can touch each other and move around in ways they shouldn’t. I could live with that, and have been doing just fine ignoring it for awhile, but recently the muscles have begun to tear more allowing for more movement and causing quite a bit of pain, not to mention it has become physically disfiguring. There are other minor issues going on as well, but the worsening of my symmastia is a problem I can no longer overlook. The surgeries to fix this problem will be painful and I will really have to be diligent in taking care of myself during recovery. I will be pretty limited in my activities, but doing it right will make sure I don’t have to go through this again.
The Ladies of Team Courage - Betsy, Michele, Emme, and Heather
So many of you have been so supportive of Team Courage as well as Courage Is My Strength, and your support means the world to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is with heavy heart that I have to tell you that I will be most likely looking at several surgeries in 2012, and will not be able to race at all this year. Including Morocco. My dream of racing in 4 countries in 12 months is over for this year.
Please know that this isn’t the end of Team Courage! I have had lengthy discussions with all of my team, and all three girls are being super supportive and ready to make 2012 a great year for all of us! Emme was amazing enough to decide to stay with me and sit this year out instead of replacing me. She not only said that she can’t imagine doing the Gazelle Rally without me, she also wisely pointed out that if we are really going to be representing women facing breast cancer, we need to be honest that this kind of stuff happens, and complications are sometimes part of it. So we may be out for 2012, but we are still making big plans.
The 4 of us will all be together for the NORRA Mexican 1000. I will be there to support my team as well as to offer support to the organization that is like my family, if they should need me. The 4 of us will be together for the Powder Puff as well. Again, even if I can’t race, I will be there to cheer on my girls. I’m so proud to say there will be at least one Team Courage vehicle in both events.
The extra time Emme and I will now have to get to Morocco allows us to really do things right. We can launch a really great marketing and funding campaign and also put together a totally rad story about overcoming some pretty amazing obstacles to make it to Morocco. And we WILL make it to Morocco.
Don’t give up on us! Your support during these difficult months will mean everything to us. Plan on hearing a lot from us as we continue racing to make a difference to women facing breast cancer. We have fund raisers, events, fun times, and even a documentary on the horizon. We will see you soon!
Our hearts were full with the support and tributes we received for the 2011 M.O.R.E Powder Puff! It took over 5 hours to write all of the names of the women we were driving for on our truck. I had to take a break a few times, it was just so heart breaking to see the names of my friends and their loved ones, knowing the challenges each of these women have faced and will continue to face.
I wanted to make sure that each name was mentioned here on our site, and photos of every name will follow. Thank you all for being a part of our adventure. Team Courage would not exist without the Courage and Strength of you all!
Here’s a slideshow of the tributes, click on a photo to enlarge it. It will advance automatically, or you can click “next” below the images.
If you had only 8 months to change your life,could you do it? Could you change your life and chase down your biggest dream?
My dream? Imagine endless dunes of sand. A majestic camel loping off into the distance. The hum of the arid wind gusting along,growing louder and stronger and slowly being overtaken by the growl of an engine as a vehicle launches itself over a dune. Two voices from within cheer in triumph as another mile of the incredible Rallye Aicha des Gazelles is conquered.
To me this scene is comparable to something out of Arabian Nights. My blood pounds with the thoughts of lifting my voice to the Moroccan wind while challenging my courage,strength,and will against the 9 day rally in the Sahara desert. The Rallye Aicha des Gazelles is the only all-women’s off road rally in the world. The rally is a test of driving skills and navigation across southern Morocco’s most challenging terrain. The teams are not allowed technological assistance,no GPS,no communications or crews,and must find the shortest distance between the checkpoints over 9 days with only the aid of traditional navigation,limited to compass,outdated maps,and plotters. Last year only 2 US teams competed in the rally. I want to be one of the few women to ever represent the US in this truly amazing adventure in March,2012.
And just who in the heck am I,and why do I think I can become a Gazelle? I like to think of myself as a simple Southern woman living in Colorado,but I must admit I live a double life. Part of the year I live in small town Colorado,enjoying being a mom,wife,and receptionist for a medical office. But when my inner adventurer can be contained no longer I load up my car and head to California. I live alone and spend every moment on fire,taming,or perhaps feeding,the off road racing demon that lives inside me. (more…)
I absolutely can’t put off any longer the complete revamp of the poor old Team Courage site. It has been neglected since October. I left the Powder Puff race to rush back to Colorado for my implant swap surgery. As you probably know,the surgery didn’t go so well. I battled with my surgeons,battled with depression,and had to have surgery again,and just didn’t have it in me to update that site. It made me sad to even think about Team Courage because I wasn’t sure when I would be able to focus on it again. So I just kind of ignored it.
Well,I can’t ignore it any longer because I feel better and I’m right here with my truck! She is just calling to me everyday! So,although time grows very short,I’m trying to get the truck ready to take part in the Mexican 1000 in May. I won’t be able to drive,partially because of my responsibilities with NORRA but also because I’m not allowed to go off road until I’m fully healed from my last surgery. That will probably be in June. But I would still love to be able to have my truck be a part of the event.
I moved the truck last weekend to start the prep process. I have started contacting potential sponsors and organizations to see if there is any help out there for our Team. I have some really big news about that,but want to release it on the Team Courage site.
I took some time to make 2 videos for Team Courage. I have found that it’s hard for busy people to read a package and really understand what we’re all about. So I made these two videos and they have been extremely effective. I hope you are able to take the time to watch them. I can finally watch the second one without getting misty eyed. And yes,I was NOT supposed to be doing what I was doing in that video. That’s why I did it all by myself! But I paid for it later. I’m fine,but I was really worried I pulled some stitches again for a few days.
Oh,the beginings are almost the same,but they are 2 different videos.
I am now almost 13 months from my bilateral mastectomy. 4 months from my first implant swap with silicone implants. 3 1/2 months from damaging my surgery site and the falling of my left implant. 7 weeks from my second implants swap and horribly painful muscle repair. And for the first time since I found the lump in my breast I feel like I’m moving forward with my life.
No more constant reminders of my freakish body every time I move and feel the expanders under my skin. No more sadness or the gut wrenching feeling when seeing my scarred body with hard plastic deformed balls that look glued to my chest. No more trips to the doctor to have my expanders filled,causing tightness and pain for days. No more wondering when my next surgery will be,or what I will look like when this is all over. No more fear of my implant falling further down my abdomen.
I no longer feel like a freak 24 hours a day. (more…)
Most of you follow this blog for medical reasons,but you probably know by now that for a girl I’m a very big car geek,that I have put together an off road race team called Team Courage to try to encourage and empower women,and that I’m honored and proud to be a part of NORRA (National Off Road Racing Association). So it only makes sense that I visit SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world)!
I get to visit SEMA with Mike,the President of NORRA. We’re here to learn about products that will make the Mexican 1000 rally in Baja an even better event than last year,and to see some of our racers and friends in action. Ken,our Rally Master,is also here,as well as a ton of friends from all over. It’s a great event,and I can’t wait to get started! Hopefully I’ll have lots of photos to share tomorrow. (more…)
Yesterday I went to pick up the truck from the paint shop with Pam’s husband,Rob. He was very patient,willing to drive several hours to Orange and then load up the truck only to drive it 10 miles to the decal shop and wait for several hours before making the return trip. I am surrounded by angels!!
We picked the truck up from New Image,and they did a great job turning Grace green.
She's naked,but pretty!
It could have been a frustrating day,we were facing more delays because it was RAINING for the second day in a row (it has only rained 1 time in the 2 months I’ve been here. Really? TODDAY it rains??) but everyone was in good spirits. Since the decals couldn’t be put on in the rain at the body shop we towed the truck to SignPros for them to take care of it in their shop.
Laying Out The Graphics
Laying Out Our Sugar Skull Logo
Revealing Our Frist Decal
With a dream,amazing friends,and unbelievable support,Our Saving Grace went from a retired truck
To a truck ready for the next stage of life,just like those we’re trying to encourage and inspire through their fears of breast cancer.
Grace is now in Leona Valley,waiting to be picked up tomorrow morning to head to Barstow. Heather is flying to LAX tonight,Brendan and Jake are leaving Phoenix,and Betsy and the rest of the Bob Land team will meet us in Barstow Friday morning. Our race starts at 8am on Saturday morning. Four of my friends from Colorado made it out last night,and Jon,Jamie,and Bobert are on their way right now and should arrive tonight. Bryan and the guys from A-FAB Packaging that donated the truck will be there,as well as a HUGE number of my NORRA friends,both racers and support people. My adopted family of Ashley,Dawn,and Tania will be there as well as my other adopted family Pam and Toni. We have our own pit crew,part of Bob’s team,and we also have had pit services donated by Checkers,so we’ll have plenty of support.
Thanks to Intermountain Communications we have spot tracking of where we are! At the top of our blog just click on Tracking! and you’ll be able to see our latest updates.
I’m so touched to be a part of this weekend,the Powder Puff and the expo. It’s going to be an amazing weekend!
Our race truck left Arizona a few hours ago and is now on the way to LA! I’ll be meeting it in the morning at our body shop. It looks like it will be all hands on deck once we reach Barstow,there are still a few repairs that need to be finished before we can get through tech inspection,but we will be in good hands. My dear friend and adopted dad,Bob Land,will be bringing not only his race support truck but also some of his techs with him,plus we’ll have lots of NORRA racers that have volunteered help if needed,as well as Jon and one of my BFFs Bobert. I’m lucky to have a life filled with techs. I wonder what that says about me! Jokes aside,I think it’s just natural because my dad was a tech,most of my millions of brothers work on cars,and I’ve just always been surrounded by cars. (more…)
Less than 2 weeks until the Powder Puff race! It’s crazy how fast time passes!
The next 2 weeks will be just as crazy as the last 2 months,although I was hoping things would slow down a bit for some rest before the big event. Oh well,it was a nice dream while it lasted.
The truck is as ready as it can be before leaving. A transport company will be picking it up on Wednesday morning and transporting it to LA for paint. The paint shop will work the magic,then the decal company will finish the work. We’ll be picking it up the following Thursday to start the transport to Barstow. (more…)
I drove down to Indio California this weekend to meet Brendan,Jake,and Betsy for our first day of testing of our truck. The drive down was brutal,temps around 112 without a/c in my car. I felt like my skin was going to burst into flames. Without trying,Betsy and I managed to plan our trip so that we met each other on the highway,which was a funny surprise. We beat the guys since they were towing the truck from Phoenix. Betsy and I decided to go have a girl’s moment and stopped for a drink to catch up. It was great to sit there and talk about girl stuff,and she gave me the cutest toe rings for my birthday because I had been admiring hers on our last visit. I love them! One is a flower,and the other is a funky guitar with lime green stones she picked out because she knew I’m trying to learn to play. What a sweet and thoughtful friend!
We arrived at the ‘compound’ and were whisked off to have dinner with Brendan’s family. It was a great time,although I felt very out of sorts by going out to eat while being a complete disaster with windblown hair and sweaty clothes. I hate meeting people when I’m not at my best,and I was a mess. But we had amazing food and a great time.
Afterwards we cleaned up and met up with some of Brendan’s friends and family and went out. I even wore a dress,which I never do. Excitement about the truck and the trip was running high,and before we knew it we were shocked to find it was 4am. Not the best way to prepare for testing day,but still a lot of fun.
8am Sunday we were loading up the truck and running last minute errands and reached our destination in the desert early afternoon. Brendan and Jake went out first to check the safety of the truck,then I borrowed Betsy’s helmet and strapped in. Betsy had to teach me how to work the harness,Brendan hooked me up to the Parker Pumper that fills the helmets with fresh air and we were off.
It was great. I tried to pay attention to the gears he used and the feel of the truck. They had previously removed the windshield and the heat wasn’t so bad with the wind rushing in. We did get the truck in the air,and one landing was a little rough,but I grinned like an idiot the entire time. And the rough landing made me laugh.
Betsy and I traded places and she and Brendan took off. Their plan was to switch drivers and let Betsy get a feel for the truck. It was over 105 and there was no shade or wind,so Jake and I stayed in the tow vehicle with the air on. Brendan’s dad showed up and waited in his Bronco. The heat and the quiet soon had us all sleepy as the night finally caught up with us. All 3 of us dozed off.
I woke up with a start,sat straight up,and felt like something was wrong. I went to talk to Brendan’s dad to see if he had noticed the time when he arrived. He had not. I didn’t notice either. But I did notice that Brendan and Betsy both had left their phones behind. I told his dad that I was worried,that I felt they should have been back. He said it had not been as long as it seemed,and that if they didn’t show up after another 15 minutes he’d go look for them. I retreated to the other truck and kept looking for them while watching the clock. 14 minutes later Jake said “They’re back. But they’re walking”.
I jumped out of the truck and took a look at Brendan;Betsy was trailing behind in the dusty desert. They were walking zombies. They were bright red and exhausted. I grabbed some water from the cooler and handed them off. They drained the bottles and climbed into the a/c. They were not doing well,and Betsy wasn’t being dramatic when she said she had been afraid they weren’t going to make it back to us. It was awful to realize how quickly you can get into big trouble in those conditions. And we’ll always make sure from now on that the truck always has water and phones or radios before it’s driven off.
We took the trailer and the Bronco out to see the damage. Betsy had been driving back,took a jump,and landed wrong. It could happen to anyone. They hit a sand hill and the right front spindle broke and the wheel fell off,taking the brake line with it. When we got back to the truck it looked sad as it rested in the dirt on the frame.
Two hours later,lots of hard work,sweat,and cussing later the truck was on the trailer and we were ready to head back out.
The truck is now settled properly on the trailer and ready to go back to Phoenix. Today’s adventure set us back a week for getting our shocks to Bilstein and getting the truck to paint. It’s not a huge set back,but I can hear the clock ticking in my head as the Powder Puff gets closer.
Having a weak part break during testing is much better than running into the problem during the race. I’m not upset about the damage;I think everything will be okay. Brendan and Jake have a great feel for exactly what needs to be done to make the repairs,and I trust their judgment and skills. I’m thankful that the damage wasn’t worse,and that Brendan and Betsy made it back to us without being in worse shape.
Now I’m back at my new home,decompressing from the whirlwind trip. Next week is full of schedule talks and letters to sponsors,and will hopefully bring some great news.
This weekend reminds me of a great quote “If the path you’re on doesn’t have any obstacles,you’re probably not going anywere”.
Whew! Traveling from the south end of Baja to my town in Colorado is a long way to go in two days! But I’m home,and finally able to take a long hot bath to try to soak away some of the dirt. Laundry is almost done,dogs are happy,and I think I will sleep very well tonight.
Taking inventory of my bruises,there’s a lot of colors decorating my legs right now! I made it through the rally with little body damage,except for 2 incidents. The first was being picked up (physically) in a bar and I think a stitch was pulled loose because it still hurts a bit. Yesterday I tripped in the parking lot and landed half in and half out of a Land Rover. Thankfully the tail door was open,or I probably would have broken my nose. The bumper and my ribs broke my fall,but two inches further and I would have been in big trouble. If you know me at all,you know it’s a miracle I made it to the end before getting hurt.
Now I must go to get my life back in order,but I just wanted to let you know I’m home safely.
I still have so many memories and updates to share,but I think there will be some changes in this blog soon and I’ll save them for those changes. It looks like Team Courage really needs its own site and blog now. So many exciting things happened on this trip for Team Courage,and there are sooo many adventures on the horizon. It’s time to divide Courage Is My Strength and Team Courage so that each project and site can focus on and address the right people.
Just as a quick note,our YouTube channel should pass the 22,000 view mark tomorrow,which is just insane. This blog has now reached over 1,500 visitors,and over the last few weeks the majority of our visitors are repeat visitors that have visited several times. Thank you all so much for keeping me and Courage in your thoughts and for standing behind me enough and caring enough to keep up with what is going on. (more…)
On our way out of Loreto,wanted to give a quick update to the race fans out there!
53 cars out of 74 have started the last day. We have seen 4 others pass us after the start line closed,but we don’t know if they are going to try to complete the course or drive the road to La Paz. Today is the most technical day of the race and we tried to start early to get everyone into La Paz before dark,but looking at the condition of the men and vehicles….
So,let’s see….the Baja Unlimited is out for sure. A few other vehicles rolled over (we heard 3 others in the same spot,but that’s not confirmed). Larry Roeseler started in the trophy truck,Parnelli Jones is still in,the Swifts,McMillians,Jim Kirby,Walker Evans are still in. I think that just goes to show why they are all so awesome. (more…)
I don’t have the energy for much of a post,but just wanted to let yall know that I am safe and healthy in Loreto. We haven’t had much sleep,as time keeper I have to be first at the start and last at the finish. The course has been tough for some vehicles,so we’ve been at the finish line very late. Although Pam and Ken and Eliseo have it much worse,they have to put together the times for the entire day before starting tomorrow.
The day was beautiful,starting off in one of my favorite places (Bay of LA) and ending in Loreto. We started the rally with about 78 cars,started today with about 68,and today about 55 finished. Very sad that 2 of my favorites are now out of the race…Gay Smith had an amazing Baja Unlimited that he rolled into a canyon,and the second of 2 vehicles entered by Norman Racing will not make it to the finish either. We don’t know for sure yet what happened to the Norman pre-runner,but have heard it had troubles over some rocks. Their single seat trophy truck is still in the game. (more…)
Well,today started with a bang! And then a shake,and a rattle,and a roll! There was an earthquake last night,I heard through the grapevine that it was a 5,but since I slept through it I’m not sure that I believe it was that strong!
It was so cute,I was in the middle of a dream that was sure to solve all the problems of the world when I heard a little voice saying “Michele? Michele? Michele? Did you feel the earthquake?”I swear,if Betsy weren’t so cute I probably would have hit her (I don’t enjoy being woken up for any reason),but her voice was so sweet and she sounded so concerned,I tried hard to shake the dust of the dream off and listen to her. She then explained that she heard a boom,then felt some shaking,then heard the building groan around us. I managed to offer what I hoped to be a concerned sounding reply…”Creepy”then fell right back to sleep. I guess it takes more than an earthquake to get my attention in the middle of the night! (more…)
I’m not sure if I will have the chance to post again tonight,so I’m going to do a quick post because I’m so wired and have a few minutes to post.
Before I tell you about registration,let me just tell you that YESTERDAY our YouTube channel had over 3,000 visitors! So far today there have been over 1,000. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Registration has been fun,but it has also been a bit of a bear. We have been going non-stop since 6:30,finally had lunch at 5:00. It was wonderful to see so many racers in person,and everyone has been amazing. It’s been a feeling of family all around,and all though there are grumpy people once in awhile,for the most part it’s been great. (more…)
Yay! We arrived in Mexicali today! I have to just say that I have met amazing people already,so early in the journey. Pam,Mike,Toni,Betsy,Ashley…wow,it truly touches my heart the kindness and friendship of these wonderful people. I feel as though I have known them forever and it’s only been one day.
Let’s see if I can update you quickly. We left early this morning and arrived in Mexicali early afternoon. A few vehicles have already arrived,and ironically all of the vehicles that are already here are from Colorado! Great guys and beautiful machines,I can’t wait to see who arrives tomorrow. (more…)
How are yall doing? Things here are great. The weather seems to actually be turning to spring after one last amazing storm in Vail. The warmer weather and sight of green grass makes my heart soar,and I can’t wait until there’s even more!
I’m sorry the updates have been slower,I’ve been juggling getting back to a full time job along with family life,and Courage has been taking off! I have met some incredible women this week,and I’m certain I’m feeling my life change a little every day. (more…)
It’s been a wonderful few days here! First of all,and most exciting,is that I was invited to be on a radio show to talk about our developing Team Courage (our fledgling off road race team) and my upcoming trip to Baja to volunteer at the Mexican 1000. The show is hosted by Dave Stall “The car guy”on KCBQ radio in San Diego (where many off road race teams are based). (more…)
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Jokes aside,I think it’s just natural because my dad was a tech,most of my millions of brothers work on cars,and I’ve just always been surrounded by cars. 
afternoon. Brendan and Jake went out first to check the safety of the truck,then I borrowed Betsy’s helmet and strapped in. Betsy had to teach me how to work the harness,Brendan hooked me up to the Parker Pumper that fills the helmets with fresh air and we were off.
drivers and let Betsy get a feel for the truck. It was over 105 and there was no shade or wind,so Jake and I stayed in the tow vehicle with the air on. Brendan’s dad showed up and waited in his Bronco. The heat and the quiet soon had us all sleepy as the night finally caught up with us. All 3 of us dozed off.
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