I was invited to a dinner party at 7:30 on Tuesday night, by an old acquaintance, at the house of a very generous and welcoming couple, Tony and Olivia. She baked a delicious leek tart with Wasabi mashed potatoes, green salad and there were some great beverages as well. Another couple, Dan and Ally arrived. It was Ally’s birthday and some other people came to join in the celebration. At some point after dinner someone started talking about Jambalaya and my ears perked up. How could it be that out here in the high desert of California someone could know about Jambalaya? I was interested so I listened on. The words boiled Crawfish fell out of Dan’s mouth floated across the room and hit my eardrums! In my most flattering, southern, ghetto-esque accent I blurt out, ” I’m from Louisiana, what y’all know ’bout eatin’ crawfish?” The room exploded with laughter. Dan went on to tell a story about being in Alabama with his dad and their waitress explained to them that the proper way to eat crawfish is to suck the heads. I energetically replied, “Hell yeah, that’s the shit!” More laughter proceeded and that inspired me to go into great detail about sucking heads and how good it is. I further went on to explain that the real dirty south way is to stick your pinky in there, pull out the good stuff and eat it. The room was in shock and there was Dan, on the couch looking at me with eyes wide. In between bouts of laughter he managed to allude to the fact that he was a little enamored with me and now I had just floored him. He lay there almost quivering as his wife laughed hysterically. And I sat there almost naïve to what I had just done. From the corner of the room someone said, “Wow, I had no idea.” And I then realized what had just gone down. I blushed and made my way to the kitchen for a drink of water.

It’s not that this is my first time here but this time is different. Perhaps it’s from all the events that have happened in 2009 that have me reborn in 2010 and in my 30th year. I’ve been here for seven days and so much has happened in such little time that I feel like an entire books-worth of stories is transpiring.

The weather was perfect for a few days and then a storm rolled in from the pacific and has slammed the Sierra. Bishop is positioned just so that a great vantage point is given to the surrounding mountains and to the wintry blusters that inhabit them. It’s been rainy and snowy here for a few days now and rest days are being forced upon one.  And so when not climbing what is it that one does to occupy the time?

It was Monday, MLK Day, and the morning was spent in the Looney Bean fumbling with the internet and getting over caffeinated on Lattes. Looking around the room my gaze was met with families passing through on their way back home from a weekend of skiing, a few locals enjoying their day off and a handful of fellow homeless climbers, all wondering what to do. I had a moment of bewilderment as I realized we were all in the same boat, it didn’t matter how famous or well-known any of us were; the fact of the matter was we were all biding time before our next climb and our options for doing so were limited. It was a flash of insight into the life of a climber and how hard it really is at times.

Finally I was fed up with the spotty internet and my friend James and I headed for the pet store. What better way to spend a rest day than to love on some puppies! More hours were spent wondering the streets of town and finding the best parking spot conducive to napping.

Tuesday morning I opted for the Black Sheep for my latte fix. Word was that their internet connection was better than the Looney Bean and they offer an array of fresh roasted organic beans for your brew of choice. The clouds loomed on the horizon, blocking the view of the mountains and the winds swirled through town ripping my top vent on my van clear off and into the void. Rain fell relentlessly on my bed and a quick fix was in order. A jerry-rigged job of gorilla tape and plastic solved the problem for the time being until I could head over to the RV store and get a replacement.Once at the store the friendly Dale showed me what I needed and relief came over me as I understood that the leaky roof would soon be fixed allowing for maximum comfort once again as I spent many more days lounging in the van, sheltered from the winter outside. Upon checking out the lovely woman behind the counter asked me “Where’d ya get the shiner?” I laughed and told her that I was accidentally kicked in the face by a friend while bouldering due to a hold breaking and being on a slope. It almost knocked me out and I was left with this beautifully colored purple and blue eye. I asked her is she would have felt bad if I had told her my boyfriend beat me up and she responded by saying, “You don’t seem to the type to let that happen!” It was quite funny and it left me wondering just how it is people perceive me.

So, after a quick RV repair I headed for the Happy’s in hopes of getting in a bit of bouldering and much to my delight that’s exactly what went down. The weather grew colder and colder and the wind grew stronger and stronger and soon I was witness to everyone fleeing the boulders and heading back to town. I was left there to myself and the rocks and felt so inspired to be there alone with the hawks and ravens and any boulder problem I so desired. Eventually I tired myself out and I too fled for town. Evening hours were spent in and out of dream-time until 7:30 arrived and I was invited to some folks for a dinner party.

It is here that the story gets funnier….stay tuned for more to come!