Following the eclipse, while everyone else departed after lunch for the spires and buttes of Canyonlands, I unpacked the generator’s new controller, dragged the work bench (ne, picnic table) across the sand into Ellie’s shadow, and draped a large towel across to keep things as clean as possible. I had a mixture of dread and hopefulness going into the generator’s disassembly because of the numerous rounds of trying something new to get it to finally start and stay running. Aside from a surprisingly stubborn pin connector, replacement wasn’t terribly difficult, and I had it reassembled in a couple of hours.

Grabbing a large leftover piece of cardboard from the back of the truck, I balanced the generator and propane tank atop it sitting on the sand and primed the generator with 1, 2, 3, 4…5 pulls of the starter rope. Quickly switching the switch to the Run position, I gave the rope a solid pull and…the generator started! I counted one thousand, two thousand…wondering if at 4 or 5 seconds it would quit again, but at 10 seconds I thought perhaps we had a win. Letting it run for 5 minutes or so, I pulled out the heavy 50amp cable to join the generator and Ellie together in electrical matrimony and ran over to the rig’s controller panel to check the connection. Woo hoo! We were now charging our batteries at a 1050W pace. I let it run for another half-hour before turning it off and restoring the campground’s quiet just before its occupants began returning from the day’s adventures.

Whew.

Later that night, we’d build a warming bonfire and have a champagne toast with our new friends Scott and Beth over both the eclipse and getting the generator finally running. I’m still not sure which one was more momentous.