7.29- Twentynine Palms, California

The day began with a pancake breakfast at the Wickenburg Civic Center. A few of the ladies helping with the breakfast told me how the community was saddened last month when nineteen firefighters lost their lives in the now infamous fire. The hill where the young men lost their lives is not far from the town of Wickenburg. Having experienced the unpredictable winds, I can understand how an already large fire might grow into deadly chaos.

While awaiting the batteries to charge in the civic center parking lot, I took the opportunity to go for a short walk. I noticed in the landscaped plantings honeybees and butterflies. The honeybee below has quite a reach to the nectar within this flower.

Although this resembles a monarch, it is not. It is a viceroy.

When we entered Arizona, everyone wanted to see a saguaro cactus. It took an hour or so of driving before we began to spot them on the hillsides. Saguaros grow naturally only in the Sonoran Desert. A tall saguaro may be well over fifty years old. I noticed that many of these cacti have large holes in them. The holes are created by gila woodpeckers. Woodpeckers common to us make large holes in dead trees for nesting and small holes to burrow for insects. The gila woodpecker makes a hole in the saguaro cactus for nesting purposes. Each year they make a new hole and their prior nesting hole becomes a home for other birds. The holes do not harm the tree; most saguaro die from being uprooted by wind or flooding. In the photo below you can see  numerous holes in the cactus.

The group shot below includes our judge for the day and Ulster BOCES district superintendent, Dr. Khoury. It was interesting for all of us to meet a new judge everyday. Most of them were from Texas, Arizona, or California. Some were young and some were retired educators or from fields related to renewable energy. They not only helped us daily to understand rules and regulations, but they all were conversationalists with stories to tell of past solar car races or knowledge to share about the desert environment. Dr. Khoury proved to be invaluable during the arduous task of navigating through downtown Los Angeles. Left to right: judge for the day, Tyler Wenzel, Chris Reffelt, Nick Mastorano, Myles Harris, Brittany Fatum, Dr. Khoury, Mr. Harris, Mr. Smith, and Joe Cramer.

During the 8:00 AM meeting, Brittany and Myles accepted the trophy on behalf of the team.  The trophy was for winner of the advanced division for the previous days race. 

Here is a photo of the car after being unloaded from the trailer. It sat in the sun for a couple of hours in order to recharge the batteries. 

While the car was recharging, Chris checked the amperage of each array of solar cells. Brittany and Joe covered the frame of the car with duct tape. Any exposed metal can become so hot in the desert heat that it may burn flesh. 

Chris shares some shade with an electrical consultant. This man has been volunteering at the solar car challenge for  a number of years. 

Once battery charging and troubleshooting were completed, it was time to race. It was decided to  trailer the car for the first 51 miles of the day's race. This was to avoid using too much energy while climbing steep inclines in the beginning of the race course. Joe was the first driver of the day. He clambered into the drivers' seat in the open wilderness. 

The required rest spot was in Salome, Arizona. Chris hopped into the drivers' seat.

Not far after departing Salome we entered California. The Sanoran Desert sand began to change from crusty and flat to sand that you might find on sand dunes. It took on a tan hue and was quite soft. At one point Mr. Harris struggled with his truck on a soft shoulder. I was fearful he would get stuck and could not imagine where a tow would be available. Luckily, the struggle was momentary and he was able to resume to a level position. The solar car has thin wheels; they are not much thicker than bicycle tires. In order to load it on the trailer, straps were used and most of the team pulled from inside the trailer while Myles, Dr. Khoury, Mr. Smith, and Tyler pushed.  

Not only was the sand different, but the plants were as well. Here is what I believe is a whitethorn acacia. The soft needled plant I have been unable to identify.

It was not uncommon to see a name or phrase made out of rocks.

Here is another long road. You can see the road is visible to the horizon line.

Today's race ended in Twentynine Palms, California. 

The people of Twentynine Palms, California welcomed us in their city park. People cheered as we pulled into the park. It was a pleasant surprise after many hours in the hot desert. A local radio station was doing a live broadcast and in between songs would talk about the solar car challenge or interview its participants. Signs were made by local school children, people came to ask questions about the car,  and we were treated to a dinner of pizza and chicken.

The local press stopped by to take pictures and ask questions. The photographer got Joe to take on a muscle man pose. 

The warm welcome we received put everyone in a good mood. 

This brave hula dancer has been mounted on the back of another solar car since we began our journey in Fort Worth.

An astronomer had a solar telescope. It showed solar flares and suns spots. I took a photo of a solar flare. If you look in the upper right portion of the sun you will see the flare, it is 30 earth diameters long. 

As the setting sun rays were blocked by a building, the team guided the car back to the trailer.