7.27- El Paso, Texas to Florence, Arizona

After one day of not racing, it was an early morning for the solar car teams. The scheduled departure time was before sunrise. The Volt-Tech team met at 4:30 AM. All solar cars were trucked 160 miles before being unloaded near Lordsburg, New Mexico. It was a long ride to Lordsburg, and it did not take long before the Volt-Tech team fell asleep in my van. Heading west did not offer me a desert sunrise, nevertheless dawn revealed broad open space, mountains, and a few yucca plants in bloom. I was surprised to see freight tracks a few hundred yards away from and running parallel to the road. Several long freight trains could be spotted, and at one point two passed each other on parallel tracks. They each sounded one deafening and guttural alarm. The sound was a distorted and frightening crescendo with a twisted harmony that simultaneously faded and advanced.

Although late yesterday afternoon it had rained, most of the day was relentless sunshine.  The strong sun rays allowed the car to obtain a good charge. Due to this and agreeable terrain, we were able to accumulate the most miles of any of our race days. We had around 50 miles by the end of the day.

The day began slightly overcast. Early morning temperatures were cool and comfortable. Before putting the car on the road a few maintenance issues were taken care of. The following photo shows us unloading the car. Nick is our safety officer and at every stop he is the first person on the roadside. Once he has set up the cones and established that it is safe, the other team members are allowed to exit Mr. Smith's lead car. In front of our caravan you can see another team unloading; behind us there was a line waiting to unload.

Mr. Harris cut away a flap on the bottom of the car that was interfering with the wheel. 

Mr. Smith and Myles working on securing the upper and lower body.

Chris drove today, and the race began at 8:23 AM.

Chris drove for 25 miles, our longest run. Yea! The team then trailered the car over railroad tracks (too risky on our thin wheels) and did not unload for another 17 miles when the land had few inclines. At the unload spot, someone spotted a lizard on the side of the road. The judge who rode with us identified the lizard as a horned lizard. The horned lizard is endangered as a result of being sold as souvenirs in the 1950's - 1960's. In fact, in some places school children were paid five cents for each lizard they caught. This coupled with pesticides killing harvester ants,  the lizard's main source of food, has made the spotting of a horned lizard a rare event.  I was surprised to discover that this lizard allowed us to get very near to him, unlike the other lizards we caught glimpses of scampering from one shaded area to another. Horned lizards make themselves fat as a defense mechanism. The idea is that puffing himself up may make a predator think him too large to swallow. I have read that there are four types of horned lizards, one type, as a last means of defense, project blood from their eyes. This is meant to confuse their predators and it is distasteful. I do not know whether the lizard we saw is one such as this. 

Eleven miles farther (keep in mind the solar car goes around 15 - 20 mph) we pulled over to let the batteries recharge. We parked next to a large field of cotton. There was an irrigation ditch for the cotton a few feet from where we were unloading the car. I was surprised to see that on such flat land it had a strong current. I do not know whether there was a pump or some other device creating it. While parked, an Arizona police officer stopped by to ask about the car and our trip. Left to right: Brittany, Joe, Chris, Myles, trooper, our judge for the day, and Tyler).

We pulled into an Arby's for lunch. It was a bit odd to see the car pulling into a fast food parking lot. We parked in the back, and again there were fields of cotton.

In an adjacent parking lot I spotted a peculiar car. The owner told me that the body was a VW from the 1950's and that the engine was from a 1976 VW. 

Chris talks about his experience driving the car.

Mountainous terrain forced us to trailer the car in the late afternoon. 

The "F" stands for Florence. Florence, Arizona was our destination. It was 101° when we arrived.

The car was removed from the trailer and positioned with an unobstructed path to the sun's rays.

Brittany sprayed the solar cells with distilled water to cool them.

A spaghetti dinner was provided for all teams.

A Florence police officer came to talk to the team about their car.

While removing the canopy to catch the rays, it was discovered that one of the tires was bald. Joe took the arduous task of removing and replacing the tire. It is not as simple of a procedure as changing a car tire. Tyler mounted the new tire.

After hours in the heat, everyone was beat. Some of us were crabby, yet the team finished what they needed to do and stumbled exhausted to the hotel shortly after sunset.

7.26- Rest day in El Paso, Texas

Friday was not a race day. We were in El Paso and had the cars displayed at Franklin High School. It was an all day event and throughout the day people stopped to ask questions about the car. At the beginning of the event, the El Paso chamber of commerce president and Dr. Lehman Marks, the solar car challenge coordinator, visited teams and presented trophies for the previous day's race. They had with them several local TV station cameramen.  The Volt-Tech team won a trophy for most miles in our division (advanced).  The following videos show the students and Mr. Harris explaining their involvement in the solar car challenge.





People stopped by throughout the day.

The car of the past next to the car of the future. The antique car is a 1929 Ford.

Tyler made a temporary ramp for the trailer.

Well done!

Chris and Joe carried the auxiliary battery to Mr. Harris's truck.

Below is a bird's eye view of the parking lot.

Students took the opportunity to play together.

 It was thrilling to watch an approaching storm. The storm caused the event to close early. The evening ended with a Mexican dinner which, due to bad weather, was held in the high school cafeteria.

7.25.13- Guadalupe Mountains / Carlsbad, NM to El Paso, TX

We took Route US Route 180 from Carlsbad, NM to El Paso TX. Beautiful scenery the entire way.


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Overnight the solar cars were impounded at the parking lot of the Walter Gerrells Performing Arts Center. Each team decided on the best location for their vehicle to charge using the early morning sun rays. Unfortunately, as you can see in the photos below it was  overcast. When I got to the parking lot I neglected to put on my hat; there was little sun so I saw no need for it. One of the judges stopped me and penalized our team one mile. All team members and chaperones are to have hats on. There are a lot of rules that we must follow, and most of them concern safety. It is important to have sunglasses and hats on in the baking sun.

Here is view of one side of the parking lot with numerous cars awaiting a break in the clouds. The team in the green t-shirts is from Texas, and finding themselves with some free time they put together a make shift baseball game.

On every morning of a race day there is an 8:00 meeting. There is a roll call, announcements, and presentation of trophies for the previous day's race. Our team received a trophy for most miles covered in our division. Myles is the team captain and proudly received the trophy. 

The New Mexico State Highway Patrol presented  each participant with a non texting phone case, an air pressure guage, and a keychain. 

With the car canopy propped on its side to catch the morning rays, the team lined up behind it displaying their trophy. Left to right: Tyler Wenzel, Chris Reffelt, Joe Cramer, Nick Mastorano, Myles Harris, Brittany Fatum

Wherever we are, people approach us and ask us about the car. 

Mr. Harris is shown checking one of the python boxes. As I understand it, the python boxes gather energy from the solar cells and distributes it to the batteries. It was discovered that one of the boxes was broken. The broken box gets the power from one of the array areas of solar cells.  An electrical consultant who travels with the Solar Car Challenge offered his thoughts on the situation. It was decided to run parallel with a working python box. 

While the wires were being adjusted, Brittany washed the windows on the trailer. Clean windows may help to absorb sun rays while trailered. Joe drilled extra holes for zip ties which are used to join the upper and lower body of the solar car.

The open land around the parking lot looks sparse, but only a few feet away are numerous plants. I saw several colonies of ants that did not make hills, but had entrances in the ground or under small rocks. Dozens at a time could be seen both entering and exiting their underground burrows. I believe they are known as red harvester ants.  In the image below, you can see the ants moving under the largest white stone.

Once the rewiring was completed, we were ready to hit the road. We started at 10:36 AM, a little more than an hour late. Myles drove the first leg on the race.

Some interesting sights along the way.

At one of our stops it was discovered that one of the cables was disconnected from a battery terminal; foam padding was added between the batteries and their surrounding boxes in an effort to stabilize them.

The judge traveling with us was so impressed with Nick's flagging technique that he took a video of him to use for training.

These tiny yellow flowers grow in clusters in gullies. There is a discoloration in the clay soil so you can see they cling to areas that offer moisture.

Here is a photo of the Guadalupe mountains. The second peak on the left (triangular in shape) is Guadalupe Peak, the highest peak in Texas. The road we were on would lead us through passes on the edge of the range.

This is a spot where several teams unloaded after trailering their cars over long inclines. You can see that we are nearer to the Guadalupe range.

 

At a required 30 minute stop, it was decided to share a watermelon Joe had bought in a parking lot the previous day. Mr. Smith did the carving and it was enjoyed by all.

An abandoned gas station was the perfect spot to pull over and take the car off the trailer after a steady incline. Once off, it was decided to let it catch some sun rays to bring the batteries to their fullest charge. The group shot below includes our judge for the day who rode with Mr. Harris. He kept a record of how many miles the car was on the road and whether or not we were following race regulations.

A bit of horseplay while awaiting the batteries to charge. 

It wasn't long before the Liberty Christian team from Argyle, Texas arrived to recharge. 

Tyler took over the wheel and drove through flat land and a salt flat. 

At one of the places we stopped for recharging, Tyler spritzed water and gently wiped the solar cells. Water helps to cool the cells which helps to increase the flow of electricity.

Here is a video of the Guadalupe Mountains and the salt flat.

Tyler talks about his experience driving the solar car.






We arrive in El Paso.

After so many hours on the road, it was necessary to burn off a little energy. Here is another team jump roping.