At 6:30 AM in Blue Earth Plaza, the sun cast long luxurious shadows from the three to four story buildings clustered around the green plaza. The sky was blue and pink and the moon was beginning to descend. The forecast was for sweltering heat. By 8:00AM it was 95°. We enjoyed our two day stay in Manhattan, Kansas. Today we would be driving through Nebraska. Solar car teams walked their cars from the park to their trailers and the race began some twenty miles away. Today was the day we were going to test our new sprocket—fingers crossed. We were given our challenge of the day which was to invite a spectator to go for a ride in the car.
Ben, our judge, ask Alex to sign off as safety officer for the day.
Socks of the day—watermelon.
While trailering the car, one of the students heard an interview on the radio that had been done by KMAN radio. I looked on the KMAN website hoping to be able to post a link to the interview but was unable to find it. If anyone is able to find it, please leave the link in the comment section. We began the race in a bank parking lot in Randolph, Kansas. Curious spectators always gather and team members proudly talk about the race and the car.
Steve and Chris began the first leg of the race. We were anxious when the car approached its first hill, but it made it up going approximately 35mph—yipee! Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, one of the fuses blew. Overall it was a good day; the car traveled a little over 40 miles for the day which is the most we have covered in one day. Going at slow speeds through Kansas and Nebraska allowed us to enjoy their bucolic scenery.
We saw quite a few soybean fields. I noticed very tiny purple flowers on the plants. In the late summer these dainty flowers are transformed into pods.
We had a required fifteen minute stop in the town of Marysville, Kansas. With temperatures approaching 100° the large shade trees were a relief. The Marysville Chamber of Commerce welcomed us with sweet cookies and cold water. Some of the ladies in the chamber told me that Marysville used to have seven trails crossing the Big Blue River including the Oregon trail.
The Big Blue River.
The park had impressive oak trees. I propped my phone up as a size comparison.
A young boy named Isaiah went for a ride in the car, and fulfilled our task for the day.
Lauren also enjoyed a ride.
We had a few good runs in Nebraska. Lunch was a welcomed break. We ate and made an adjustment to the steering. Today's race ended in Fremont, Nebraska where the Chamber of Commerce had hot dogs for us and a place in the Walmart parking lot to display the car.
Chris putting in a fully charged battery in place for tomorrow morning.
Alex answering a question about the race.
Cameron had a long conversation with this man.
Elijah explaining how the car runs. 
A team from Detroit
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