YPG, quick tour of Quartzite and fast, fast trucks

First.....I need to back up a couple of days. On Tuesday (Jan 30) on our way to pick up dates we stopped off at the Yuma Proving Grounds to look at the displays. The last couple times we were out this way the parking lot was closed off for some maintenance. Today everything was open.

Yuma Proving Ground goes back 75 years. The Army use it to test various pieces of equipment. In WW 2 it was used extensively to train combat troops prior to deployment to Europe. In preparation for landing in the Pacific they actually planted rice patties on the Colorado River that borders the Proving Grounds so that troops would get a realistic view of  what to expect when they landed. General Patton visited the facility regularly and oversaw many tests of tanks and other heavy guns he would use in Africa and Europe.

Anyway, here are some of the displays:

These big boys at the front entrance.

A great old war horse (the one in green!)

Used by the Engineers, this tank could launch high explosive charges out of the stubby gun in front. There is a winch assembly that is folded back. It was used to pull or lift items out of the way or put them in place, like a bridge or something.

Many of these tanks, and their modern variants were used in WW2 and Vietnam.

Howitzer

Sherman tank with battle damage.

This is impressive! Look at the bullet marks in the next three pictures. Can you imagine being inside this tank when the bullets were hitting!

Bullets were hitting the barrel too.

A drone made a couple passes over the area. I'm sure taking our pictures.

The ultimate RC plane!

February 2 (Friday)
Our first full day in Quartzite was spent exploring the town and get our bearings on where everything is. We will be back a few times over the next few weeks and want to spend time at the Radio Controlled (RC) Field, Celia's Garden park, the bookstore, the Hi Jolly Monument and the Museum, as well as some of the local hotspots like Silly Al's Pizza among others. Today we just drove around, checked out some RV parts, and looked at some rock and mineral vendors. We came home with just a small bag of necessities.

We saw two Tesla cars being 'refueled' at Carl Jr's. I talked to the guy in the white car. He said it takes about 45 minutes to get to 90% charged and that was good for about 160 miles. He said newer Tesla's have bigger batteries and can go farther with an equal 45 minute charge. Charging is free for his car but newer ones have a fee to charge them.

We then headed back to the trailer to enjoy some warm sun. I'm really happy I bought the new sun shade for the awning. While enjoying the afternoon we were treated to a sight I had never seen before.......one of the Goodyear Blimp. It seemed to be following the Interstate from west to East. No doubt on their way back to Phoenix after covering some event on the West Coast. Or maybe they were heading out somewhere East from their West Coast base. I really don't know. Anyway, quite the sight! Something new for me.

We were treated to another wonderful sunset and I managed to capture some shots of the now waning moon.

February 3 (Saturday)
I even managed to catch a sunrise this morning!

We headed up to Parker, just north of Quartzite to watch some desert off road racing. The Parker 425 was being run. Here is a link to the whole event: Parker 425

There were three spectator areas and we chose the Shea Road location just outside of Parker (the other two being at Bouse about 30 miles south of Parker). I think we chose well and we arrived just before the big rush. We got parked about 1130. The first race that started at 6 AM was on their third lap of the 142 mile course so we were able to view some of them passing. The second race was scheduled to start at 1:30. This group was the faster classes, bigger trucks and buggies and of course more expensive.

Big crowds awaiting the start of the second race.

Parking was at a premium.

There are three helicopters chasing the first truck in the second race. Can you spot them? One just above the horizon on the left. One just at the horizon to the right of the dust cloud, and the third is directly below the second one very low to the ground.

The first truck of the second race

This guy is getting a lot of air over the bump.

First of the buggies in the second race.

This Coors sponsored truck got a lot of cheers!

Look at the travel on the rear suspension. See this picture......

......then look at this one with the rear now fully compressed.

There were lots of helicopters flying over the route. Some were media and other belonged to race teams. You knew the racers were coming when the helicopters approached. They started the trucks at one minute intervals. Crazy fast and dusty......and then they were gone. Some of the fastest classes can get over 140 MPH on the flat straights and can average close to 70 MPH over the full 140 miles. Wow! Even the smaller trucks can reach 85 MPH on the flat smooth desert washes. These smaller trucks use Ford Eco-Boost 4 cylinder engines that crank out about 200 HP. The high octane, high dollar trucks must be pushing out well north of 500 - 600 HP. This is NOT a cheap sport!

We headed back to Quartzite in time for a quick happy hour over at Steve and Dianne's. There we met Jim and Barb, Red and Pam, and Harry and Vickie, all friends of Steve and Dianne's. I've followed Jim and Barb's blog for a while now and very nice to meet them, as well as the others. Of course I forgot to get a picture. :-(

We got back to the trailer for a quick bite then on to Skype to chat with the Kids and Grandkids.
We did get another incredible red sunset tonight. Just about the time you think you've seen the greatest sunset ever, the next night is equal or better. Wow!
.....and that was Our View From Here!