Val Feeds the Masses. Dudes Do Not Live on Sun Alone.

Mark your calendar! Val is not very wordy this evening, as she is hosting Genius's solar car team in her BARn field. The day has been fraught with problems, but not for our team. KNOCK ON A WHOLE LUMBERYARD'S INVENTORY!

Our S&T group arrived at Grant's Farm just before the cutoff time for the Staged Stop. That meant 45 minutes of hanging around, meeting the public, doing repairs if needed, but not charging on their portable stand. They were one of only 5 of the 13 original teams to make it to the Staged Stop before it closed. The rains and clouds across their route today slowed everybody down.

I spent most of the day following them on the SportTraxx GPS tracking system. Much to the dismay of my internet provider, I suspect. I had planned to include some links, but I'm on Shiba my laptop right now, without a mouse, and that's not convenient for ME! Maybe later I'll work that in. [Yes, I did.]

Most of the food prep was done, except the baked beans and hamburger condiment slicing. When the schedule went awry, Hick was called to duty to start grilling up the meat. He saved the team a good deal of time, since they didn't need to set up their food tent and tables. And their cook got a night off to go out to dinner and sleep in town.

The menu? Hamburgers (24), Hot Dogs (20), Bratwursts (30), Cauliflower (2 heads), Broccoli (3 bunches), Baby Carrots (1 large bag), Hidden Valley Ranch Dip (2 tubs of sour cream/mix), Maple Bacon Beans (6 cans plus 1/2 lb bacon), Potato Salad (10 lb potatoes, 8 boiled eggs, 16 spoons mayo, 1 bottle mustard, 4 large onions, 10 large dill pickles, salt, pepper), Hamburger Buns (4 bags), Hot Dog Buns (7 bags), Doritos (2 bags), Assorted Chips (6 bags), French Onion Dip (2 tubs), Cheese Crackers (4 boxes of 6 packs), Peanut Butter Crackers (4 boxes of 6 packs), Pickles (4 jars), Ketchup (1 bottle), Mustard (1 bottle), BBQ Sauce (4 bottles), Green Grapes (3 bags), Red Grapes (3 bags), Gala Apples (22), Golden Delicious Apples (22), Watermelon (2 large), Martha White Blueberry Muffins (24), Martha White Strawberry Muffins (24).

That's supper and breakfast and food for the road tomorrow. The muffins will be served at 5:45 a.m. Genius says there are 24 people in their party. And that the goal for the trip is to keep the crew from losing weight while they're on the road. When I asked how many of the meats we needed, he said one of each for everyone, because even if some people don't want a hamburger, a hot dog, and a bratwurst, SOMEBODY ELSE WILL EAT THEIRS. Let the record show that when I drove to town to see the car charging, that crew looked pretty slim.

Nobody will go hungry on my watch.

And we're helping out their budget as well!

Here are some links in case you are interested in following these teams chasing the light across the heartland. Michigan has been the leader since the first day on the track. They are amazing. Already almost halfway across the lower end of Missouri.

American Solar Challenge page, with links for official information.

Cars and their numbers:

2 – Michigan

3 – Kentucky
6 – Berkeley
9 – Iowa State
11 – Northwestern
15 – ZHAW
17 – Illinois State
24 – Waterloo
32 – Principia
35 – Minnesota
42 – Missouri S&T
49 – Georgia Tech
51 – Dunwoody
55 – Poly Montreal
57 – SIUE
77 – Toronto
92 – ETS Quebec
116 – McMaster
786 – Western Michigan
828 – Appalachian State

Media

ASC 2016 Twitter

ASC 2016 Facebook

Scientific Gems with daily updates on ASC 2016

ASC Flickr

#42 Missouri S&T Solar Car Twitter

#42 Missouri S&T Solar Car Team Facebook

#42 Missouri S&T Student Design and Experiential Learning Center Facebook

(not that I'm partial to one team or anything)