Camp Bouse

 Panaca, NV   High 1-5  Low 70 (wonderful)

Left home at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday with Las Vegas as my destination. I was very happy that there wasn't an accident on I-10 this year. Last year I spent three hours slowly inching along. 

The old Mercantile in Bouse, AZ.

I wanted to stop at Camp Bouse last year but because of the delay I just kept going. This year I had time to check it out. Camp Bouse was established in August of 1942 as a top secret post for developing and testing "Gizmo". 

Gizmo is a tank with modified turrets, carrying a 13 million-candlepower searchlight, that passed through a narrow slot using shutters that opened and closed six times per second. The tanks were designed to light up the battlefields at night and confuse the enemy with the flashing lights. The tanks were never deployed to the war.

 The actual camp itself is quite far out in the desert and I just stopped at the monument in Bouse. About 10,000 troops served under the command of General George Patton. This camp was so secret that it was not listed on the army's record of training camps. 

 Sandy is a M60 Patton Tank. She is named Sandy because the people who donated her to the memorial are George and Sandra Nault. 

After leaving Bouse, I stopped for fuel in Parker and headed for Las Vegas. It was too early for me to check into my hotel, so I decided to just wander. Well, I wandered right onto The Strip. Had no idea where I was so I just kept driving til I figured out I was going south and away from the airport where my hotel was. I finally got a chance to turn around (traffic was horrible) and I finally got my GPS to work and it took me where I needed to be. My air conditioner in Daisy doesn't work well or at all in stop and go traffic. She likes the open road. It's 117 degrees with no air and I am feeling every degree of that heat. I was so grateful to be able to check in early and get into air conditioning. This is the only picture I took of the city. 

I was absolutely exhausted from the heat and the drive. Did not even go out to get any dinner. I finally gave in and went to bed at 8:00 p.m. Of course, that meant I was up at 4:00 a.m. 

Had breakfast at the hotel and then got brave enough to try and get through traffic and on the Interstate. Almost made it, but I ended up in the wrong lane and had to take an exit that took me right in the middle of downtown. GPS to the rescue and got me out of there. Heading north on Highway 93 in Nevada. More tomorrow.