Patton's War Games Played Here!!

We left the Salton Sea around 11:00 am, saying goodby to the handsome Park Ranger and headed up Box Canyon Road through the Chocolate Mountains.  What a great place to dry camp THIS would be.  The hills look like mounds of chocolate ice cream!!

As we met up with Hwy 10 in the middle of nowhere, there was a sign for Patton's Museum.  It seems this desolate area is the site of Camp Young, Desert Training Center for World War II.  It was at this site that Patton played war games with his troops, preparing them to follow him into combat overseas.

There are quite a few artifacts donated by Patton's wife, but this museum also honors ALL our soldiers up to the present day!!

This is a picture of the exact "Jeep" I learned to drive with.  This one just doesn't have the dent from where I hit that tree that jumped out in front of me!!  Gee ... I was only 7 or 8 years old!!

Outside are many examples of tanks ... some from Desert Storm and some recently used.

Of course my first thought was "I want to drive THAT"!!!

For a small donation of $4.50 for seniors, you can visit the museum and walk through the yard, checking out every one ... but as the sign said, watch for rattlesnakes!!!  This IS the desert!!

A quick stop at Foster Freeze for a cooling, yummy Rocky Road Twister and we were off again towards the wild blue yonder.  Certainly not much to see out here, but keep our eyes open, because the speed limit is 75 mph ... and the big trucks fly by like you're standing still!!  At Ehrenberg AZ we got fuel at the Texaco truck stop for $3.73 and DEF for $17.99 (no pump, only containers) ... it's $13.00 at Walmart!!!

Sometime around 5:30, with 99 degree temps, we pulled into Tonopah Arizona to the Saddle Mountain RV Park ... and a nice one it is!!  It's HUGE, all gravel with 50 amp full hookups, only $16.00 for Passport America members.  Their laundry room is full to the brim with new machines, so we ran a few quick loads after turning on our AC to HIGH!!

While the clothes washed, we were treated to a beautiful pink Arizona sunset.  What a nice end to a long day!!