We had some GREAT progress today! We finally got "dead reckoning" working so that we can travel for miles even if we lose contact with GPS. We "drift" only 10 feet per 1/2 mile (which was our specified target) and we think we can improve on that.  Team member Brad Hansen finally got the code working after many weeks. Last night he stayed at camp all evening to work on it.
 
A large hole was cut into the hood of IRV so we could mount an 800 CFM fan to the top of the hood to suck out all the heat generated in the desert. 
 
We saw a big rainbow today between rain showers, which caused us to scurry around battoning down the hatches of our little camp. It was kinda like being in the first STAR WARS movie with all the sand blowing everywhere.
 
Co-Team Captain Doug Traster took IRV out for a drive. When we looked up, we saw him cruising WAY up high on the top of a mountain ridge. He proceeded to point IRV down the mountain and he took an incredibly steep road down the side. We were all scared to death. He stopped midway when he skidded to the edge of a three-foot cliff. He couldn't back up because the 5000 pound weight was too much for IRV on that kind of incline, but he managed to scoot around the mini-cliff to make his way down the mountain. We all breathed a sigh of relief.