CC #2

Parker 250 – Up Close and a Little Personal!

I heard screaming racecars when I was outside hanging laundry. Race day! I had forgotten the Parker 250 was today.

The Bouse bend on the desert racecourse is only a few miles from my house so I jumped in my Jeep to go have a look. A lone racecar bumped and bucked along the desert track next to Swansea Road as I drove toward the Bouse spectator area – which was empty save for one truck teeming with tires.

Dang, I missed the race. Whatever. It was a nice day for a little desert drive so I continued down the rutted dirt road.

Soon I felt my jaw jarring from the ruts and looked for a place wide enough to turn around. Then I saw the racecars – coming up behind me and fast! I pulled to the side as far as possible and closed my window.

Voom! Voom! Voom! Racecars roared past, pebbles peppered the Jeep.

Close one! I took a deep breath. Well, yay, I got to see some of the race. A little more closely than I would have liked, but still, yay. I wondered why the racers were on the road instead of the track.

I found a wide spot, turned around and headed home. Suddenly more racecars came screaming around a bend and sped right toward me.

Yikes! Am I on the course? And, worse, going the wrong way? I pointed the Jeep out into the desert and hoped I wouldn’t high-center and get stuck with my ass right in their way.

Voom! Voom! Voom! At least the drivers waved. I think.

Whew! Back onto the road and out of there in a hurry. As I neared the spectator area I saw what I had thought was a drainage spur. Turns out the racecourse joins the road just past the Bouse spectator area. Who knew?

Lesson learned: Read the signs! With the Parker 425 (www.bitd.com) coming February 4 – 6, race fans, do not boldly go where no woman should dare to go! Do not pass GO…park in the spectator area and stay there!

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Cate Mueller is a web designer, editor, reporter and photographer in Bouse, Arizona. To visit her website, click here.