On one of trips across the mountains last summer to see my mother, we drove through a windmill farm. It was located along the Appalachian Front in eastern West Virginia. The closest windmills I had seen up until that point were olden ones in the Netherlands. (Think Don Quiote). Thus I was fascinated by seeing these modern windmills up close.
Note: All energy sources have advantages and disadvantages and wind is no exception. However, I'm not going to discuss that here today. I'm just going to give you a look at this windmill farm. I didn't get a picture of any of the miles of roads they had to build on the mountains which are a part of the farm.
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| This is typical of the Allegheny Mountains with their green, parallel ridges. |
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| Along the top of the ridges, they installed windmills to catch the wind. You can see them in the distance. |
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| These were close to the road and Ward was listening to see how noisy they were. That day there was a quiet swish, however I don't know what it's like living by them. |
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| As with any energy source, you have to have a way to transfer the power to the customer as seen with these large towers. There were large substations also, but they were on the wrong side of the road for me to get a picture. |
W is also for Wily-Nily
Things are a bit wily-nily around here. And if I don't make a list soon, I may crash and burn. We're getting ready for a trip along with household chores and work chores. I still hope to complete this challenge on schedule. However, I don't know if I will have access to the internet where we're going or if I will get the posts done on time. If not, I will finish them next week sometime. So, I'll see you again when I see you. :)
Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteWe have seen windmill farms from the distance when we travel north of our home, but not up close. I have wondered how loud they are. Not sure if I find them picturesque or not--they kind of look like dancers, but they also seem to end up in places with a lot of natural beauty.
West Michigan has a large population from the Netherlands and Holland, MI is home to a working old-fashioned windmill--I don't remember for sure, but I think it was sent over piece by piece from the Netherlands. Then again, maybe I'm making this story up. :)
I'm not sure what I think about the windmills cluttering the landscape. I don't think they're too bad, but I don't like all of the wires and towers. In fact, I have the view of a tower out my back windows that I don't like. However, I do like electricity in my home and that's a price I have to pay.
DeleteI know this is about the windmills, but I can't get over the trees! We just don't have places covered with leafy trees like that in these parts.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I've heard it said that if there's enough wind to power one of those big windmills, you don't want to live there... just because of the wind itself. Don't know if that's true or not, but they are impressive structures, and it does seem like it would take more than a breeze to make them go.
Anyhow, enjoy your trip, and IMHO blog posts are the last thing that you should stress over when things get busy. :-)
Generally it is green here in the spring and summer and I like it. When I go out west, I like the red and browns of the rocks, but tire of them after a few days. My eyes are used to green and they want to see it again. I guess if I lived there, I could adjust.
DeleteThere are wind mill farms on my drive up north to see my daughter. But I've not seen them up close.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a safe journey and enjoy your trip. Blog posts can wait. :)
I find them pretty amazing up close. So simple in some ways and so complicated in others.
DeleteWe have a lot of those in Oregon too, and when I get closer to them, I am astounded at their size!
ReplyDeleteThe first time I saw one up close, I was also astounded by how big it was. They don't seem that big from a distance.
DeleteI have never seen a windmill farm except at a huge distance.
ReplyDeleteI have seen windmills from a distance, but this was the first time I had actually been in the middle of a windmill farm.
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