While driving dross-country, we saw huge wind farms along the freeway In CA, near Palm Springs, and in Texas near Pecos. I remember the windmills we had on the eastern Montana ranch when I was growing up, which pumped water for our cattle. Some people, such as the owners of the little country store nearby, also used the windmill to generate electricity. These were simple wooden apparati, running without motors. We saw some of the old-fashioned windmills in Texas too.
The largest of the modern day turbines stands 150 feet tall with blades half the length of a football field. Each can cost up to $300,000, requires average wind speeds of at least 13 mph and can produce 300 kilowatts – the amount of electricity used by a typical household in a month. This wind farm on the San Gorgonio Mountain Pass in the San Bernadino Mountains contains more than 4000 separate windmills and provides enough electricity to power Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley.
The Desert Sky Wind FarmIn Pecos County is a 160.5 megawatt station. This wind farm consists of 107 wind Turbines, each rated at 1.5 megawatts spread over a 15-square-mile area. San Antonio purchases the power produced.
My last report left off at San Antonio, probably my favorite city in Texas. The first time I visited was about 1990 when I went with the Sweet Adeline group from Missoula, MT for our national competition. The second time was with my DH and the the third was for a Women Writing the West conference. The countryside is lush and green, and approaching the area, we saw more cattle ranches. The city seems to be in better economic condition than other areas, as there is a lot of construction going on.
The weather from here for the next three days would be cloudy, rainy and cool. Where did that southern sunshine go?
Next stop, Lake Charles, LA (actually the motel was in Sulphur, a former sulphur-mining town). We found a great coffee shop, Stellar Beans and took our coffee and breakfast to the beach along Lake Charles. It was windy, but pleasant enough (low 70s) to sit awhile and then walk on the sand.
Check back for our visit to Magnolia Mound Plantation in Baton Rouge, LA.
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Heidi M. Thomas 