Force of Nature

As a result of the events of my camping trip in July, I landed overnight in my old hometown. Before I headed for Home Sweet Home, Linda wanted to show me the big windmills that were being erected south of town so we took a drive out to see them.

From a distance, they were fairly unimpressive. I was a little sorry to be driving in the opposite direction of Home, when that was the one place I really wanted to be, but I continued on.

And I'm so glad I did.

Up close, they were amazing. I stood, in slack-jawed awe, staring at them, marveling at their sheer size. It was a relatively calm day, so only a few of them were in motion off in the distance, and even then it was only a sluggish slow-motion spin.

There was something quite eerie about walking amongst these stark-white structures, standing still and silent. It made me feel like I was on alien ground, or had somehow landed in a real-life version of the movie Contact. When the wind picked up a bit and the one we were standing next to started to churn, the air was filled with a low vibrating hum, which sent chills down my spine and made me look suspiciously around to make sure the Mother Ship wasn't approaching.

It really was an awesome display of power and technology. And to know that we, as humans, are capturing and harnassing something as elusive as the wind to generate power and sustain our lives was surprisingly reassuring. I mean, I know it's not a new concept, but sometimes I feel like we've turned into a race that doesn't concern themselves with being part of the solution, or trying to "give back", and somehow these massive windmills made me feel like we're at least trying.


(This is looking across the Columbia River Gorge into Oregon. They have an impressive wind farm going over there, too. Click on the picture to get a better view.)