https://photos.app.goo.gl/7FFYBazUqUYHKrMh7
Just past the historic town of Gail (Borden County), I encountered a huge solar farm under construction. Hundreds of acres. Earth work in progress enormous stocks of material stacked around the edges. One photo can not present the entire site. 10-15 miles farther, on the edge of LaMesa, there was another large completed installation which was not yet on Google "satellite" view. Fairly old since weeds needed mowing. A one axis tracking system. Panels pivoted on long rails. It looked cheap and cost effective.
I realized that LaMesa (la meesa) was so named because it is on top of the Cap Rock a few miles from the edge. The PV site under development is on poor land below the Cap Rock while the completed site is above. Multi use on the land: there is one photo of a blade assembly ready for lifting into place on a wind generator. There are many wind generators along the edge of the Cap Rock. Now, the PV, some very near the wind. And a little bit of oil. Above the Cap Rock, soil is quite good; with well water, it is intensively farmed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Borden
Albuquerque and Gallop
https://photos.app.goo.gl/np3Y1dN9rJAof2aeA
The most valuable car in the Unser Museum is the Novi. Worth about $3mil, One of two and no one knows the whereabouts of the other. Photos 4, 5, and 6.
Last photo is a plate of chilles rellenos at Jerry's Cafe in Gallop.
At the Albuquerque SuperCharger, three of six nozzles had been vandalized and were not usable. I did not have to wait and got near 140kw. By the time I left there were three in line.
At the Gallup SuperCharger, one of the four stations did not work. Two others gave about 80kw. The "good" one gave me a good rate in the afternoon but was very slow the next morning; it took me more than an hour to get from ~80% to near 100%. Starting about 30kw and dwindling painfully to nothing. No waiting there.
Page and Kanab
Slow charging at Gallop. Did not have breakfast at Jerry's as intended.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayenta_Mine
I passed near the above mine and had to wikipedia it up to find out about it. The highway passed under a very long conveyor that dumped into a very large and tall silo. An electric rail line followed the highway for many miles away from the silo. I had hoped to see an electric train operating from the overhead wires. I finally noticed the overhead wiring was in disrepair. Mr Peabody did not complete hauling away the mountain. Here is the silo and the conveyor crossing highway 180:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZG9YshKqi1FCEtdr8
Here is the power plant end of the rail line:
https://goo.gl/maps/yuCW1fCiGDVGbGy99
I followed it a relatively short distance of ~5 miles along side the highway. I'm guessing the total distance of the electric rail line might be about 50 miles. I saw the power plant near Page but did not realize it was the one serviced by the Peabody mine.
Here is the wiki article on the electric railroad that caught my attention:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mesa_and_Lake_Powell_Railroad
Then, off in the distance, a big mountain dominated the area. I found it is "Navajo Mountain". Much higher than anything within 50-100 miles. I had thoughts of finding my way to the top on some subsequent trip. Apparently that is not to be:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_Mountain,_Utah
https://www.summitpost.org/navajo-mountain-ut/397784
Kanab and Byrce Canyon
https://photos.app.goo.gl/itrPm8XJ7wdQ154n8
Very little snow in Kanab at 5k-6k feet. At Bryce, 8k+ feet, like 2' of snow. Weather was good, though. After that climb, I was apprehensive about the energy used and charged a bit at Ruby's very nice complex at the entrance to the park (photos posted). They have Tesla charging and do not care who uses. They are unacknowledged by Tesla; I found them on PlugShare. I failed to find a place listed by Tesla after squandering 15 miles looking (in Tropic). Tropic is the site of a very early (~1895) Mormon water diversion project.
https://www.nps.gov/brca/learn/historyculture/pioneerstory.htm
http://www.townoftropicut.gov/town-history.htm
Only me and one other at the Days Inn in Kanab; I didn't see the other at breakfast. VERY nice. VERY quiet. Only about $60 down from ~$110 during the summer. AND, I'm charging about $5 worth per day. Many Kanab hotels are closed for the winter. When I expressed concern for their low business volume, they reassured me that they have two bus loads of Korean tourists coming in a couple of days.
Zion, Lake Mead, Williams
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cv9QZsXhKK6aDzfa9
Photos include my bowl of green chile stew with corn bread.
Sierrra Blanca, Brashear, Dale
I just couldn't do a trip without inserting a minor death march. A bit more than 900 miles in about 20 hours. That's with an hour or more in Brashear loading up and talking about string inverters.
Home. No water. No heat. Temperature about 35 deg. All easily fixable.
I realized that LaMesa (la meesa) was so named because it is on top of the Cap Rock a few miles from the edge. The PV site under development is on poor land below the Cap Rock while the completed site is above. Multi use on the land: there is one photo of a blade assembly ready for lifting into place on a wind generator. There are many wind generators along the edge of the Cap Rock. Now, the PV, some very near the wind. And a little bit of oil. Above the Cap Rock, soil is quite good; with well water, it is intensively farmed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Borden
Albuquerque and Gallop
https://photos.app.goo.gl/np3Y1dN9rJAof2aeA
The most valuable car in the Unser Museum is the Novi. Worth about $3mil, One of two and no one knows the whereabouts of the other. Photos 4, 5, and 6.
Last photo is a plate of chilles rellenos at Jerry's Cafe in Gallop.
At the Albuquerque SuperCharger, three of six nozzles had been vandalized and were not usable. I did not have to wait and got near 140kw. By the time I left there were three in line.
At the Gallup SuperCharger, one of the four stations did not work. Two others gave about 80kw. The "good" one gave me a good rate in the afternoon but was very slow the next morning; it took me more than an hour to get from ~80% to near 100%. Starting about 30kw and dwindling painfully to nothing. No waiting there.
Page and Kanab
Slow charging at Gallop. Did not have breakfast at Jerry's as intended.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayenta_Mine
I passed near the above mine and had to wikipedia it up to find out about it. The highway passed under a very long conveyor that dumped into a very large and tall silo. An electric rail line followed the highway for many miles away from the silo. I had hoped to see an electric train operating from the overhead wires. I finally noticed the overhead wiring was in disrepair. Mr Peabody did not complete hauling away the mountain. Here is the silo and the conveyor crossing highway 180:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZG9YshKqi1FCEtdr8
Here is the power plant end of the rail line:
https://goo.gl/maps/yuCW1fCiGDVGbGy99
I followed it a relatively short distance of ~5 miles along side the highway. I'm guessing the total distance of the electric rail line might be about 50 miles. I saw the power plant near Page but did not realize it was the one serviced by the Peabody mine.
Here is the wiki article on the electric railroad that caught my attention:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mesa_and_Lake_Powell_Railroad
Then, off in the distance, a big mountain dominated the area. I found it is "Navajo Mountain". Much higher than anything within 50-100 miles. I had thoughts of finding my way to the top on some subsequent trip. Apparently that is not to be:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_Mountain,_Utah
https://www.summitpost.org/navajo-mountain-ut/397784
Kanab and Byrce Canyon
https://photos.app.goo.gl/itrPm8XJ7wdQ154n8
Very little snow in Kanab at 5k-6k feet. At Bryce, 8k+ feet, like 2' of snow. Weather was good, though. After that climb, I was apprehensive about the energy used and charged a bit at Ruby's very nice complex at the entrance to the park (photos posted). They have Tesla charging and do not care who uses. They are unacknowledged by Tesla; I found them on PlugShare. I failed to find a place listed by Tesla after squandering 15 miles looking (in Tropic). Tropic is the site of a very early (~1895) Mormon water diversion project.
https://www.nps.gov/brca/learn/historyculture/pioneerstory.htm
http://www.townoftropicut.gov/town-history.htm
Only me and one other at the Days Inn in Kanab; I didn't see the other at breakfast. VERY nice. VERY quiet. Only about $60 down from ~$110 during the summer. AND, I'm charging about $5 worth per day. Many Kanab hotels are closed for the winter. When I expressed concern for their low business volume, they reassured me that they have two bus loads of Korean tourists coming in a couple of days.
Zion, Lake Mead, Williams
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cv9QZsXhKK6aDzfa9
There are a couple of photos of animal routing fencing. In Canada, I saw similar fences targeted to deer, elk, etc. But the Lake Mead fences are about 18" high. In Texas, I might suspect they are trying to keep armadillos off the road and directed to culverts. Here, I suspect tortoises.
Williams, South Rim, Gallup
https://photos.app.goo.gl/emAfR4QPLKtWiehs7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tDwFkkPdM17yELjYWilliams, South Rim, Gallup
https://photos.app.goo.gl/emAfR4QPLKtWiehs7
Photos include my bowl of green chile stew with corn bread.
Sierrra Blanca, Brashear, Dale
I just couldn't do a trip without inserting a minor death march. A bit more than 900 miles in about 20 hours. That's with an hour or more in Brashear loading up and talking about string inverters.
Home. No water. No heat. Temperature about 35 deg. All easily fixable.
Rick Perry said he is going home to Fayette County: " the hills surrounding Round Top are in the midst of a high-dollar home-building frenzy, thanks to wealthy weekenders and urbanites seeking a more laid-back lifestyle. One of them is former governor Rick Perry, who in 2013 bought ten acres just outside of town and built a six-bedroom house overlooking the rolling pastures and catfish-filled stock pond of neighbor and longtime friend Tommy Orr, a ten-year resident. Recently, Perry was seen dining with Ted Cruz at Las Patrones Mexican restaurant and buying nails at Round Top Mercantile."
ReplyDeletehttps://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-aspen-of-texas-and-the-round-top-real-estate-boom/