Lovely, and lonely, stretches of roadway

Each of us has his/her own favorite stretches of highway, and there probably aren't many people who will agree with me on this one, but one of my favorites is that lonely stretch of two lane grey top between Rankin and Iraan, Texas.

There's an ominous aspect to that drive, however.  For some reason it's a favorite hangout for vultures.  They sit on the fence posts and watch the cars go by with a hungry look on their faces.  It's very unsettling.  It's the modern day equivalence of a scene in an old cowboy movie where some poor soul is crawling across the desert and the vultures are circling overhead.

I once thought that if I ever struck it rich I would buy one of those plateaus and build a house on top.  I imagine I could see for miles and miles.  But, I wasn't really using my head.  The wind would probably huff and puff and blow both me and the house down.  In fact, the wind is currently being harnessed to generate energy.

A TXU and Cielo Wind Power  press release from 2002 said that the Noelke Hills Wind Ranch will contain 240 Mitsubishi wind turbines, each with a output capacity of one megawatt.  Google didn't provide any current info on it, but from the highway it appears as if it could be complete.

Opinions probably vary as to whether they add to or subtract from the beauty of the area.  I like them.  There's something about the order and pattern of those shiny steel structures that creates a harmony of design.  I love the look of wind turbines in the morning.  It looks like victory.

Comments

[Wallace-Midland, Texas]

I used to love that drive too. Until they put all the turbines up. Visual pollution of the highest order, detracting much from one of the reasons I used to love living here..the uninterupted vistas.

Economically the turbines have been subsidized by the tax payers. They wouldn't be there without tax benefits.

[Geo]

Wallace,

Some people can't stand the sight of them, I'll grant you that. But I guess my eye for beauty isn't as fine tuned as yours.

Whether it's nuclear power, oil refineries, drilling in Anwar or wind turbines, the biggest obstacle to energy production seems to be concern, justified or not, for the environment.

I wonder what would have happened if the present day concern for the environment had existed when the first oil well was drilled. There might never have been a second one.