Wind, Wind, Wind

Saturday, March 27. 2010

We’ve decided to hunker down in Lubbock, as the wind is still howling.  It has changed direction out of the north, the direction that we were heading towards.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Wind power – it isn’t a new concept.  As we’ve travelled we have seen numerous windmills, some still working but many in a state of disrepair.  We’ve often wondered how they worked. The American Wind Power Museum, gives a wonderful history of wind power in the United States.  We arrived around 10:30, and managed to tag along with a guided tour for some grade 4 or 5 students.  Most of the windmills were used to pump water from deep prairie wells while a few others were used to power sawmills or grist mills.  Some wind mills from the early days were used to charge storage batteries, which would then be used to run electrical radios or other small appliances. It seems that some of the modern technology isn’t so modern.  The tour guide explained how a governor works to turn the vanes out of the direction of the wind to prevent the windmill from self destructing. The old wind mills needed almost constant maintenance as they had to be oiled daily to prevent corrosion of the gears.  Larger diameter windmills of 18 to 22 feet were used when large volumes of water had to be pumped or where the wells were very deep at 1600 feet or more.

The Aermotor Windmill Company still sells windmills and parts and has a very good animation and description of how a windmill works.

Outside on the grounds is a modern electrical generating wind turbine similar to those in St. Leon, MB.  There are also numerous working models of the old style wind mills although today the governor was working on many of them.  The wind today was out of the south east with sustained speeds of 30 mph and gusts reported up to 61 at the supper hour.  As we drove back, to our campground we could see clouds of dust lifting into the sky and limiting visibilities in open areas.  The temperature got up to 81 degrees Fahrenheit this afternoon but it felt much cooler with the wind howling.  The trailer was really rocking today!

Some Lubbock Facts:

• Up until 2 years ago the city was Dry.  No booze anywhere within city limits.  Not even at Wal-Mart!
• There are 267 churches serving a population of less that 200,000 people
• In addition to Texas Tech University there are 3 other colleges or universities in Lubbock
• Birthplace and home of Buddy Holly

37 degrees overnight to a high of 81 degrees this afternoon – 44 degree range in Temp.