Palm Springs Windmill Tours


 They are actually called Wind Turbines but no one calls them their proper name.  We signed up online for the self-drive Windmill Tour in Palm Springs for 60 USD for the two of us and our car.  We arrived 10 minutes early to check in and watch a quick 7-minute video about Windmill Generated electricity and how this all happens.  I liked the video for the statistics on how many homes are powered by this energy source and how the pass between the two highest mountains in Southern California is a strategic place to build wind farms.  It was so interesting to know that engineers can climb up inside the stem of a Wind Turbine and open up the hatch to fix things and tighten bolts etc.  I had no idea that they were that wide inside and you don't realize until you get up close and personal with one and see how absolutely huge these things are.  They go up to 500 feet in height.  I wish that there was an obsolete or inoperable windmill that you could see inside the trunk or stem that would have added to the tour.
These were the tallest turbines on the Farm.  The two trucks give you some perspective.

I am standing beside the end of one of the blades.

This gives you some idea of a blade's length with me at the open end.

Another blade.

The self-drive tour had 10 stops. You have to download their app before you go for the narrated tour.  You can get out of your car and take pictures but obviously not get too close.  The blades on these things move quickly, if you focus on the tips of the blades you will see how fast they move.

There are 6 reasons why windmills are not turning and I always wondered why some were moving and most seemed not to be.  I just assumed it was broken down which can be one reason but they may have been shut down because they were going too fast and it could get damaged or for contractual reasons and a host of other reasons.

There was another storm coming on the horizon.  It poured outside as we watched the video and then conveniently stopped for the tour.

When you leave your car you realize how windy it is in the mountain pass.



The mountain backdrop and the storm made for some cool moody photos.




The storm was moving on and the wildflowers were in abundance.













One of the stops on the tour is the Solar Panel Farm and there are 16 acres of panels currently.


I recommend this tour because it was interesting and I also recommend that once you reach the end of the tour you continue down the street turn left and head to Windmill Market for a delicious Date Shake.

Due to the heavy rains, wildflowers were everywhere in the Greater Palm Springs area in March.  The Windmill Farm had mainly yellow wildflowers that resembled dandelions but were not.




This is Darren accidentally taking a photo of himself as he dropped my phone face down in the gravel.  I wanted a new phone anyway so good timing.  I have 7 new breaks on my screen now, c'est la vie.





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