San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm—just outside of Palm Springs

As we drove over the hill, the vast expanse of Wind Turbines was nothing short of shocking.  There are more than 4,000 separate Wind Turbines on the San Gorgonio Mountain Pass.  These Wind Turbines provide enough electricity to power Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley!

The San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm is located just outside Palm Springs near the Coachella Valley.  The wind farm is just one of three major wind farms in California.  This Pass is one of the windiest places in southern California.  Which, as a side note, the wind is one thing that I did not like about the area.  I am sure George got SO tired of me saying, “I HATE WIND.”

Wind turbine generators are a type of windmill that produces electricity by harnessing the wind.  These wind turbines require an average wind speed of 13mph.  (We had one day with 50mph wind gusts!)  The wind turbines are between 65 to 300 feet tall (they can be as tall as a football field is long).  The blades are between 15 to 140 feet long.  One wind turbine can cost up to $4 million installed. 

We were in the Palm Springs area on and off for about a month.  Multiple times we stopped just to watch the turbines. 

The turbines glide through the air gracefully, with seemingly little to no effort. 

After watching them for days, we decided we wanted to watch the sunset behind the Wind Turbines.  We went by Little Caesar’s Pizza and picked up a small pizza.  Pizza in hand, we found a perfect place for the “show”. 

We watching the sun slowly fade behind the mountains with the Wind Turbines in the front.  It was a beautiful way to finish our day.