Travels With Connie #55 Parker Dam
Sometimes I know exactly where I am going. In that case it’s easy, pick a route and go.
More often I have an idea where I’d like to end up, and generally speaking a direction to go.
.
Once in a while I just follow the front wheel and see where it takes me.
Can you hear it? Willie Nelson is singing "On the Road Again", Connie and I stopped at Parker Dam Arizona. It's a not so famous Colorado River Dam that produces electricity, pumps water for irrigation and drinking and provides flood and flow control to the river.
It really doesn't look like much, but it's a fairly impressive structure. It has darn near as much concrete in it as it's more famous cousin, Hoover Dam. It's a long ways down to bedrock and that's where the concrete pour started.
Those arches on the top control the spillway gates. Really large linked chain pull the gates up or lower them (obviously all closed now).
This is the inlet control structure for the powerhouse. The entire flow of the Colorado River is being diverted to a four turbine powerhouse. This structure provides plenty of water flow and keeps any trash from entering the turbines.
This what it looks like after it runs out of the powerhouse.
This is an example of one of the turbines that the river spins. I do not know the exact dimensions, but it weighs 60,000 lbs (27,215 kg).
One half of the electricity produced at Parker Dam is used to pump water to the greater LA basin. The rest is sold to utilities in Arizona and California.
This gantry provides the lifting and closing functions for the powerhouse gates. All four are fully open in this picture, but if any of the electrical producing equipment needs service the water to each turbine can be shut off here. For a bit of scale, notice that Connie is parked just in front of the sloped edge. It is a huge piece of gear that travels on railroad wheels and tracks.
This is a view of the Gantry and three of the gates from the inlet side. Parker Dam and it's attendant equipment make for a really huge structure.
Thanks for being along for the ride. The road goes on forever.
All words and photographs in this post are mine. For better or worse
You want some real motorcycle travel? Check out Velimir. That’s some kind of motorcycle writing.
Adsactly is a society for freethinking people. Interested? Click Here to join our Discord channel.
In the bottom of the page type in: adsactly-witness and select vote.
All small letters and without the @ sign
Or give us a direct vote here
Thank you!
Cool, looks great! I need to get me a motorcycle, I think that would add a good dimension to various travels. Enjoy!
I can not recommend a motorcycle highly enough. It is just my preferred way to travel.
I don't believe people truly realize how much force water can create. It takes quiet a bit of force to spin a 60,000 pound turbine even if it is on roller bearings or some other style bearing.
Using the bike for a scale reference was great and thanks for pointing that out also, that would go overlooked by most people and it truly does make you realize how massive the piece of equipment is.
Good to see you back on the road and Connie all fixed up.
Your photography on this is outstanding and the story as well.
Thank you. One bit of information I didn't add is there is 72 feet of head pressure on each turbine. Consider a 2 foot pipe, and that is a serious amount of force.
Connie has passed all her tests, we will travel tomorrow, heading to the upper reaches of the Columbia, with an obligatory stop at Grand Coulee Dam. Makes Parker Dam look pretty puny.
Thanks for the wonderful comment and going along for the ride.
Awesome shots I am a go with the flow guy myself when it comes ot making trips
Reminds me of visitign my brother decades ago when he worked on a series of Dams and power tations back in NZ
Man, I wrote a great reply to you yesterday that got swallowed up in the Steemit freeze up. You will have to imagine how wonderful it was :)
Thank you for the comments about my photos. Coming from you that is high praise indeed.
I'm a 'go with the flow' sort of guy. A lot of times I don't know where I'm going until I get there...
@bigtom13 The same happenned to me with a lost comment
I think it generally ends up so much better when your flexible and go with the flow
Nice post! The pictures were awesome and it was very informative. This was a really great writeup!
Thanks Bozz. I'm glad you liked it. I am certainly enjoying the 'research'.
I bet!
wonderful journey on so beautiful bike! This dam is not so big as the Hoover dam but really it is worth a praise. Your photos are so nice that it reminds me to my journey to a dam in my country where I enjoyed a lot. Also, being a science student, these engineering marvels attract me a lot.
I'm not an engineer, but engineering marvels truly astound me. I'd bet there will be more on this trip.
Thanks for the kind words!
Hey tom Nice you are still on your pattern Best of luck
Thank you! Always nice to hear from you.
It's so incredible the things that humans can build!
Isn't it just? I just routinely get amazed by 'ordinary' feats of engineering.
Wow great post man, I always follow your all post.
Thank you. Glad you like it!
LOL
Ahahaha. That's the way I am! Glad to give you a giggle.
We used to visit dams regularly when our sons were small-great photos @bigtom13!
Thank you. We always stopped at dams when I was a kid. I think I was in every Columbia River Dam that was built before 1965 or so... I stll stop often.