Grand Coulee Dam in Washington

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Today we woke to skies less smoky than yesterday.  Today's high was to be 89 to 90 degrees F.  We decided today would be a good day to drive to Grand Coulee Dam.  We've been told it is a must see.

As we headed west towards Grand Coulee Dam we could see this smoke layer ahead of us.  We hoped that maybe we would drive through it.

We drove through wheat fields.

And kept driving through miles and miles of wheat fields.  However as you can see the smoke was getting thicker and thicker.

Here we are at the Grand Coulee Dam.  This is taken from the Franklin D Roosevelt Lake side of the dam.  The smoke is heavy.

This panoramic shows the massive size of the dam, even if the air is smoke filled.

 This picture and the one below show the dam a little clearer.

Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam that is 5,223 ft long on the Columbia River.  This dam was built from 1933-1941.  The 3rd powerplant was added 1967-1974. This dam is the largest hydropower producer in the US, generating more than 21 billion KWH each year. 

Grand Coulee Dam is one of the largest concrete structures in the world.  It contains 12 million cubic yards of concrete.
We also read that the largest turbines/generators weigh 3000 tons. The flow of the Columbia River is so strong, it can get the turbines up to full speed in 12 seconds. Amazing!

This is a 2 cylinder hand cranked air pump used for a single diver.  I would hate to have to rely on air from a hand cranked pump.  Scary.

This is part of a diver's suit.  The shoes had weights on them making them weigh 40 pounds to help the diver stay down.  Again SCARY!

After the dam's first 2 power plants were completed, all power was diverted to manufacturing plants supporting WWII.  After WWII was over, efforts to irrigate 1 million acres of desert land was put into action.

When it was time to start the pump generating plant for irrigation, every state in the US provided one gallon of water
into the system as a symbolic show of support.

As we were driving home, the smoke was not as thick.  The wheat fields were so picturesque. 

This was a unique looking building currently being used as a home.

Tic got this shot as we drove by.  We wondered if it used to be a church.

 
 The sunset tonight is very red due to the wildfire smoke in the air.  It is red alert air quality.  We are supposed to limit outdoor activities.  We are hoping the air quality will be better tomorrow.

Another beautiful ending to the day!