There were three trucks traveling together, each carrying a blade.
Day 96
A wind turbine blade
July 1st, 2010
I'm walking across America.
That's the idea, at least. I'm walking westward from New York City for nine months or so. If everything goes according to plan, I'll be in Oregon when the clock runs out. If nothing goes according to plan, maybe I'll end up in Peru or Mongolia or Pennsylvania. You can read all about the details of my trip if you're so inclined.
Email me at matt@imjustwalkin.com
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Here's my progress so far:
Okay, so maybe the geese idea is not realistic, but it would be cool.
You know… there are things that you are sharing that most of us would’ve never seen before. Like this for example. So thank you for fulfilling your dream & letting us in on such wonderful sights!
all I can say is “WHOA”
I always wondered how that was done.
Thanks!
Holy Manure! That is huge. I mean they look so, so tiny in the air.
FYI if the sky is clear tonight look to the west just after the sun starts going down. First and brightest star in the sky, slightly above horizon is Venus. Not a Matt fact…but if we all did it … it would. Happy Thursday to all. Matt, Have a nice walk today.
I just promoted Venus to star status. Still a planet to most…woops. I am now working on the pluto case……?
Is that tonight? Thursday 07/01/2010? –
for most of the month. Last night, from NJ it was spectacular. So bright you could see it before the sun set.
wow! If we have some clear nights, I’ll watch for it. Thanks Jeff.
Sweet idea, Jeff. I’ll be looking tonight.
It’s supposed to be a clear night here, and when that’s the case, the stars (and planets, hee hee) are clearly visible up here in the mountains.
I’m rooting for Pluto, too.
trucks = blade ‘runners’
Good one.
Really good one!
There was an episode in “Dirty Jobs” that featured Wind Turbines. Amazing, the scale of blade to man.
A samurai somewhere is missing his sword.
I’d hate to see the size of that samurai! :-)
Ha ha!
I’ve seen these roll through town here in Central NY, still amazes me everytime! they are huge! I hope our country gets wise and we see more being put up!!!!
Off Topic hint : if you smoke and plan to visit NY state … BYOC’s … a pack of Marb Reds is now $10. Yes, 1 pack = $10, 1 carton = $100. Thank you to the govenor we did not vote into office!
Marb Reds are $5.02 (that includes tax) at local convenience stores in ND.
Having these trucks drive by is just amazing, you can’t fathom how huge they really are!
that thing rocks
hey dude when hit montana, south of great falls, are you going through the canyon or not? scott
My father in law is one of those specific truck drivers.
Cool.
The standard flatbed trailer is 53″, and this looks like it has an extension added so you can at least see the Oversize Load warning before before you’ve got the sword of Damocles hanging over your head…….yikes
oops, 53″ is the standard trailer used by the Toy Slayer to haul around his equipment, I meant 53 feet. :P
The blades of wind turbines should be made of solar panels. Double duty!!
Anderson Trucking Service out of St Cloud, MN hauls these windmill parts! Its incrediable the team they have to put together! You know that there is a person in the pilot car behind the semi that runs the back half of that trailer with a remote control!!
sold those trailers…they extend to just over 80 ft.
We passed a few of these driving home from NYC a couple of weeks ago. Yes, they are HUGE, but what really amazed me is how flexible they are. It wasn’t quite flapping in the breeze, but there was quite a bit of movement in the tip hanging off the end of the trailer.
The only time I’ve seen trailers close to that size was in Chicago when they were delivering the exterior iron segments for what was then the Sears Tower.
Still is the Sears Tower to us who live in Chicago.
Right, I’m used to calling it the Sears Tower. Guess that’s why they call the hats made in Ecuador Panama hats, too hard to change.
Hey, I saw that “Dirty Job” show too! I was talking to someone about this and wondered how they refuel enroute. Can’s exactly pull into “Self Serve”…maybe they travel with a fuel truck?…Thanks for the Venus tip too. I live in Greenbrae, CA and due west for me would put Mt. Tamalpais in the way but I’ll try to see it. Be safe Matt, and thanks for the photos. P.S. My best friend has started calling you my boyfriend because I catch her up on your adventures whenever we talk!
Matt
We are seeing the heart of AMERICA because of your mode of travel and thus we are seeing the real beauty of this great country and the real genuine people who have opened up their hearts and homes to you. How wonderful this must be for you to see our vast beautiful country this way!
You have 2 legs and feet up on the rest of us! Thank you for sharing your great adventure with all of us. You are a real inspiration!!!
I will tip a Yuengling or 2 to you today as I grill out and gaze at the Great Smoky Mountains from my back porch!
Keep safe as you continue to see the beauty that God has given us to enjoy and take care of so others can enjoy it in the future.
P.S. Could that be a prototype Gillette razor on that truck?
Those things are so big that they actually make me anxious to be around them haha
What if it falls over? You’d have to run for a while to be free of the ‘crash zone’, y’know?
*shiver*
Disassembled they are pretty cool looking though. I’ve seen the tubes on flat beds, too. Friggin HUGE!
The biggest ones here in Europe have blades 208 feet long. Scary huge.
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:E126-Prototyp-12-02-2008.jpg&filetimestamp=20090126095251
Geez Louise!
There is a relatively new wind farm in the San Francisco Bay Area called the Shiloh wind farm. It’s out in the country and there are so many of them. We took a drive through the area and you can get really close to them. Freaking huge is right. It was very cool and I was amazed that there was no sound. I was thinking old fashioned squeaky farm windmills – and these were nothing like that! Although there was a couple of those old ones in the same fields – it was kinda comical to compare.
We just seen a “caravan” of these held over at a Rest Area in VanWert Co., OH. We are suppose to be getting some in Paulding Co. soon. I have to agree that they look alot smaller in the air on a post!
Love the geese & flower photos too.
Absolutely tremendous photo.