Friday, September 20, 2019

Down a Rabbit Hole!


Late Saturday morning I fell down a rabbit hole.
I was answering emails at my usual spot at the kitchen counter,
when the sound of a hovering helicopter caught my attention.

I ran out on our deck to find it,
but it took a minute or two because the helicopter wasn't moving.
I finally spotted it among the rooftops at the top of one of the monopoles
in the new power transmission line running through our area.


At the Top of a Monopole
Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




I watched for a bit, but the helicopter was too far away
and I couldn't see what was happening.
I was surprised because I thought all the power line work was finished,
but also because I didn't know helicopters could hover motionless for so long. 

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.
I scribbled a note to Terry who was off playing pickleball and stuck it on the tv.
Then I made a mad dash for my car, forgetting to turn off the tv and lights,
let alone shut the front door completely on my way out.
I was afraid the helicopter would leave before I could reach it.

Six or seven minutes later when I spotted it at the end of an unfamiliar street,
it was still hovering in the same spot,
looking for all the world like a fish feeding on a strand of giant kelp. 


Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




I zoomed in with my little point-and-shoot Canon 
and was amazed to see a lineman standing on the landing skid
of the helicopter and working on the power line.

Perhaps even more amazing was to see the pilot monitoring everything
and holding the helicopter in a position with little room for error
for, what seemed to me, a very long time.

Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved







Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



One or two monopoles farther south, more linemen were working
under much tamer conditions, or so it seemed to me.


Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




As I was snapping pictures, out of the corner of my eye,
I saw a man in a hard hat headed across the field straight for me.  

Oh !@#$%^! I thought.  I'm in trouble now!

I couldn't have been more wrong!  He was the Xcel Energy 
(Public Service Company of Colorado) representative on the site,
and we had a long and fascinating conversation
(well, him educating me)
about electrical power transmission in Colorado.

We covered a lot of territory: 
from our electrical grid and how it works,
to rapid population growth and meeting future power needs, 
to developing renewable energy sources such as wind power,
to the public and economic issues surrounding major power projects.
It was just the coolest thing ever! 

Thus the rabbit hole.
I have spent many, many hours this week researching electrical power transmission
and learning as much as I could to help me understand it all.

I still can't wrap my mind around the concept of a volt,
but as Curt, the Xcel representative reassured me,
I didn't need to grasp that to understand power transmission in Colorado.

Meanwhile the helicopter had hopscotched over the linemen in the bucket
and moved to another monopole farther south.
Curt gave me his business card and offered to answer any future questions I might have,
and I was off in my car to catch up with the helicopter.



Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 14, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




I arrived home for lunch very late.
Thankfully my husband wasn't upset about coming home from pickleball
and finding the front door partially open and the tv and lights on.
He gets me.

I may very well text Curt.
I have so many questions.
If I learn something cool, I'll let you know!



Till next time ~
Fundy Blue


Waiting for the Ferry to Tiverton
Grand Passage, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada
July, 2016
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved








For Map Lovers Like Me:


Location of Aurora, Colorado, USA




Area Where I Took the Photographs
(by the asterisk in the lower middle)
Map Data © 2018 Google United States




Adapted from a Sign in the Park
Red-Tailed Hawk Park
Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.



30 comments:

  1. What an experience Louise, hope you;re ok. You certainly do see some extraordinary sights. Do take care. and enjoy your weekend.

    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Yvonne! I hope that you have enjoyed your Friday and are looking forward to the weekend! I am fine! I didn't literally fall down a rabbit hole, and by now I am fully recovered from my recent fall. Although I think tennis balls, foam rollers, and ice packs will be permanent objects in my life. My doctor is highly recommending I work on my flexibility. Ugh! I'd rather pump iron ~ LOL. We do live in an extraordinary world, and I have fun learning all about it. I keep joking that I hope there are libraries in heaven! Have a good one!

      Delete
  2. Well you get to see all sorts of fascinating things near your home. I don't know which looks scarier, the guy standing there or the one who was dangling.
    You might have to work power into your next story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Alex ~ They're both equally scary! I'll work power into something. Have a great weekend!

      Delete
  3. What would it take for you to work tied to a helicopter hovering over a powerline... 😯 If it was up to me, we'd still be building fires for warmth. Ha ha!!

    I'm glad you didn't actually fall in a hole!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sandi! I'm not sure which would be worse: falling down a metaphorical rabbit hole or a real one! Have a good one!

      Delete
  4. Holy moly, that seems so dangerous! I know the lineman had a safety harness on, but still! You found a fascinating rabbit hole to fall into, Louise!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Replies
    1. Me neither, Adam! Have a great weekend with Daisy!

      Delete
  6. Massive trust in each other, and what skills they both show up there. Glad the hole wasn't one in the ground. I still find electricity amazing, and clever people who get the power from water or wind or other means across lines to our homes.great close ups!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Massive trust for sure!!! I'm glad it was only a metaphorical rabbit hole, Jean. I sure had fun, and I sure learned lots. I'm with you, electricity is amazing. Have a great weekend with Hugh!

      Delete
  7. Sure has to be some amount of trust between the two. That is one job I'd never want to do. Bad enough watching them in their buckets, but a helicopter, nope lol I'll stick to delivering what they need. Great that you got to learn a lot sometimes going down a rabbit hole isn't a bad thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely rabbit holes aren't all bad, Pat! Although they can wreak havoc with schedules and plans. Have a great weekend, my friend!

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. Thanks, Rain! I hope you're having a great weekend!

      Delete
  9. That was nice of him to educate you. All the while getting an amazing view, too. Those are some great close up shots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Diane! The world is full of amazing things! Have a good one!

      Delete
  10. Cool photos - I can't imagine having the job of either the pilot or the lineman! We just signed on to use Excel's renewable energy so our bills will go up. When Bob asked what percentage of people do that, we were shocked to learn only about 5%. People talk about climate change and saving energy, but I don't guess they want to pay for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Barb! How nice to see you! Kudos to you for signing up for the renewable energy! We supported wind energy for five years, then took a break. I should look into it again. All the best to you!

      Delete
    2. Hi again! I was sorry to learn of your fall, and I hope that you continue to heal. Your photos are gorgeous, as always. Take care!

      Delete
  11. That is utterly..... terrifying!!!! I can't imagine doing that job. SO, so precarious! I am not surprised you were compelled to go and look closer! How nice of that man to come and talk to you!x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Kezzie! It's great to see you. I'm sure I'd die of fright if I had to do a job like that! Kiddos are easier! Sending you a big hug!

      Delete
  12. That is so cool!!! I love the pictures!!! So happy you left the house and ran after the helicopter! LOL! Big Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Big hugs to you, Stacy! It's awesome to see you. I'm impulsive ~ LOL! Take care!

      Delete
  13. Wow this is wonderful post dear Louise and thank you for sharing it :)

    your curiosity is awesome and i share some of it lol

    i found your photos great and fascinating :)
    very well captured and thoughtfully :) i smiled over your rush to outside out of curiosity and for snapping of course ,how lovely that you still own a child like soul ,free ,happy and full of curiosity
    this is so nice of representative that he shared the technical information with you so far ,reminded me day when we visited the grid station and i almost irritate the guys on management of control room with my questions lol
    i am not surprised that you are still trying to learn more about the topic and i would love to know if you share something more interesting my wonderful friend!\hugs and blessings!
    thank you so much for your always so special and insightful comments ,i feel blessed and honored truly !

    ReplyDelete
  14. I would be terrified to be in the bucket let alone standing on the rails of a helicopter! I swear, you see the most interesting things in your area! How lovely of Curt to offer up additional information on how it all works. Do come back and share any interesting facts or tidbits you might learn!

    ReplyDelete
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