June 26, Atomic Energy

Jeff got an early start again. He is getting good at that! However, the temp was coolish and there was a good cloud cover, not to mention the nice tail wind again. Me, I got up earlier than yesterday, had to break camp, dump the tanks, take my shower, have some eggs, walk the dogs, sweep out the coach.... Ok, so I'm trying to make my job sound much more important than it is! I also had to go buy ice and fill up the gas tank. Then off I went to find Jeff, who was not answering my texts. I could only imagine that was because once you left town, there would be no service.

And so we left Arco Idaho behind. But, not before getting some parting shots of the town. Remember those building murals I mentioned yesterday that I didn't have a pic of?

I really liked the lava rock buildings.

This is pretty amazing. All the HS graduating classes have
done this since 1920! The pic of the hill didn't turn out...

It seems the town of Arco has a jogging trail...
but it is only 1 mile long. Trust Jeff to have
found that!

Once I left town, I found him pretty easily, as I always do. (Except for the day I went up a different road...) He was just chugging along. He had tried to buy some breakfast at a convenience store, but apparently the people working there couldn't see him. At least that is what he said! So, I made him a late morning omelette. Then it was off to the road ahead.

 It did turn out to be a wonderful day out there, and with that very stiff tail wind, even I enjoyed my miles! As usual, Jeff had a smile on his face.



He found his first rattle snake road kill today. Glad it wasn't alive, he got awfully close!

He also stumbled across this very interesting little RV park, just outside of town, in the other direction. I'm really glad we stayed at the Mountain View RV Park and Cafe, instead of here!



So, I actually thought that today's blog would be very short and simple, due to the fact that we were running in the middle of nothing all day. Just doing the same ole thing, driving up a couple miles, then waiting for Jeff to come along. Trying to take the dogs out and keep them happy, and stay out of the way of other vehicles. You should see some of the "shoulders" I have had to try to make room on! At least most of the highways have a wide spot for truckers or someone, every couple of miles. It works out most of the time.

I knew we would be running through the Department of Energy's atomic area, as I had already been warned not to expect to stay on the side of the road out there, as "they" would run you off! No doubt. However, when we saw the Atomic Museum just off the road, we decided it was worth taking a look at. It was very cool and very interesting! I had no idea that the first nuclear power plant was on line before I was even born. Not that I've ever really thought about it.... And, who expected a nuclear power plant in the middle of the desert? Certainly not me. I always thought they were around bodies of water. This plant was cooled with chemicals. It went on line in 1951, producing it's first power. It was a breeder reactor, and here are several interesting pics that came from there.

 


The museum is in the actual power plant itself, and it was quite an interesting tour. There is a large black board, that has been covered with plexiglass, in the main room where the generator was that all the men who were present and working on the project when the first light bulb was lit, signed. It really reminded me a little of the old blackboard at fire station #25 that had the crew on it. You can't really read the names here, but I did take a pic.

The furniture in their little lobby area was great! I remember stuff like this.... Lol...

I think my Grandmother had a TV like this when I was little!

Here are some more pics about the workings of the power plant. Please don't think I will be able to explain it! Nuclear stuff was my Dad's thing, specifically nuclear propulsion. Hmmmm....

Jeff taking a pic of the cooling plant for the Plane that Never Was

Apparently Kennedy scrapped this project. A nuclear bomber.

I sure hope they have a back up plan!

Random information.

This was the hand written log book of the project director, open to the first 2 days of  actually producing power. Pretty interesting stuff.

This is the nuke control room. 

A map of all the nukes they have built in the area. This is a pretty big thing out here. 

 

Another out of service fire alarm. I thought these were humorous.

This is where the core was put.

A cooling chamber with those arms. Behind layers and layers of glass and mineral oil.

After running through this arid desert, I was fascinated to hear about the huge aquifer that is underneath most of Idaho. They said that if it were brought up, it would cover the entire state with about 4 feet of water. 

A schematic of the aquifer with rock samples. I was always interested in geology.

This is a nuclear waste transportation
pod. Except they are much larger
than this in real life. 

An illustration of just how small the uranium pellets in the core
really are!

Now, out here in the middle of nowhere, there seems to be the need for normal modes of relaxation.

 

We didn't actually go into Atomic City, but we passed their watering holes!

We also discovered there is a Lost River. This is the first river we have seen out here that didn't have water in it, just like in Texas! Lol... I guess it has been lost to irrigation.

 

One last thing before the Mailbox of the Day... (Yes, we have one! Jeff is amazing!) Another theme that he has been following, is finding a flower for the day. Out here, it has been mostly weeds. But they have flowers, too!

So here you have it, the Mailbox of the Day.... I'm sure it is a mailbox, but I'm not sure what it's message is supposed to be.