(8/16/15) I am back on the grid after a few days of camping in the backcountry. The next few blogs will be a looking back at what was going on in that time. Just a note: I would provide names of the places that we go to, but we weren't given an itinerary. Our leaders wanted to inform us on a day-by-day basis so that we would not worry about anything other than the immediate future.
We made a few stops along the way as we headed into the highlands to camp. First, we visited a beautiful waterfall that rivaled some of the largest I have seen. From there we went to lunch at a greenhouse that grows tomatoes and cucumbers all year using geothermal heat. The food was top-notch. Our last stop was a hydropower plant, where we toured the grounds and were able to practice being a dam operator. Their simulation took into account water availability throughout the year as well as the demand from the grid. The goal for the operator was to "ride the line" to provide enough electricity with the available water supply by adjusting flow through turbines and filling and emptying two reservoirs. This was a particularly helpful demonstration of what goes into operating a complex hydropower system.
The falls.
This greenhouse grows cucumbers and tomatoes.
My lunch: tomato soup, sour cream, and fresh basil, with fresh bread and butter.
Another waterfall downstream from the hydropower plant, nestled between walls of rosette tuff.
Dam operation simulation.
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