slgwv's photos with the keyword: tower

Cooling tower for the never-finished Satsop nuclear power plant, near Elma, Washington state. This was one of 5 nuclear plants under construction by what was then the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS--yes, "whoops!") in the late 70s-early 80s. (The name was later changed to Northwest Energy.) Gross mismanagement, huge cost overruns, and lower than expected electricity demand led to abandonment of 4 of the reactors in the early 80s, and in turn to what was then the largest municipal bond default in US history. (So much for a "widows and orphans" investment!) See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Northwest Obviously, the unfinished cooling tower was not demolished. It remains as a surreal centerpiece in an industrial park--which also rents the area out as a movie set! Presumably that helps with maintenance costs.

Seen off the Tahoe Rim Trail on the way up Relay Peak, on (appropriately named) Relay Ridge. I've put more information on the tower in the enclosing photo. Mt. Houghton (10,490 ft/3197 m) is just barely in the picture at far left.

Microwave relay tower in the northern Carson Range, Nevada, just outside the Mt. Rose Wilderness and just off the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). The structure was built (by ATT I'm pretty sure) ca. 1950 and is still in use, altho I'm sure the technology is much improved! For one thing, somebody probably stayed here full-time at first, as there seem to be living quarters in the installation. You probably needed someone on-site to replace the vacuum tubes! Now it's obviously mostly automated, complete with surveillance cameras! Early on wintertime supplies were brought in on a short tramway, which is now non-functional. (I'll post on it at some point.) I'm sure a snowmobile is adequate now if they need wintertime access! The guidebooks tend to bemoan having this installation cluttering up the wilderness. I find it a bit surreal, however! Sort of a Twilight Zone effect... The inset shows a view of this tower looking northwest, off the TRT, which gives the flavor of the setting.

Tower holding the cables for the gondola. Squaw Valley, California, USA.

Gerlach, NV. On the old Feather River Route (Western Pacific), now part of the Union Pacific system. At least the rails haven't been pulled up...