Volume 10 Issue 8 August, 2009 Palm Springs, California

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1 The Oasis Palm Springs Volume 10 Issue 8 August, 2009 Palm Springs, California Please take note: The October issue of The Oasis will be the last of the printed edition. At that time going forward, please check our chapter website for outings and events. Notification will also be made through our Yahoo Groups site. Electricity from Wind Power, San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, Palm Springs Jack Ege ind power in California has been an area of considerable activity W for many years. California was the first U.S. state where large wind farms were developed, beginning in the early 1980s. By 1995, California produced 30 percent of the entire world's wind-generated electricity. However, this situation has changed and Texas is currently the leader in wind power having a total installed capacity of 7,907 MW (megawatts or million watts) as of April 2009, with Iowa climbing up to second place with 2,883 MW, leaving California in third place at 2,653 MW. More than 13,000 of California's wind turbines or 95 percent of all of California's wind output are in three primary regions: Altamont Wind Farm (east of San Francisco); Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm (south east of Bakersfield) and San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm (near Palm Springs). Fig 1 Locations of wind farms and electrical output in MW (megawatts) during Larger circle diameters indicate higher production. Wind-power generated electricity. Wind can be used to do work. The kinetic energy (wind in motion) of the wind can be changed into other forms of energy, either mechanical energy or electrical energy. When a boat lifts a sail, it is using wind energy to push it through the water. This is one form of work. Farmers have been using wind energy for many years to pump water from wells using windmills. In Holland, windmills have been used for centuries to pump water from low-lying areas. Wind is also used to turn large grinding stones to grind wheat or corn, just like a water wheel is turned by water power. Today, the wind is also used to make electricity. A wind turbine is a device or machine that converts the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy. Blowing wind Continued page 2. Is a unique Hopi inspired Pueblo hand-made by Cabot Yerxa over 24 years. This multi-level building includes 35 rooms, 150 windows and 65 doors, all crafted from found materials. The museum houses Cabot s collection of Native American pottery, early 20th century photographs and artifacts from his Alaskan adventures. Before settling in the California desert, Cabot Yerxa led an adventurous life in places as far-flung as Mexico, Cuba, Alaska, New York City and Paris, France (where he studied painting during the Impressionist period). In 1913 Cabot homesteaded 160 acres in what is now Desert Hot Springs. Pressed for water, he dug a well with pick and shovel, discovering the now famous hot mineral water of Desert Hot Springs. Nearby, through a second well, he discovered the pure cold water of the Mission Springs Aquifer. These two wells, hot and cold, give the area surrounding the Pueblo its name Miracle Hill. Thursday, August 13, :00 AM R.S.V.P. to Scott at sconnelly@dc.rr.com or Meet at Hunters at 9 :00 AM to car pool to Desert Hot Springs Bring $8.00 for admission Docent tour is approximately 1 hour. The upstairs is now open. The General Meeting is at Desert Pride Center, Palm Springs, The meeting day, is the third Wednesday of the month, August, 19, from 7:45 pm to 9:00 pm. The Core Group meet from 6:30 to 7:30pm (business meeting) The Center s address is 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Unit A Palm Springs, CA.

2 Game night Monday, August 6:00 pm Bruce and Bob 2125 East Paseo Gracia Palm Springs, CA Directions: proceed to Baristo Road between Sunrise Way and Ferrell Drive. (You will be near the library, stadium, high school and mall.) There is only one stop sign on that segment of Bristo Road. Turn north at the stop sign onto Cerritos Drive, which ends, almost immediately on East Paseo Gracia. Turn right and look for the second house on the right. Bring a potluck dish or snack to share, your beverage and any table games you wish to play. Our chapter is always looking for Game Night Hosts. Please call Bill if interested. Croquet and Pool Party Monday, August 3:00 pm Evan Van Antwerp 3111 E. Loma Vista Circle, Palm Springs CA From Ramon turn south on El Cielo, pass through Mesquite and Bel Aire Green on the right, Tahquitz Creek golf course on the west, 4 streets on your right, Cambridge N., Cambridge S., Sonora Rd, & turn right on Loma Vista Circle. House is at end of cul de sac on the left. From E. Palm Canyon drive turn north on Escoba Drive. Go two blocks and turn left on El Cielo. It s four streets up on the left. Water and soda provided. Welcome New Members Gary Young spins the blades on the wind turbine -- just like a large toy pinwheel. The blades of the turbine are attached to a hub that is mounted on a turning shaft. The shaft goes through a gear transmission box where the turning speed is increased. The transmission is attached to a high speed shaft which turns a generator that makes electricity. Fig 2 Schematic of a wind turbine, showing the blades, gear box and generator. Electricity made by the generator is transmitted to the power grid. Once electricity is made by the turbine, the electricity from the entire wind farm is collected together and sent through a transformer. There the voltage is increased to send it long distances over high power lines. In order for a wind turbine to work efficiently, wind speeds usually must be above 12 to 14 miles per hour. Wind has to be this speed to turn the turbines fast enough to generate electricity. If the wind gets too high, the turbine has a brake that will keep the blades from turning too fast and being damaged. The turbines can produce up to 300 KW (kilowatts or thousand watts) or more of electricity each. One megawatt of wind capacity is enough to supply 240 to 300 average America homes San Gorgonio Pass. San Gorgonio Pass, one of the nation s deepest mountain passes, is located in the northwestern region of Coachella Valley, and is home to one of the nation's largest wind farms. Coachella Valley extends from Riverside County to the Salton Sea; the valley is 45 miles long and 15 miles wide. Coachella Valley is part of the Colorado Desert, but irrigation efforts since the start of the 20th century transformed the valley into a productive agricultural area, mainly known for growing dates. The San Gorgonio Pass has proven to be a reliable location for wind energy production due to stable wind flows caused by warm desert air mixing with cooler coastal air, producing average wind speeds of 15 to 20 mph. The winds generally are strongest during the summer months when electricity demands are at their highest. Up to 5,487 acres of land in this area are determined to be suitable for wind energy development. Of these lands, 2,300 acres of private and 3,187 acres of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) administered public lands are presently developed for wind energy production. San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm. The San Gorgonio Wind Farm comprises about 3,100 wind turbines with a capacity ranging between MW (January 2008). The windmill farm generates enough electricity to power the entire city of Palm Springs and some of the surrounding area. The farm runs many different types and styles of Continued page 5.

3 Great Outdoors Palm Springs Chapter presents BURNING MAN 2009 August 31 - September 7, 2009 Contacts and information: Pete or Ed at or via PeteAndEd@gmail.com or Ron at or rbgilbert@gmail.com The annual Burning Man event started on San Francisco s Baker Beach in In 1990, it moved to the Black Rock Desert (BRD) and has been there since. BRD is about 1.5 hours outside of Reno, NV. Last year 49,000+ people showed up! What Is Burning Man? Once a year, tens of thousands of participants gather to create Black Rock City in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. They depart one week later, having left no trace whatsoever. Learn more about this incredible experience, read their mission statement and their Ten Principles. You can read more about Burning Man at their official website - This is a Great Outdoors event, to enable members of the Great Outdoors organization to join forces and enjoy this event as a group or as individuals. Seven (7) Great Outdoors members have already purchased their tickets for this year s event! The event goes for one week - but, you can go for a shorter period of time if you wish. We will camp together (or not if you wish) and enjoy some shared activities and events. Last year, for example, several of us attended the first ever Burning Man Pride Parade, the Burning Man World Naked Bike Ride, the burning of The Man, etc. What s it like to camp there? Look at this webpage - Over 18,000 tickets have already been sold for this event. You ll need to purchase your ticket on your own. You can do that online - tickets.burningman.com. The ticket price is the same if you go for one hour or all week. As of 3/17/09, the ticket price is $260 per person. It will go up to $280 and then $300. Note: Clothing at Burning Man is one of the many forms of self-expression. You will also see nude people. You should not attend this event if nudity offends you. Itinerary Monday, August 31: 12:01 AM...Gates Open / Earliest Check-in Saturday, September 5: Evening... The Man Burns Sunday, September 6: Evening...Temple Of Remembrance Burns Monday, September 7...Check-out Register: Go to click on Burning Man for complete trip notes and registration. Mail check and registration form to: Great Outdoors, Keith Avenue, Cathedral City, CA 92234

4 Great Outdoors, Inc. Jamboree! Morro Bay State Park September 24-27, 2009 Morro Bay State Park is a gem of a site for our annual Corporate Jamboree. Located on the shore of Morro Bay, with the famed Morro Rock as our backdrop, you can expect a three night/four day weekend full of activities. Morro Bay has everything for a perfect summer s-end trip. The forested campsite was originally planted by the Civilian Conservation Corp crews during the 1930s. We have reserved a large group site for tents and several close-by individual sites for those with RV s or trailers. The campsite has showers and flush toilets. The State Park includes Ecological Reserve walks, the Morro Bay Museum, Morro Bay Marina with canoes and kayaks, golfing, trails into the watersheds and bicycling routes. Montana de Oro State Park, with its amazing ridge trails overlooking the ocean, is open to explore for day use. Schedule of Events*: THURSDAY 2PM Campground Check-In begins 4-6PM Meet & Greet 6PM Dinner on your own with campfire social afterwards FRIDAY 10AM Day Hike to Morro Bay Preserve & surroundings, bring a lunch 2PM Explore Morro Rock & Town of Morro Bay Dinner in town or on your own SATURDAY 10AM Montana de Oro Bluff Walk, bring lunch 4PM Tea followed by 6PM Pot Luck ** Discovery & Adventure at The Rock Ecological Reserve Nature Walks Montana de Oro State Park Los Osos Oaks State Park Canoeing Kayaking Trails Biking Wine Tasting Golfing Museums Morro Bay Town & Marina SUNDAY 12 NOON Last checkout *Suggested and subject to change. **This is your opportunity to put your culinary skills to work. Make your favorite dish to serve 6. As the camping roster fills, you may be contacted for specific food assignment. What to Bring: Bring food and beverages for your needs, good hiking shoes, a hat, proper clothing, bedding, camping gear, two bundles of fire wood and the standard Ten Essentials ( The camp site has coin operated showers and flush toilets. The town of Morro Bay is immediately adjacent for extra supplies. The group site may not have sufficient table space. If you can bring a table and chairs for you and/or your group, please do. Since this a Jamboree, there will be plenty of opportunity to connect and meet with other chapter members. We will have a tea at the group site on Saturday at 4PM. Bring your very best culinary skills and a dish to a pot luck on Saturday night at 6PM. Campfires at night, of course! TRIP LEADERS: Brian M., SBVC muddbilt@verizon.net, Lloyd Q., PS Lloyd.Queen@sodexo.com,

5 windmills. The largest windmills on the property produce enough power for 2,000 homes, which would be comparable to a midsize nuclear reactor. The newest windmills are much more efficient than older models. The Palm Springs area is unique, as the wind blows hard enough to power the windmills 300 days a year. The San Jacinto Mountains are the third highest mountain range in California and provide a wind tunnel through the San Gorgonio Pass along Interstate 10. The wind runs east to west and usually blows west to east in the mornings and east to west in the afternoon. Half of the windmills face east and half west to take advantage of this. Windmills are placed 700 feet apart for optimal use of the wind. As the wind goes through one windmill, it becomes dirty and takes about 700 feet before it clears up enough to be used by the next windmill. Fig. 3 Windmills at San Gorgornio Pass Wind Farm All the energy currently being produced from wind in the Palm Springs area is conducted via power lines to a local Southern California Edison Company substation where it is distributed throughout the electrical power grid to areas of electrical demand. Wind Farm Tour. Eco-Adventure Tour ( ), located in North Palm Springs, offers wind farm sightseeing. Tours run three times per day from Wednesday to Saturday at 9.00 a.m., a.m. and 2.00 p.m. During the summer the company only conducts morning tours. The outing is ninety minutes long and costs $25 for adults and $23 for seniors. Sources California Energy Commission California Wind Energy Association American Wind Energy Association US Bureau of Land Management Wikipedia.com Energyquest.ca.gov Overview of Wind Energy in California Ghost Town Jamboree Nov 13 to 15 (Friday thru Sunday) (This outing is in the planning stages) eet Friday at the County camp site M in Ballarat. I will give a tour of the town in the early evening and finish at the Cemetery. Saturday morning, leave in convoy about 9 AM and go to Lookout mountain, setting up camp on top of Lookout mountain. About 1 PM, I will give a tour of the Ghost Town Lookout, show and tell about the gunfights, bar fights, resident ghost, and shenanigans that took place. 5 PM Happy Hour and 6:30 a potluck dinner. Sunday morning, break Camp about 9 AM, 4 wheel to the Minnetta Mine and tour the small Mining Camp near by. Then were back to Ballarat to pick up the non 4X4's that were left behind and on to the last Ghost Town, Reilly. There is ample parking before going off road to the Ghost Town. The trip will be over when we leave Reilly. But, on the way back, a stop can be made in Randsburg. A living Ghost Town, where the General Store that was a saloon in the 1800's, serves the greatest Malts, Shakes, and Root beer Floats in California. They do it the old fashionedway. The trip to Lookout Mountain is for 4X4 drive only, as there is about 20 to 30 feet where low range will be needed on the Stage Coach Road. More info to follow if the trip is on. Cheers, Hal Fowler info: Scott Yosemite High Sierra Camps e have 3 openings in our Yosemite High Sierra Camps this W summer, if interested please, contact Scott at or sconnnelly@dc.rr.com. The cost is $355 for the 4 day, 3 night trip which includes lodging and meals. There are 8 positions each trip. The dates are July 30-August 2 and August The first night we stay at Tuolumne Meadows (Elevation 8600 ). After breakfast at the camp, we hike 5.7 mi. from Soda Springs to Glen Aulin (7800 ). The next day s hike is 8 miles to May Lake (9270 ) at the base of Mt. Hoffman. The last day is a 2.7 mi. hike out to Tioga Road where we catch the shuttle back to Tuolumne Meadows. Additional information at: Accomodations_HighSierraCamps.aspx.

6 Great Outdoors All Chapter Event: 10-day Utah National Parks August 29-September 7, 2009 y ou will be talking about this trip for years after returning from touring the Utah part of the Colorado Plateau. During this tour, we will be visiting 5 National Parks (camping in 4 of them) and exploring or driving through 3 National Monuments and 1 National Recreation Area. Our campgrounds are group sites in Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands National Parks and Fruitia Campground (an orchard) in Capital Reef National Park. We will be up as high as 10,000 feet in elevation to upper desert landscapes (all at about 3,000 feet elevation) throughout the southeastern part of Utah. From Quaking Aspens to Cactus! At each venue, you will have choices of going on long hikes, or short hikes and walks, driving around sightseeing, shopping, or just relaxing in camp with a good book to read. The scenery is nothing less than Fantastic. Every day we will be seeing eye candy from the time you arrive in Zion until you have reached the half way point on the return trip home. Every night, we will be having a campfire program with a different theme. There will be two potlucks during the trip (one Italian and one Mexican) with one traditional Great Outdoors Tea. Don't miss seeing Arches National Park, Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, and Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area. The trip is planned so that you will only have to take off 5 days from work. The trip begins on a Saturday at Noon and ends on a Sunday morning, a week later, the day before Labor Day. That gives everyone two full days to drive back home. Sign up now, only 4 spots remain open. Trip Notes Now Available Contact: Danny Sternstein: dsternstein@sbcglobal.net or for information Y Phase One THE OUTDOORS EXPERIENCE P R O G R A M Join Us this Fall for our Annual Outdoor Skills and Leadership Program The California Great Outdoors is a non-profit organization for gays, lesbians and others who enjoy playing outside by Hiking, Camping, Kayaking, RVing and getting together for fun under the sun or under the stars September 12 & 13 and October 2, 3 & 4, 2009 For more info about this unique program check out: Phase Two September 12 & 13 October 2, 3 & 4 ou're invited to join us for THE OUTDOORS EXPERIENCE! Conducting oneself amongst nature is the basic intent of Great Outdoors. What you know about hiking skills, camping equipment, and the wilderness environment, can make your outdoor adventure much more fun--and safer too! Perhaps you'll never need some of the skills we'll teach you, but it never hurts to be prepared for things unexpected. Not only will you learn about keeping warm, choosing a campsite, and making water safe to drink, but you'll be taught minimum impact camping techniques so that you leave the natural environment for others to enjoy as well. A portion of the training covers group management and GREAT OUT- DOORS leadership skills. Each student will be provided with their own training and reference manual. The basic program consists of two valuable weekend sessions. PHASE ONE (September 12 & 13 ) is mostly an indoor weekend held at a cabin site. PHASE TWO (October 2, 3 & 4) is an outdoor camping weekend. The two sessions must be taken in order, but not necessarily in a single year. Another option is to take only the first day of training. Completing the first day of Phase One will provide participants with DAY HIKE LEADER CERTIFICATION. After completion of the entire program, you'll receive FULL TRIP LEADER CERTIFICATION, a certification patch, wall certificate and certification cards. When supplemented by the Red Cross Basic First Aid Coarse (taken on your own), you'll be certified to lead others on both weekend and day trips. It is also strongly recommended that CPR be taken independently.

7 Palm Springs Core Group August Events President Peter Worline Vice President of Outings Keith Norris Cabot s Pueblo Museum 9:00 am 17 Game Night 6:00 pm 19 General Meeting 6:30 pm 20 Yosemite High Sierra 29 Utah National Parks 31 Croquet/Pool Party 3:00 pm 31 Burning Man Treasurer Game Night Coordinator Bill McPike treasurer-ps@greatoutdoors.org Secretary Scott Connelly secretary-ps@greatoutdoors.org Board Representative Cliff Non-Members: We will add you to our newsletter mailing list free of charge for 3 months. Please note, however, that a two dollar fee will be charged on day hikes, 4x4 outings and moonlight hikes. When it s time to renew your membership, please turn in the form with your payment. It is extremely important! The yearly schedule of activities is subject to change, so please check the newsletter or web site for the most up-to-date information about the chapter s activities. In addition there is always room to add new activities, so if you are interested in leading a hike, a camping trip, 4x4 or another outing, please contact: Any member of the Core Group. Articles for this newsletter should be submitted as Microsoft Word attachments via by the 15th of the month to: Newsletter-ps@Greatoutdoors.org If you wish to purchase advertising space in The Oasis please submit your inquiries to: Patrick at the above address. Ads should be submitted in jpg format if possible. boardrep-ps@greatoutdoors.org Newsletter Publisher/Editor (open October 1, 2009) Patrick McNeil/Richard Cabitto newsletter-ps@greatoutdoors.org Membership Coordinator Jack Ege jege@dc.rr.com Game Night Coordinator George Frank Web Site Administrator Ed Emond Webmaster-ps@greatoutdoors.org

8 Great Outdoors sounds great! How do I join? Simply fill out this form and send it in. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES Newsletter Format: e-newsletter or Snail-mail Name Address City State ZIP Phone By joining Great Outdoors and/or attending the club s events, I acknowledge that in order for Great Outdoors to assume full legal responsibility it would have to charge higher fees than it does now. I waive the right to ever lay claim for injuries I might suffer before, during or after any Great Outdoors event. My guests will agree to these principles in writing before attending events. Signature Date Send this form and check made payable to: GREAT OUTDOORS P.O. Box 361 Palm Springs CA P.O. Box 361, Palm Springs. CA August, 2009 Address Correction Requested $25 Regular $20 Senior (60 years or older) $45 Couple ($40 2 Seniors) If you are renewing enter your membership #