Wind Mills (December 21st, 2006)

Have you seen Mission Impossible 3? It's movie magic at its best. Tom Cruise and gang fly into Germany for an undercover OP and then the shenanigans ensue. There is a Helicopter flight chase through a field of Wind Mills and in the end the bad guys are sliced up. That is not what makes this movie magic though; it's the fact that this was not Germany but the California desert! You can see the awesome windmills on your way down the 10 freeway as you get near Palm Springs. Kellee and I got to witness them filming this scene a couple years a go on our way to the river. It freaked us out at first, seeing helicopters flying through windmills is not a stunt you see everyday! We thought the pilot was just a nut, until we saw movie crews working underneath.

The US weather Service dubbed the Area near Palm Springs, "the finest natural wind tunnel in the world". Terrible on the nerves, trying to drive through this area, but great for the wind mills that suck the life out of the wind. 80 percent of the worlds wind generated energy is created by/in California, most of that comes from these monumentous machines. There were so many travelers that would stop and take pictures back in the day, that the windmill company started giving tours. You can cruise in a golf cart (Seems appropriate enough being near Palm Springs and all) around these monstrosities as well as learn a little bit about the weather. However, I am a miser and would rather just get the photo on the side of
the road. If you are the touring sort you can check it out at http://www.windmilltours.com/