Ranger To Van Horn

Today was a relatively short trip with one pit stop for fuel and on to our destination.  I didn’t need fuel but the further west you go in Texas the higher the prices go, surprisingly since this is where most of the darn stuff comes from.  I have already begun to see an increase in fuel consumption as we are climbing higher now and I dont want to buy any more fuel until we are in Phoenix.

This morning we started off at about 1500 feet above sea level and we are now just around 3000.  Overall the increase in consumption was not that bad and came in only slightly higher than it has been running.

We travelled about five hours and other than Midland and Odessa did not come anywhere near to any towns or much in the way of civilization at all.  What we did see were thousands of wind turbines first from Ranger, Texas west.  Then about 90 minutes west we went up a plateau and the landscape changed to be almost all oil derricks as far as you can see.  In fact, at first all I saw above the brush was small hydro lines running everywhere.  It looked weird as you could see the horizon and nothing but small hydro poles sticking up.  Once I realized what they were it became clear.  They were supply of hydro to the various well heads that were pumping.
Then we got to Midland and Odessa and all we could see was oil refinery infrastructure, oil platforms, support companies servicing the oil industry, hotels that look like oil worker camps and so on. There is no question how valuable oil is to this State.  Then all of a sudden that was gone and it was solar panels everywhere.  So in the span of five hours driving we went from wind generation to oil to solar.
Texas is the highest producer of wind power in the US and if it were a country would be the fifth largest in the world.  Imagine all the dead birds.  As for solar there is no doubt this part of the US receives a ton of sunshine, and with the land generally unpopulated there is a lot of space to lay down panels.  I am sure they are even going to start laying them on the ground around the oil derricks.  But oil still remains a huge requirement and I expect will be so for some time so this area will continue pumping and fracking and refining.

Most of the way along you can see the railroad track, and the number of freight trains running West to East is amazing.  Every one of them has to be multiple miles long, with two additional engines halfway in the middle of the train.  The only thing they are hauling is containers so I expect they are coming from San Diego or some similar port on the west coast and headed to perhaps Dallas or something to be broken down and shipped throughout the country.

Big Spring refinery

Fracking trailer

Pat is really hoping the mountain roads are this straight.