Friday, March 25, 2011

The invading power pole army

So if any of you thought the conspiracy of the trees post was the only Oregon picture dump post, you were incorrect in your assumption. I'm just staggering them out so I don't bore you all with pictures. Speaking of which, image heavy post ahoy!

Anyway. Today I am here to tell you about the second evil plot of Oregon. Well, sort of. I guess it's not really evil. Or a plot. But whatever.

First of all, the most important thing you need to understand is that I grew up in southern Idaho and went to college in western Montana. When we see giant, scary power poles they look something like this:
One lone Montana power pole on a mountain.
Our giant power poles are rare and often made of wood. They don't come off as murderous alien invaders. Now, the second important point here is that the farther west Boyfriend and I drove to get to Portland, the more prevalent the power poles became.
Not that these look particularly menacing or anything.
However, now it is time for you to scroll back up and observe that one Montana power pole sitting alone on top of the mountain. Think about that power pole. Observe how not menacing it is. How a hoard of people could easily overpower it with torches and pitchforks. Then scroll down and envision this:
Looming death machines. Also, note the creepy branches at the top of the frame.
Power poles. Everywhere! And in all shapes and sizes.
They even had a special road. And yes, this exit really does exist.
It's pretty much an army on the horizon, ready to kill us all.
All of this got Boyfriend and me thinking. What if these power poles really were an invading army? More specifically, what if they were some kind of enemy in a video game? You know, something 2D with a fun aesthetic, like Patapon. Maybe Flower sort of already did it, but those power poles were kind of static. These ones would fling electrical whips and move in waves of death and destruction! Like a tower defense game. Just tell me these aren't great enemies:
It looks pissed off. It looks like it wants to kill us.
These would obviously be armored baddies that would stomp on you.
Once again, giant, angry video game villains. They're all so angry!
The best part about this whole video game power pole conspiracy was the fact that they actually did attack. Really. On our second to last day in Oregon, there was a terrible windstorm which knocked out all the power in Sandy. Luckily we missed it since we were taking a day trip in Astoria, but it was crazy. Signs were blown out and downtown Sandy was completely dark.

Better yet, we got to drive over power lines. That's right. We drove on power lines. The lines had snapped in the wind and hundreds of yards of them coiled across the road. It was too dark to get any good pictures, but the next day the electrical workers had looped the loose cable on the fence next to the road. Check it:
Ignore Boyfriend's face and focus on the shiny power lines. Ooo.
So how many of you think I'm just crazy now? How about when I tell you that Boyfriend and I probably took more pictures of trees and power poles than anything else? And what about this video game idea? Good? Bad? Lame? Tell me in the comments!

8 comments:

Kate Robertson said...

I think they look like aliens. The last set have smile
y faces so maybe they are the nice aliens come to help. Oh you have a typo in the third paragraph.

Sarah Robertson said...

Haha, I find it interesting that you found the Vs on the last set to be smiles when I see them as angry eyebrows. :) Also, typo fixed.

Jessie said...

I'm from southern California, and I've never, ever noticed the size and shape of power poles. They just don't register with me. Except that now they will, because you've pointed out how menacing they are. My next trip home is going to be terrifying.

Jackie said...

Yes! I remember this! I thought it was a figment of my four year old imagination. Things always seem much more grand at four. I always remember Oregon having so many power lines, but wasn't so sure if I remembered correctly. Kind of weird considering Oregon is so keen on conserving energy. I wonder why they have so many.

Sarah Robertson said...

Oh no! Just forget everything you've seen here. Forget it all!

Sarah Robertson said...

Haha, well Oregon does have power lines everywhere. Then again, I'm pretty sure my opinion is warped since I rarely see the big, intensive ones.

Maybe all the power lines have something to do with the weather? I don't remember seeing that many small ones--not that they would be noticeable in comparison--maybe the big ones replace them?

Brenna Braaten said...

You focus on some really weird things. Just saying.

Sarah Robertson said...

I was in a car for TWELVE HOURS. Then I a few days later I did it again. :)

Post a Comment