Over the past few years I’ve taken a real fancy to drones. Not the “murder from the sky” kind, raining down death and destruction on helpless poor people, but instead the gentler “take beautiful footage from above” kind. One could debate the nefarious purposes of the latter, but we’ll leave that for another discussion.
In fact it’s footage just like this that pushes me ever closer to buying one of the Phantom II drones that have become so popular recently. As you’re about to see, this footage of the abandoned Satsop Nuclear Facility in Satsop, Washington, is hauntingly beautiful.
The footage was taken by Braden Roseborough, who talked about his experience on Reddit. This is what he had to say…
“It was planned. I talked a buddy of mine into getting out there at 5 AM for the sunrise and to avoid bothering any business that happens in the area. We drive down to skydive frequently and know there’s typically some kind of fog or cloud cover but didn’t know how perfect the conditions would be. We got really lucky with the location of the fog. I had clear visibility directly over the site with no wind,” he said. “We chatted with some of the business owners who have businesses in the park there and a security guard, all of whom were very friendly and had no issues with us being there.”
I think he should have lied and said that the fog and glistening sun were a lucky coincidence, but maybe that’s just me.
The History of the Satsop Nuclear Facility
Construction on Satsop, Washingtons nuclear power plant began in 1977, but came to a halt only 6 years later in 1983 after the project ran out of money. The reactor was never brought online, and the shell of it has been sitting idle since. The city has had plans to demolish the facility since 1995, but for reasons typical of any government, that simple hasn’t happened. That’s good news for climbing enthusiasts.
You see, many people have climbed to the top of the cooling tower and even gone so far as to tour inside it. I love climbing, but I think this is one climb I’m going to sit out. It’s looks a little too terrifying for me.
Photos of the Satshop Power Plant
speaking of terrifying, the cooling tower looks every bit as scary from the ground.
But it does look absolutely incredible from the inside of the cooling tower.
I hope you enjoyed both the footage and the photos, and if you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment. I’ll add any information you bring to the conversation into the original post.
The photos and video are remarkable indeed. But it sad that only the cooling tower was observed. A nuclear power plant is far more than just a cooling tower, though it is really beautiful. Where is the reactor, after all?