“Sometimes you forget you are awesome, so this is your reminder.” ~ Unknown
the Big Sandy
Remember, several days ago, I told you the story of visiting Aunt Edna and Uncle Kenneth in South Point, Ohio, and how the region is marked by industry? Coming back from the ASA conference in Huntington, I snapped these images. This is the Marathon Oil refinery that sits on the Big Sandy River, just up from its confluence with the Ohio River near Ashland. As you enter Kentucky from West Virginia on Interstate 64, you come through the hills, and there it is. It’s particularly impressive at night. The Star Wars Death Star always put me in mind of this refinery. When I was a child, the whole of the river banks looked like this to me. It was all smoke stacks, flames, enormous dirty warehouses with pipes galore, coal everywhere, with train whistles as a soundtrack, and the comingling odor of fossil fuel burnoff and the decay of river water. In this part of the country, you’re at the point of three states, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, and probably nowhere else are the extractive fuels of Appalachia better displayed. In this river valley, fog softens the scars as the efforts of thousands of Appalachians float away for others to enjoy in some form or fashion. If there was ever a doubt that Appalachia doesn’t still do its part to grow this country, come see me. I’ll take you for a ride through this area. I’m fascinated by this part of our country and its history.
border refinery
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