I didn't post Monday because I worked in the morning, flew to Texas, went to a business dinner in Dallas, and then watched a game on TV back at the hotel. Not a total wasted day, but not quite one for the happiness annals either.
But on the way there, and then on the way back home today, I realized that the view from an airplane is full of variety and beauty, even when the view isn't spectacular.
There a few overriding factors that will determine your view. They are time of day, weather (cloud patterns), and underlying terrain (when clear or partly clear, of course.)
My two favorites are:
1) flying over a terrain change during midday when it is clear. I love seeing features that I recognize from maps. Going from plains to foothills to mountains is one of those times. Flying over the Mississippi River or any large recognizable body of water is another. And anyone who has flown into the Pacific Northwest knows all about seeing Rainier, Adams, and Hood, with St. Helens occasionally throw in, and how majestic these mountains look without any peak competition around them.
2) thunderstorms in the distance right around dusk. I've been lucky enough to see this a few times over the years and it shows nature as the true master (mistress?) of special effects. Sure we can replicate the darkness, the flashes of lightning, and the shapes of the clouds, but we cannot do it on such a scale. To witness a thunderstorm roll across your path at a distance is to understand how tiny we are, even when massed together in towns and cities, on this earth.
Have you had a memorable view from an airplane? Besides the baggage handler unceremoniously throwing your luggage on the conveyor, that is.
(this photo was posted by greasewood at photobucket.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment