My eight days in Kansas City ended too soon. Packing my bags on a wet Wednesday morning, I said goodbye to my nieces and headed to the airport for my flight back to San Francisco. Below, see you at Christmas.
Normally, I save my pictures of airplane trips for trip reports on airliners.net, but this was such a beautiful day for flying that I want to share some of the pictures with everyone. Below, a soon to be vanished sight – Midwest Airlines’ MD-87. In the next few weeks they will be cutting their fleet by some 40%, removing all of these planes from service and cutting their staff by about the same number. Tough times in the US airline industry.
The western United States is a rugged, mostly barren land and it gives some idea into the American psyche: there is lots and lots of room, lots of frontier to be civilized, and always the possibility of reinventing yourself somewhere new.
Some of that land is flat and ugly (much of Nevada, based on having driven it) but much of it has great beauty, beauty carved by the elements over untold millennia. Much of it is hard to appreciate when you are driving across the country, because much of it is hidden. But from 35,000 feet you can see the sheer size of some of these geologic formations, a vastness of scope that is both vertical and horizontal.
Let me share these photos with you:
The Rocky Mountains just west of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
A deep glacial valley on the left, carved into the alpine mountains.
A small town lies in the valley below a mountain, somewhere near Aspen, Colorado.
A river winds through dry lands, cutting across the face of a butte.
Area near Moab, Utah and Canyonlands National Park.
West of Canyonlands National Park, heading towards Nevada.
Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Notice all the smoke from various fires. In the upper-right quadrant is Yosemite Valley. If you look carefully, you can see what I think is Half Dome.
I may be wrong (and I’m sure someone will correct me if I am) but I think this picture – a close-up of the one above – shows Half Dome in the center of the picture about one-third of the way in from the left side. Amazing how much smoke there is.
Hopeton, California in the foreground with the Merced Airport and the city of Merced in the background. This is west of Yosemite Valley where the Sierra Nevada foothills give way to the Central Valley – California’s agricultural engine.
The airport shown below is in Patterson, California, where the Central Valley gives way to the Coastal Range. San Luis Reservoir is visible in the distance.
As we descend over the Coastal Range the path of a high tension power line is visible, a clear swath cutting through the trees.
We enter the Bay Area in the Warm Springs/Irvington district of Fremont, turning northwest towards the airport and flying over the colorful salt evaporation ponds near the Dumbarton Bridge. Moffett Federal Air Field is visible in the background.
As we head for Foster City and the San Mateo Bay Bridge, I spot a United Airlines A319 slowly moving closer to us. It is clear that we will be executing a parallel approach for runways 28 Left and 28 R, something that can only be done in the right weather conditions when visibility is excellent. This is because the runways are only 750 feet (229 meters) apart. Below, the city of San Mateo with Coyote Point Regional Park just coming into view in the foreground.
What follows is an aviation enthusiast’s dream: an excellent view all the way in of another aircraft landing. I captured it on video and am including it below for your enjoyment. Rather humorously, when my seatmate, a retiree who spends her time between Milwaukee and Sonoma, saw the other plane, she announced that she hoped he would pull away soon. She apparently thought we were playing chicken for only one runway.
christao408 
when’s your blog entry for LA?
wow nice picture, chris!!!
Absolutaely beautiful pictures. Besides good blog-writing and cooking skills, you are also very good in taking aerial pictures, geography (kow where you are without a GPS 🙂 ), and airline talk (how did you ever know which runway is beyond me). Great post!
thanks for these beautiful pics.
Beautiful pics and write up!
Breathtaking pics!
That was so cool! I fly to SFO every several times a year but haven’t had that chance yet. Lucky!
I also like to check out the landscape when I fly. The parallel landing was very nice.
I always request a window seat when I fly, and your photos are proof of why I do. Especially over the mountains like that, the view is absolutely breathtaking. Thanks for sharing with us! By the way, how cute are your nieces???
I always request a window seat when I fly, and your photos are proof of why I do. Especially over the mountains like that, the view is absolutely breathtaking. Thanks for sharing with us! By the way, how cute are your nieces???
Wonderful video of parallel landing. Can’t think that we’ve seen that so clearly, if at all, in all the years we’ve flown in and out of SFO. Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed other pics as well. I’d never seen the various colors in the salt ponds before.
@generasianx – I’m a week behind or so. Patience, please.
@lcfu – @blue_beau – @Dezinerdreams – @jojobaDESIGNS – Thanks, I was lucky to have such a beautiful day and an airplane window that wasn’t scratched up.
@stevew918 – You’re too kind with your compliments. When you’re an airline enthusiast and have been flying into and out of SFO since you were a month old, you get to know things like the different runway headings, etc.
@kenpcho – Generally speaking, request a window seat on the left-hand side when flying into SFO. That’s because most landings are on the right-hand runway and if they add a parallel approach, it will be for the left-hand runway. Of course, you could end up being in the plane that is on the left-hand runway, but your view of the peninsula will be better from the left anyhow.
@ElusiveWords – @euphorie – The ability to see the view is why they put windows in airplanes, right? Might as well enjoy it!
@jandsschultz – The only other time I’m had that good a view was several years ago when I was sitting on the right hand side of a plane coming into 28L and there was a 747 on the parallel for the right. The captain actually came on the PA as we passed over the bridge and told everyone to watch as it would be the most beautiful plane we would ever see. He was right, but I had no camera in those days.
What a great day for flying. How in the world do you know so much about the places you’re flying over!?Your nieces are adorable! 🙂
wow, awesome pix! I always, always request for a window seat when flying. I guess it’s the little kid in me. (;
awesome pictures! thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
@CareyGLY – I’ve probably flown between Kansas City and the Bay Area at least 150 roundtrips in my life, not to mention flights to other points beyond KC. When I was young, my father would actually bring an atlas with us and we’d trace our route. After a while, you become familiar with the sights along the way.
@La_dolce_vida – Considering that flying in the US has become so little fun, enjoying the view is one of the last free things you get with your flight!
@Paradise_Lady – I’m glad you liked the pictures. Sharing them was the least I could do, since I didn’t invite everyone along on the flight.
Those pictures of the mountains are breathtaking!!!
I too must have a window seat. I’m not a napper, so it entertains me to watch the landscape. Great pictures, thanks for the tour.