Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Farewell to Rockaway Beach


Rockaway Beach - This was one of those days where I was doing one of my favorite things - taking photographs from an airplane, while flying across the country.  We had a different departure route from JFK today, and it took us out over the ocean, and I got to see the Rockaway peninsula, and in particular the town of Rockaway beach


Fellow Travelers - it is pretty unusual to see evidence of another aircraft when flying at the flight levels - up above 30,000 feet.  There might be other airplanes nearby, but unless the atmospheric conditions are just right, you won't see the contrails.  Today I was able to see the contrail and the actual aircraft.  I am guessing that the other aircraft was perhaps 2,000 feet higher.

 

One Year Later - This is astounding, but we followed the same airways on this trip today, that we followed a year ago.  Lo and behold - this is a photograph of the same mountain ranges that I photographed last year, and used on this year's Christmas card, except that the snow cover is less.  And now I know exactly where these mountains are located!  I was unable to find them on maps, even though I had a rough idea of where they were.  But now I know.


An Amazing Landscape - This is the red rock country of northwest New Mexico.  I wish I knew more about geology, because then I would understand how these magnificent shapes were formed in the landscape.


Lines of Mesas - At least I think that these are mesas.  Maybe because they are not standing alone they are called something else.  In any case, it is yet another astounding landscape.


The Cloud Deck - It is unusual for us to arrive in the Los Angeles area and begin our approach to LAX when it is not sunny.  It has always been sunny here, as we let down over the mountains and begin our long approach from San Bernadino,  nearly all the way to the Pacific Ocean where we land at Los Angeles International airport.  There was a deck of clouds overhead, and it made for an unusual view of the mountains, and the sky.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ken, another set of amazing aerials! I think your readers want to know: Where is the mountain range covered in snow???? I'm holding up the Christmas card to the mountain photo and it's astonishing how close it matches. Looks like you flew at almost the same time of day. Maybe a slightly different altitude. But some of the shadows are the same. I like the NM scenes a lot, lots of texture. Great work.-- Stan

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos! Enjoy Christmas in California.
Joan

Ken Spencer said...

Stan: I wrote on the Christmas card that this scene was "west of Denver" but I was never able to nail it down. Yesterday I found that it was, in fact due west of Pueblo, Colorado. The range in the center of the photo is about 60 miles west of Pueblo. If you use Google Maps, It is just above the text that says "Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve." The valley to the east, shown on Google maps, is in the far distance of both photographs. Ask me how I know for sure? I used my auto GPS in the airplane to nail the location. Shhhhhhhhh...

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how similar the two mountain photos are. I like both. I also like the Rockaway Beach photo. Never realized how long it is. The last photo looks like a "doomsday" shot. Very cool!!! bsk