"In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks."
John Muir

Friday, January 7, 2011

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

"Don't know when I'll be back again. Oh, I hate to go..."

We drove to the Fairbanks Airport for a 1 AM flight.
(What an awful time to have to get to the ariport--!)
Of course it was pitch black out so I just used this picture for effect.


My plane looked like this one (picture taken in Seattle due to availability of light).
After de-icing, the flight was uneventful--the way I like it, of course!
My mind was filled with thoughts and memories.


Seattle's weather obligingly and unexpectedly cleared so blue sky
and these snowcapped Cascade Mts appeared in the distance.


After a layover (with a fantastic brief visit with family--more on that later),
I boarded another jet to fly on to Austin.
I am pretty sure this is Mt Rainier in its glory above the clouds.


I was fascinated at the wind patterns around the mountain shown by cloud formations.
Notice the huge cloud swirling at the side of the mountain.
It reminded me of a cresting ocean wave.


Several hours later we touched down in Texas.
As is true here, I miss the mountains but the sunsets are great
since there is nothing to block them.
Amazingly, what took 7 long driving days to cover basically the same distance
of 4,000 miles was done in less than 8 flying hours. Remarkable.
But the old body is still on Alaska time and has lost a night's sleep.
And a bit overcome by sunshine and the 90 degree difference in temperature.

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