I love a transcontinental day flight during clear weather. From 30,000 feet, you can see the natural landscape in ways you can’t experience on the ground. You can also see how humans shape and use their land. Farms, reservoirs, dams, freeways , and cities are all visible from that vantage point. Georgia O’Keeffe once said she didn’t really appreciate he sinuous flow of a river across the landscape until a friend took her up in a plane. Some of her landscapes depict rivers and mountains from the air, a very unique perspective in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Peering from a plane window transforms the viewer into a geologist, anthropologist, and Regional Planner, looking at the way the Earth is shaped through erosion, geology, and human use.
I’ve planned whole vacation thanks to flights that have included sunrise over the Sahara, a midsummer afternoon on the Greenland Ice sheet, and sunset on secret beaches ringing tiny Polynesian Islands.
The next time you take off, put down the book and take a look outside the window. You might see the Southern Alps dusted with snow, a huge reservoir, or even the full moon. You never know what corner of the globe might inspire you to explore thanks to a fly over. Happy sightseeing!