M - Sunrise at 35,000 feet

Even after having traveled to many fascinating places all over the world, I'm quite a fearful flyer. It really just aggravates the snot (not literally) out of me that I have issues with this but, alas, 'tis very true. I've been to the Far East twice including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea. I've traveled as far as Estonia, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Canada and Mexico are easy ones. I've been to England three times with Dana and toured a stretch of Europe (London, Paris, Vienna, Munich, Berlin, and Frankfurt) with my lovely bride for 11 days carrying nothing but a backpack, checking no luggage on the plane, and spending about half our nights on a train traveling to a new city. We even made another trip with the Maucks to London and Paris. We've seen PLACES, ya' know. A few years ago I endured a brutal (for me) 16 hour flight to Melbourne, Australia. Even after all that, I still dread flying. Repeated exposure is supposed to be one of the best fixes for an anxiety but no luck here. I hated my very first flight to Washington DC in seventh grade and it's never improved from that point!

One of the things I do to pass the time is take pictures from the plane...lots and lots of pictures. Flying around storms has a double disadvantage of turbulence AND nothing to photograph! Nonetheless, I have an enormous collection of amazing and beautiful pictures of God's creation that can only be seen from a plane. CLICK HERE if you get a chance. In fact, I should make that the subject of a post some day...'pics from the plane.' Some of my favorite are of the Grand Canyon, Lake Meade, and Hoover Dam. I also have some amazing pictures of the Sierra Madre range in California and Niagara Falls as seen from taking off from the Buffalo Airport. The flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix and/or Oklahoma City is amazing with regards to terrain. The American southwest, as seen from 25,000+ feet is spectacular.

Nonetheless, the subject of this post is SUNRISE. Here is my view from, according to the captain, 36,000 feet on my way from OKC to Chicago O'Hare. It was absolutely beautiful and I'm always mindful of the Creator's magnificence when I get to experience His Creation in this way.

At a much more shallow level, I also thinks it's really stinkin' cool to take a picture of the sun and moon at the same time! It's kind of a fun irony. I've done it before from the ground but never at 36,000 feet! You might have to click on this next picture for a larger view to find the moon at the upper right of the picture.


Enjoy!