The Aerial Horizon
Forget where your feet are and simply enjoy the view.
Balanced Features – Parashant
Along the Colorado Plateau a wide variety of features distinguish the landscape. Virgin Mountain stands above the plateau holding the Pakoon Basin upon its rippled southeastern slope. North of the Grand Canyon National Park and east of Lake Meade, these features mark the Grand Canyon – Parashant National Monument. The monument’s canyons cut through the warm velvety surface of the plateau to reveal defined layers of earth that contrast with the rippled slopes above and provide balance to the scene.
Guided by Mesas
Stepping across the valley, Monitor Mesa and No Mans Mesa provide a firm footing for our journey. Each of these grand mesas is followed by other unique mesas and smaller buttes. These stepping stones help us interpret the landscape and its once flowing mass. Unlike stones that have been separated, compressed and smoothed in their motion toward the surface before being swept from their source by rapid moving water, these earthen structures are immovable. Their shapes are the result of the stubbornness with which they face the forces of erosion. As we look at the living landscape, we are guided on our journey by the currents that have revealed these structures and exposed the soul of the desert.
Brushstrokes in the Painted Desert
As we follow our path across the Painted Desert south of Tuba City, Arizona, we observe the maize colored sand running from the edges of high terrain into the desert as if pulled by the splayed hairs of a brush. The desert takes its name from the colors displayed on its exposed surfaces, but the texture of the terrain amplifies the metaphor and we are drawn into the painting. It is no wonder that the desert, despite its barren nature, holds such a romantic place in our imaginations.
In the Shadow of the Storm
It is the time of year where storms build and blow. As in our lives storms flare up and consume us with their ferocity and the shadows of their depths..the deeper the storm, the darker the shadow. Negative ions accelerate within their mass and charge the air with electricity. Our moods change when we are under the shadow and that negative energy passes through us. But looking upon this storm’s massive shadow on the high plain of New Mexico, I get a different sense. For the person standing in its shadow, it may seem dark and ominous…but as we look at the whole scene, we see that it is finite and momentary. This storm will pass. Under that dark shadow, gravity draws water back to earth as its energy is exhausted, and fertile lands reap the benefit of its rain. Life flows through the emotional cycle of the weather and the darkness proves to be a hopeful sign for growth.
In the Wake of Ship Rock
Imagining Ship Rock in motion, the desert parts and the ship steams smoothly through the sand. Ripples of earth flow outward from her wake, swirling and eddying in the desert winds as they flow toward shore. The desert is a grand place of imagination where the past echoes in latent colors and abstract patterns that fuel our dreams.
A true image, color saturated and polarized.
Walking the Grand Staircase
Approaching Lake Powell from the north, our eyes trace the landscape of the Escalante National Forest and we visualize the steps of the Grand Staircase as they lead us toward the horizon. Seeing it from this angle, the steps appear as exaggerated protrusions along the southward running canyons. Their depth and regularity seem to convey us down the staircase to the south and Lake Powell.
Confluence at Navajo Mountain
Following the wandering lines of Glen Canyon to the point where the Colorado and San Juan Rivers converge, we look southward toward Navajo Mountain. This dominant feature rising above the plain is a freestanding laccolith. The sedimentary layers of earth pushed up by the underlying dome shaped igneous rock look like colorful layers of fondant draping. This mountain has played a part in the stories of the Anasazi, the Hopi, and the Navajo and as a holy place upon the earth, it stands as a permanent monument to the forces that define our world. The Hopi call it Tokonave, “Heart of the Earth.” The Navajo call it Naatsisʼáán, “Earth Head.” The map shows us that Navajo Mountain sits on the border of Utah and Arizona but it is wholly contained within the Navajo Nation. These names hold greater value in describing its significance than any name on a map might achieve and the distinctions of borders and ownership are but momentary arguments dwarfed by the mystery and magnitude of our geologic history.
Dreams and Expectations
As we fly easily over the Rocky Mountains, the greatest physical challenge we face is to find a smooth ride amid the layers of turbulent waves of airmass that flow over the mountainous terrain. As I look at the contrail of the ship traveling just ahead of me, I know we are heading to the same destination and I reap the rewards of watching the turbulence affect his path. From my vantage point, I know what to expect on my journey ahead. Looking back on the journeys of those who traveled this way long before us, it is simple to imagine the daunting physical task of crossing the mountain range on foot or in wagons without the benefit of knowing what to expect along the trail. Over time mankind has risen to the challenge of travel. We have problem-solved and innovated to overcome obstacles and to achieve our goals. This ability is an innate tendency that comes from within but is driven by an expectation of achievement…we are not quitters. We grow up thinking any dream may be achieved if we set it in our sights and are willing to work for it. But first, we must dream and create a vision of where we want to go. The dream is what makes us unique. The dream is what drives us. Where will our dreams lead us tomorrow?
On the Trail to Kayenta
Following the ridge line that provides a visual border around Monument Valley, we trace the the trail to Kayenta, Arizona. The crisp air of the upper troposphere contrasts with the atmosphere of the desert as red dirt drifts and colors the air. The lines and ridges of the desert define the prehistoric motion of the earth’s crust and direct the flow of earthbound travelers through the desert. Unconstrained by these boundaries, we have the luxury of appreciating their colorful features and dramatic flows as patiently derived mixed-media art on a global scale.
Apollo’s Gift
Remembering my first televised glimpse of the Earth from the Apollo mission cameras…what looked flat was round…what looked up was down…my imagination was stimulated and my perspective changed forever. The space program brought the big picture into our homes and changed the way generations of Americans see our planet and its position in the Universe. Now, imagine seeing Earth’s greatest monuments for the first time as if approaching from space. From this new perspective, we worry less about what we know and more about what we see. We interpret our view without preconceived notions of what we are seeing. Seeing the Grand Canyon from this new perspective we wander the canyons and plateaus exploring its mysteries in multiple dimensions. Allowing our curiosity to lead us through our new discovery, we bring a new excitement to the scene and feel our synapses firing as we develop new interpretations of what we see. As our minds work through the scene, we realize that this is not routine, it is not one (or even two) dimensional…It is electric and it is new.
Harmony and a Watery Planet
Watching the vapor shrouded earth roll away toward the aerial horizon in steady waves, we get a sense of the reality that this is a planet defined by water. Waves on the ocean ripple and flow, but those same waves represent a harmonic that pervades every aspect of our world as we travel through the atmosphere. Ocean waves are defined by the pull of gravity while the waves we experience in flight are the product of atmospheric pressure and the dissipation of solar energy over irregular terrain. Often times, we cannot see the approach of waves but we feel their effects as we encounter turbulence regardless of how far we are from its source. Other times, we are blessed with the view of the sailor watching a storm tossed sea and we see the approaching swells as they advance from the distant horizon. Seeing the wave is less important than understanding its flow and anticipating it. We all seek to avoid turbulence, but it can be an unavoidable part of life and motion…when we can’t avoid it, how we respond will determine how crazy the ride will be. Adapting to its harmony is the key to enjoying the ride.
Arizona’s Dramatic Scene
Cumulonimbus cells align along the high desert of Arizona and move northeastward as their intensity increases. They grow at such a rate that we can see the roll and churn of each cloud’s billowy mass as they expand and rise through the Troposphere. As the Tropopause is their natural limit, they eventually top out before reaching the Stratosphere. At this limit, they can climb no further and their momentum is expressed in the horizontal expansion of their “anvil” tops. Moments later, all of the upward flowing vertical energy dissipates in a severe downward rush toward earth that spews hail at high altitudes and showers heavy rain on the terrain beneath. Ultimately, the fertile lands around the Colorado River will be the beneficiary of this rainfall as it rapidly works its way to lower terrain. As distant spectators, we opt to avoid this dramatic scene and we start our weather deviation over Blythe, California.
In the Bright Light of the Middle
The bright light in the middle of the day shows the desert monuments in harsh and unflattering detail…no soft lighting effects from the setting sun, no golden illumination from the early youthful light of dawn…The bright light of middle gives us clarity and an undistorted view of where we are now in the full light of day. Our memories are too short to fully comprehend the scene where, not long ago, forests covered this land. Now those forests are petrified and their remaining pigments color the earth. But this is what the middle ages are like…the bright lights show each crease and scar while the bright colors of our youth fade from exposure to light. Embracing our experience and the pattern of life that shapes the day, we can see the beauty of the underlying structure and reflect on its majesty. Instead of viewing each distinct mark as a defect, we look upon them as distinct monuments to our experience. Our future looms softly dreamlike on the aerial horizon.
Resting on the horizon atop San Francisco Mountain, Humphrey’s Peak is the highest point in Arizona at over 11,400 feet.
Reunions
First light on the Blue Ridge as the shadow of night recedes…All of Albemarle County comes into view as we wander up the James River past the sharp bend at Scottsville, Virginia. Our minds take a sudden turn following that bend and slowing to a distant pace as our memories are energized. We think of days well spent and an old perspective on the future and our destinies that led our imaginations and our aspirations. Traveling into our finest memories, we rekindle friendships that may have been stretched by time and distance but that we forged in a special time in our lives and so will always be strong if not visible. No matter where our formative experiences occurred, reunions are wondrous events that open warm places in our hearts and return us, if only for a fleeting moment, to the time and place where our lives were all ahead of us and we shared a dream. Light is shed on those moments everyday, but when our moments are the ones revealed, the view is all the more spectacular.
Lighting Effects
Imagine if you had to explain light to someone who had never experienced it…Where would you begin? Perhaps it would be easiest to explain it from a completely scientific perspective as light is an expression of radiation emitting from a source at a specific wavelength within the spectrum of visible light…but wait, let’s explain the visible spectrum…ROYGBIV…Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet…Where do we start without a visual frame of reference? It can’t be done, unless we involve our other senses.
If we can’t see it, we must be able to feel it. We most certainly feel color and light, though it can muddle our senses if we overthink it. The confusion is similar to what we feel when we detect a low frequency vibration and we can’t discern whether we felt it or heard it…The answer is simply, “yes.” Whether we see it or feel it, we know it is there and the nature of the light evokes a physical response from our bodies and our minds. We set our clocks and our calendars by the color of the light. Our exposure to light of the right color (wavelength) affects our emotions…when that light penetrates our atmosphere a low angle of incidence and refracts and displays itself in its individual wavelengths, we are mesmerized and it takes control of our senses.
The “Golden Hour” amazes us as stone and earth change colors as if transformed into a different state. Flying off the coast of Massachusetts in the golden hour, the light transforms the city of Boston into a golden ornament on a sheet of slightly rippled gold leaf. Even our wing’s reflection of the blue sky and clouds above us is transformed into an abstract golden glaze. The view is magical and at this moment the effect of light on our physical and emotional states is beyond explanation.
A Delayed Homecoming
Coming home is always sweet. Facing delays and missed flights, the challenges of the perennial traveler, it sometimes feels as though we will never reach the comfort of our own beds…after multiple failed attempts to fly standby, we get the last seat on the commuter flight home and the plan starts to feel like it is coming together. The afternoon flight we had originally attempted to make would have put our commute home from the airport soundly in the middle of rush hour and all its accompanying frustration. Now, having let a few hours pass, our view of the darkening highways informs us that rush hour has long since passed and we find ourselves descending peacefully toward base in the warm glow of a Virginia sunset as it reflects off the surface of the Potomac River. The colorful scene fills our hearts with emotion and the thought the we are “Home at last.”
Uncertainty
With every step we take, there is resolute action: a defined step in a defined spot, following the step that preceded it on a path toward a destination…We like the certainty of that mechanical process and the sense of definition it gives us. Our roads follow definite paths, the land is laid out in definite patterns. Though it always surrounds us, few of us wander off the trail through undefined terrain for that would be tantamount to seeking uncertainty and counter to our way of thinking.
I believe it’s good to have a little experience dealing with uncertainty. To intentionally wander off the trail is to experience the natural order of things. It leads us to appreciate what appears as chaos from our ordered perches, but that is marvelously patterned. It’s the opposite of looking at a mosaic, as we see chaos and fragmentary colors when we examine one up close, but ,in stepping back and gaining perspective, we come to appreciate the elaborate scenes as beautiful masterpieces. Uncertainty is inherently ambiguous, but it need not be frightening. By embracing the ambiguous and either stepping into it, as if leaving the trail, or stepping away from it, as if looking at a mosaic, we come to understand it and learn how to deal with it. A life too well ordered is an impediment to understanding.
Wandering down the coast of California, south of Monterrey, we follow the well defined path of the valley with all of its well defined farms and roads. As we pass Salinas and venture further into the Coastal Range, the irregular landscape introduces us to a world less ordered. And finally, as we look toward the horizon beyond the mountains, we meet ambiguity head on…The aerial horizon appears so broad and dense that we are uncertain where the Pacific Ocean ends and the skies begin. Being well versed in uncertainty, the pilot knows…This is one piece of the mosaic…The marine layer has collided with the coast line and is being held off shore by the mountains. The density of our horizon is the result of temperature differences in the Pacific and the normal flow of weather along the shore. Practice dealing with ambiguity and a little uncertainty becomes nothing to worry about.
Window Rock
The rock lies in the midst of the small town of the town that shares its name, Window Rock. A monument where travelers stop to marvel at the sight, it is also a viewing port into the evolution of the earth and a testament to the air of mysticism that pervades the landscape. All around us, all the time, there are forces at work that we can neither see nor comprehend. These patient forces shape our world and, in guiding our thoughts through visions of a living planet, we gain an appreciation for the beauty and dynamic design of which we are a small part.
Appalachian Curves
As the Appalachian Mountains roll southwestward from Virginia into Tennessee, the ridges spread and decompress. In the space between them, the creeks and rivers of the region grow more prominent and highlight the patterns of the wavelike ridges. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dammed the Clinch River to make the Norris Reservoir in 1933. The curves of the river are still apparent in the winding form of Norris Lake. Even through the mid-day haze, we can see the reflections of clouds and sky in the clear crystal waters of the lake. The patterns of the clouds mimic the flow of the mountain range and, as we look up toward the aerial horizon, straight lines of fresh contrails provide a contrast to the graceful ancient curves of the landscape.
Follow the Leader
Crossing the skies over Ohio, three jets play follow the leader through the clouds…Between the contrails and the technological miracle of TCAS, each aircraft is infinitely aware of the position and altitude of the next. From a more personal emotional perspective, the contrails are beautiful frozen memories of our paths through the atmosphere. I feel euphoric when I witness them reflecting the late day sun, as if brilliant golden brushstrokes painting romance on the sky. I can imagine few things more melancholy than a cloudless sky without contrails.
The Aerial Horizon – Photography
The Aerial Horizon 