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Winter Wonderland

rstark
Adventurer B
I flew from Chicago Midway (MDW) to Las Vegas (LAS) recently, and the view was fantastic most of the way. There were some areas of "chop" around the Front Range of the Rockies, and these clouds show the areas of turbulence at the bottom of the fast-moving jet stream. webshredclouds.jpgWe felt some of that turbulence up near the top at 40,000 feet. The jet stream core in winter is moving very fast. On my flight at 41,000 feet, the winds were only 70 knots. Descending through 33,000 feet, we saw 135 knots of headwind, and at 28,000, the winds were once again about 70 knots from the west. Like the eddies along the edge of a fast-moving stream of water, the edges of the jet stream are occasionally bumpy. During the first half of the flight from Chicago, the terrain is simply one farm after another--not the most interesting view after an hour or so. webcentralcolorado.jpgOnce past the Front Range of the Rockies (just west of Denver/Colorado Springs), things got really interesting. Like it or not, if you are on my flight, you are going to get the running monologue from the cockpit because, clouds permitting, the view is amazing. webmonumentvalley.jpgThis is what we see from up front when looking west over Colorado Springs. Further to the west, we saw Monument Valley dusted in fresh snow. White sure makes for an unusual contrast against the usual pink tones formed by iron in the rock. The same was true for the Grand Canyon. Here's the South Rim from about 24,000 feet as ATC descended us into the LAS traffic flow. With the low sun angle this time of year, it is tough to look south but the rock colors just jump out at you, despite the sun's glare. South Rim If you'd like to see gorgeous views like these, buy a seat at southwest.com !!!!
8 Comments
Scot
Explorer C
Great views and incredible pictures. How fortunate you are to see the workd from where you sit. Although my vantage point is a bit different, it looks like your trip to work is as enjoyable as mine. I took some pictures of the falling snow while walking to work yesterday. You can see them at www.w8losswednesday.blogspot.com. Great blog. Great company. Southwest Rocks!
blusk
Aviator C
Cap'n Ray, What an incredible office chair you have. Thanks for taking us beyond the cockpit door and sharing the incredible views from "up front." Brian
Robert_Tracy
Explorer C
I want to thank the staff of Southwest for all the help they gave me, I was on a flight on Wednesday Jan 30,08 and return on Wednesday Feb 6,08 for $99 each way (Wednesday only) but when I call Southwest to check on my flight that was leaving for that day I found out it was cancel. I was book on Friday Feb 1,08 for the same price as Wednesday fare, but on that Friday my flight was also cancel due to weather again. The clerk at the gate book me on another flight for Sat Fed 2. Most of the time when you have to book another flight due to cancellation, you have to go at the ticket counter and stand in a long line but I did not have to due to the clerk at the gate. I have been on other airlines that would just let there passinger to defent for them self, but not Southwest. Thanks agin
Liz3
Explorer C
Wow, thank you for sharing those beautiful pictures! I wish I got the "running monologue" captains more often. I'm always looking out the window, craning my neck to try and spot a landmark that will at least tell me what state we're flying over. It's always exciting to recognize a place I've been!
Cathy
Explorer B
Cap'n Ray- Great pictures! Like Liz, I wish more would do the running commentary. I always make a game of trying to guess what cities we are flying over... I was all excited on Friday flying from DAL to ABQ when I was able to pick out Clovis, NM as we were flying over! Keep up the good work... our posts are always so informative and interesting!
Cathy
Explorer B
that would be "your" posts, not our posts!
blusk
Aviator C
Hey Still LUVin glad you got to see my birthplace, Clovis, from the air. Blog Boy
Linda_Shehee
Explorer C
I had a dream in which there was an explosion to the southwest of the building I was leaving. Three words were Ray, Stork, or Stark. When I woke up, I looked up Ray Stork and found out it was a line of baby clothing. I looked up Ray Stark and found out he was a "Southwest" airline pilot. As I watched the noon news report today I saw the soundbite about Southwest grounding some planes for more thorough inspections. I ask that Ray Stark be particularly careful in preflight inspections and checklists. I hope it was just a nightmare and nothing more. Thank you.