Departing Phoenix

I very much enjoy the desert southwest, particularly in early morning light. What amazes me though, is the urban sprawl the city has experienced since my first flight here more than 20 years ago in a 727. At night, approaching from the east on the BUNTR1 ARRIVAL, the "spot" of light created by Phoenix and its environs is now quite large, with fingers that reach out in all directions.
Computers loaded, checklists complete and my breakfast burrito nearly consumed, I took a moment to capture the Phoenix skyline through our windscreen. On this particular layover we stay in Old Scottsdale, a bit touristy I suppose, but surrounded by fantastic restaurants. OK, a few years ago I bought a cowboy hat here to where in my Stearman! It looked cool, but I did resist purchasing a silver and turquoise belt buckle.
I went rampside with Dave, you'll meet him in the next posting, when he did his exterior aircraft inspection... or walk-around as we call it. I took this shot of Southwest departing off of runway 8. Although I never appreciated SWA's earlier livery, this new, bright paint job is more in line with the airlines regional name and says "southwest" to me. Mr. Kelleher, if you'd like to purchase this shot in full resolution, to hang on your office wall, send me an email! (Are you hiring by the way? ...just kidding)
Here we are departing off runway 7L on the SILOW1 DEPARTURE procedure headed towards Winslow, AZ and points east. This new "cement stick" control tower only recently opened here at Sky Harbor International. I took off one morning here and switched from tower to "depatcha" control. After acknowledging my radio call the controller asked "What paht of Boston are you from?" Sadly, he missed New England, Fenway Park and the ocean, but his wife was not about to move back to snow.
Shortly after takeoff and still climbing past Winslow and Flagstaff, we arrive overhead Sedona, Arizona and Oak Creek Canyon in "red rock country." Located high (4,500' asl) in the northern Verde Valley in the Sonoran Desert, the red sandstone attracts tourists worldwide. In fact, when I was out on medical (broken leg) several years ago, my wife and I rented a house in Oak Creek for a week, where the sunsets were beyond description. I was given a breath taking, low level tour of the area by a fellow who operated a Waco at the local airport. Want to see his website? Click the title to this post and enjoy open cockpit bi-plane flying.
These two photos, above and below, give you the same view I enjoyed of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, located in south central Colorado. The dunes nestle up to the Sangre De Christo Mountains (Southern Rockies) with the San Luis Valley to their west. Recently upgraded from a "monument" to a National Park in 2000, these dunes, at an elevation of 7,500 feet, are the highest sand dunes in America. But how did this sandpile, dusted in snow, get here? A knowledgeable 727 captain explained it years ago to me when I served as his flight engineer; let's see if I can get it straight.
The Rio Grande (America's 3rd longest river system) runs west of here through the San Luis Valley and easterly prevailing winds would pick up sand from its river banks. As the wind would rise over the Sangre De Cristo's, much of this sand was deposited here... and still is, creating these innocuous looking dunes. Blanca Peak, just south of here or off to our right, at 14,345 feet is the highest elevation in the Sangre De Christo's. (Spanish for Blood of Christ)
As our flight continues northeasterly, we approach the Rocky Mountain "Front Range" just west of Colorado Springs and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Here out the left side, we see Pikes Peak at 14,115 feet. Named after explorer Zebulon Pike, it's one of 14 of Colorado's "fourteeners" or climbable peaks that exceed 14,000 feet. After passing the majesty of the Front Range into eastern Colorado, western Kansas and Nebraska, the land flattens out and is punctuated by huge farms with circular motion irrigation systems. These create large round images from the air, almost alien-like in appearance, that keep the world fed.
And later in the day, getting ready for yet another airline layover, we've descended on the DARBS1 ARRIVAL, approaching runway 36L in Tampa. Just to the left of this position, in May of 1980, the freighter Summit Venture collided with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge during a rather violent storm. Thirty five people plunged 150 feet off the bridge in their vehicles.