Definitely Mt St Helena top right corner – Mt Tam top left edge, and for anyone who doesn’t know the Bay Area, that’s the Bay Bridge connecting SF (left) to Oakland – Berkeley and the east bay then on to rest of the US. (That’s I-80, connecting from the GWB in NYC to the Bay Bridge right across the whole continent. Though, given how things are going in the US, one must consider that perhaps SF and the bay area might by next year prefer to not be so well connected to the rest of the US, which might make sense considering what so much of the rest of the US seems to think of our part of the country. Hmmm….any younger voters reading this who think there’s “no difference” between the two main choices you’ll have in November: please do not let the perfect be the enemy – and very possibly destroyer — of the good.)
Since I’m scheduled shortly to be flying off again for very distant parts for work reasons, I thought I’d fondly remember another of these lovely moments as our plane gained altitude after departing from my beloved spiritual-home airport of SFO. If you follow the line of the lower fin on the plane’s tail, I’m pretty sure it’s Mt St Helena that you’ll see as a bump on the far horizon.
Pacific Coast top left, SF bay above and below, city of SF skyline quite visible below, to the right of Mt Tam(alpais) which is on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Both from my flight out on May 3rd.
If look closely at the above photo, you’ll see a bay coming in from the Pacific at the top right, carving inland to the top-center. That’s Monterey Bay. I’m posting all the remaining photos from our mid-April approach to SFO, following the flight from Amsterdam which, as we’ve shown you in prior posts, cut over the norther half of Greenland before plunging south along the Pacific Coast. This photo was taken in the midst of our complex circling in order to line up for (north-facing) approach to SFO. If you’re interested in better understanding the geography, just open a map and see how the “peninsula” sits between the (more enclosed) SF bay and the open, further south Monterey Bay. Here we’re beginning a clockwise circle from our southbound course, so I’m looking south and we’re still turning west and north. The shots below follow the rest of that trajectory in order, although the first shot was taken a minute or so before the one above. Enjoy 🙂
As our plane traveled east and inland after the photos I showed you yesterday, we saw first the west end of the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta (below left), then these islands and more clearly delta-like elements (above), the the more open norther central valley stretching up north towards the city of Sacramento itself (below right).
Above: San Pablo Bay at top left, Oakland & Berkeley bottom left. Top right you are also seeing the end of the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta, which empties into the bay. In the photo below, you see a bit more of this & the Carquinez Strait over which I-80 passes en route between SF & points east. I plan to show you more of the Delta (also called Suisun Bay at times) in our next entry, most likely :-).
In this case, really one mountain – Mt St Helena. This mountain of volcanic origin has several peaks, the highest of which reaches 4,342 ft (1,323 m) in Sonoma County – other peaks are in Napa and Lake Counties. It’s also the highest peak in the bay area, which includes all the counties bordering SF Bay. You’ve seen it often before when I was still based in Santa Rosa, but I devoted more time to contemplating it on this last trip and am sharing my favorite photos of it in various moods and lights here. It’s easily recognizable and always fun to contemplate at all times of day, from many perspectives.
If look closely at the above photo, you’ll see a bay coming in from the Pacific at the top right, carving inland to the top-center. That’s Monterey Bay. I’m posting all the remaining photos from our mid-April approach to SFO, following the flight from Amsterdam which, as we’ve shown you in prior posts, cut over the norther half of Greenland before plunging south along the Pacific Coast. This photo was taken in the midst of our complex circling in order to line up for (north-facing) approach to SFO. If you’re interested in better understanding the geography, just open a map and see how the “peninsula” sits between the (more enclosed) SF bay and the open, further south Monterey Bay. Here we’re beginning a clockwise circle from our southbound course, so I’m looking south and we’re still turning west and north. The shots below follow the rest of that trajectory in order, although the first shot was taken a minute or so before the one above. Enjoy 🙂
In this case, really one mountain – Mt St Helena. This mountain of volcanic origin has several peaks, the highest of which reaches 4,342 ft (1,323 m) in Sonoma County – other peaks are in Napa and Lake Counties. It’s also the highest peak in the bay area, which includes all the counties bordering SF Bay. You’ve seen it often before when I was still based in Santa Rosa, but I devoted more time to contemplating it on this last trip and am sharing my favorite photos of it in various moods and lights here. It’s easily recognizable and always fun to contemplate at all times of day, from many perspectives.
(so much world, so little time....) 