What's your favorite vista of all time?
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When I was a young man I was in the back seat of a F-106B Delta Dart interceptor jet. We took off from Tyndall AFB near Panama City, FL. Over the Gulf, we did a simulated launch of a AIR-2A nuclear tipped air-to-air missile, climbing almost vertical to 50,000 feet and the pilot then did a “modified split-s escape maneuver.” As we reached our apogee, he inverted the aircraft and we were upside down. I could see the tip of Florida, the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean as we were momentarily motionless. This surpasses any earth-based vista I have ever seen.
Oh, to be an astronaut!!
One of my friends, who I spent almost two years with, became an astronaut and was the pilot on two missions of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Can any of us image what this must be like? (Pictures from NASA of his second mission, STS-64).
Out of June Lakes. Just above Agnew. You can see the desert, June Lakes, Mono, Banner and Ritter. There isn’t much blocking your view from this perch. Amazing views!
“AIR-2A”
Not to digress, that was one of those unguided “Genie” missiles, wasn’t it!
Got to see one of those at a museum in Patterson AFB a few years back with the Scouts.
The docent told us they had one of those paired w/ an F106 parked in a hangar near every major airport back in “the day”.
But back to topic, I really had a thing for the west front of Dolly Sods facing Canaan Valley back in the early 90’s, until the nearby ski resort bought most of the hillside and built a bunch of houses on it… (sigh)….
It was vert beautiful.
Admittedly it still is – sort of.
“AIR-2A”
Not to digress, that was one of those unguided “Genie” missiles, wasn’t it!
Got to see one of those at a museum in Patterson AFB a few years back with the Scouts.
The docent told us they had one of those paired w/ an F106 parked in a hangar near every major airport back in “the day”.
Yes, it was unguided. The maneuver, one of three used depending upon the engagement scenario, was to fire a nuclear tipped Genie and then take action to evade the atomic blast as shown in diagram below:
As to one in every hangar, probably not true. Less than 400 were built, plus that isn’t how combat aircraft are typically deployed — as single birds. The most common F106 was the single seat “A” model. The “B” model was a tandem two seater used primarily for training. Below are “A” models in formation.
Back to our topic…
Here is the vista from my front yard — I can’t imagine living anywhere else
No such thing as a favorite
Chambers Lake between South and Middle Sister is pretty nice
My new favorite vista as it shows possibilities from the new home. Here is our view 1.5 weeks ago when walking to the mailbox. A trailhead to the mountains is 30 minutes away. With ample parking and no traffic. And I won’t be giving the breadcrumbs to get there… :D
It’s so hard to pick, but here are a few:
Titcomb Basin in Wind River Range
The Maidens in Brooks Range
Camp above Tebay Lakes in Wrangell St. Elias NP
Knifepoint Glacier on the Wind River High Route
Cirque of the Towers from Texas Pass
Hope this thread keeps going, Nice shots
Nick I looked at your second space shot and decided to figure out where it was taken. Looks like they were somewhere over @ Ottawa looking southwest.
Pam where were your photos taken? They’re beautiful; (the boys merely rugged and handsome ;)
Here’s a couple for Lester and Brad:
And a little later with alpenglow
And finally a daylight shot from the top on the hump in the middle foreground of the previous 2 which were taken from the hump across from the Indian Pass trail junction
One vista that keeps coming back to my mind is looking out over the Escalante, Capitol Reef, The Henry’s and Navajo Mountain off in the background from the road over Boulder Mt. between Boulder and Torrey, Utah. I’m not sure you can capture that with a camera.
And finally in keeping with some of the thread, a view from my deck:
Click your heels 3 times and repeat after me; There’s no place like home….
Some of my favorite views because they included just me and my two boys
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