As a big fan of aviation I make sure that I have a camera with me whenever I’m near an airport. Sometimes I’ll even make a special trip to an airport especially if it has a viewing area.
There’s one such viewing area alongside Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. For those of you familiar with the city, the viewing area is on Sunset Road towards the east end of the airport. Here you will get a very clear view of aircraft landing on runway 26L. Below are a few shots that I captured recently.
Below is a short clip of my flight into LAS two days earlier
Hopefully you enjoyed seeing these airplanes as much as did.
Early last month I was in Las Vegas for a few days. For the last forty or so years, I’ve traveled to Las Vegas for business and pleasure so I’m pretty familiar with the city and surroundings. But each time I return there is always something new to see. It’s a very dynamic place.
Since I’m not into gaming, neither the blackjack and crap tables nor roulette wheels interest me. However is you continue to walk through the huge gaming areas you will reach the shopping area lined with elegant (and expensive) retail stores selling jewelry, clothing and fashion accessories.
I’m not really a shopper but i do I enjoy window shopping. Here are some of the “attractions” for visitors who are not gamblers.
There are many other colorful displays in and around the casinos that always attract my attention.
I grew up the the New York City area and would regularly take 45-minute long ride on the passenger train from New Rochelle to Grand Central Station. Did this qualify me as a rider of the rails? Let’s see.
Some 20 years ago I was involved developing software for personal computers. One of our projects was to make simulations for trains. We found an interesting and unique train route that delivered raw materials from a mining area in Minnesota to the awaiting freighters along Lake Superior – known as the Erie Mining Corp route.
My task was to research the terrain and surroundings along the route so that we could reproduce the journey in a simulation. After arranging the “special” trip with the LTV Corporation (which owned the EMC route), I drove to Hoyt Lakes to meet with two members of the staff.
When I arrived, I was escorted to the rail head where we climbed aboard a vehicle that was outfitted to travel on the rails. I was seated in the front with a video camera where I would record all 3-1/2 hours of trip through the hills, mountains and flatlands to Taconite Harbor on north shore of Lake Superior.
This modified Ford pickup truck was specially fitted to ride and self-propel on the standard tracks.
On the right is one of the diesel freight locomotives that pulled the taconite pellets from Hoyt Lakes to Lake Superior.
It was an interesting ride – the tracks took us through forests, into narrow canyons, along open and hilly fields, passing rocky mountains, traversing bridges, through a tunnel and over rural road crossings.
For me the highlight of the trip was the 30 seconds or so that are illustrated below.
Erie Mining Corporation Route Here we slowed down as we came upon a local resident as we were riding the tracks from Hoyt Lake to Taconite Harbor, MN
Towards the end of the route we arrived at Taconite Harbor. Below is the large unloading area where the taconite pellets are unloaded onto large lake freighters.
Approaching Taconite Harbor Quadruple speed arrival into Taconite Harbor
This journey in 2001 was the only time where I actually felt that I was riding the rails. An interesting and memorable ride.
