Atramentous Infinity – Or, Thoughts from a Nighttime Flight

Forty-five minutes after lifting off out of Houston—an evening flight bound for Las Vegas—I finished a chapter of my current book (Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, an exploration of the Appalachian Trail) and wondered about the stars. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the dark outside my window, I spotted Cassiopeia, the vain queen, her five major stars prone directly in front of me. I smiled and shut off my reading light.

Then I noticed glowing on the ground below.

giuseppe-famiani-D0lUdfXQpEM-unsplash.jpg
City lights at night, against a black landscape, viewed from an airplane. Airplane wing is visible. Photo by Giuseppe Famiani on Unsplash

Continue reading “Atramentous Infinity – Or, Thoughts from a Nighttime Flight”

Chiaroscuro

Through the vast rocky desert of southern Nevada, Andrew and I are returning from an afternoon in Pahrump when we round a bend and see Las Vegas sprawled below us. 

The city appears like a mirage. Approached on desert roads at night, Las Vegas glimmers like a lake of stars, the Luxor Sky Beam suspended between heaven and earth like an anchor’s taut chain. In the daylight, the Mojave Desert opens wide and reveals a civilization of millions.

ryan-hafey-656472-unsplash.jpg
View of Las Vegas from the southeast. Photo by Ryan Hafey on Unsplash

Continue reading “Chiaroscuro”