In the central Valley of California we can’t always see the horizon for the fog. There is a certain romance about an obscured horizon if you are not claustrophobic.
In the Midwest, where my brother, Randy, and I were born, the horizon seems endless, and very far away. We had never been to Chicago, so on our way to Indiana, we played for two days in this metropolitan city. Here I am looking in a northwest direction across Chicago directly down at the Chicago River which runs through the center of Chicago. I wonder how far away the horizon is.
From 100 stories up looking out of the sky deck of Willis Tower in Chicago there is a haze which blurs the horizon just a bit, but no one doubts that there is a horizon. Interestingly, when I tilted the camera from that height, the image of the horizon displayed the curvature of the earth. I felt almost like I was in a spaceship looking down at the earth.
Here is a different view looking at the horizon across Lake Michigan. It turned out a little less spaceshipish.
The next day Randy and I took a water taxi going from Museum Campus to Navy Pier in Chicago. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for a mid October day, 75 degrees and clear sky showed off this Lake Michigan horizon.
Randy, who is scared to death of heights, not only braved the Willis Tower, but agreed to go on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier. The cars for the original famous ferris wheel in Chicago, built for the 1873 World’s Fair, held 60 people. Riders would have had to be free of both claustrophobia and acrophobia to ride that giant wheel. The horizon from this height looked fairly straight.
I hope you enjoyed my midwestern horizons, and pictures of my play days in Chicago with my brother.
I don’t think Randy cared much for his view of the horizon from the 5 foot plexiglass cage hanging 100 stories in the air. In spite of his acrophobia, as soon as I turned my back, Randy had disappeared. All his protestations of, “I’ll never go out there,” went out the window when a pretty, young photographer asked him if wanted his picture taken.
All that was on his horizon at that moment was his determination to overcome his fear, and he certainly did a great job of that!
For more pictures of horizons click here.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
Beautiful! Awesome shots!
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Thanks, Darla. That means a lot coming from you. You are an excellent photographer. 🙂
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I love that first one.
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Thanks, Leanne! 🙂
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Call me biased – but – I heart Chicago horizons 🙂
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I am fine with heights as long as I know I am safe. What great views from the tower.
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Because of my vertigo, I have trouble looking at horizons if I have to get off the ground to see them. Even your pictures taken in the Willis Tower are hard for me to look at.
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This is a post with altitude MVBFM. Ralph xox 😀
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hehehee, MFR. You are up on that one! 🙂 xox
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Great views but I am with Randy; I hate heights!
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Hi Gallivanta, Randy was REALLY determined to DO THiS, but he was petrified. I think he wanted to show the professional photo to his pals back at work.
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Good for him! Such spirit 🙂
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Marsha, what a fanastic entry – talk about horizons in all directions … I hate when I can see the ground far down below me through the floor – it make me feel sick. In Willis tower I didn’t step out on the glass bit.
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I had quite a bit of fun with it, partly at Randy’s expense. He took this pictures. I had to crop it because he couldn’t stand very close to take it. This was taken immediately after his own picture taking scare! 🙂
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Wow, this is just FAB – brilliant one .. this is some horizon. *smile
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It was an experience of a lifetime, for sure! 🙂 Some things just turn out that way. If he hadn’t been so scared, it would have just been another interesting tour, easily forgotten. I’ve been up in the Space Needle numerous times, up trams, etc, but this was special because he really determined to do something that scared him to death, and he loved it! It was so much fun watching him have the time of his life. I told him I wanted it to be his best birthday ever, and he said it was. 🙂 Worth it! 🙂
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Space Needle isn’t so bad as Willis Tower, still Sears for me. Just because of the glass section of the flower – same in Toronto. I can see on your photos that you really had a fantastic time in Chicago .. that is what life is all about.
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