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| It’s reeeal puhrty (pretty) up here!
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TPLEX and Low Altitude Clouds
Crack of dawn, Thursday, August 11.
There are plenty of low clouds scattered all over the sky and the sunrise
looks promising. It’s going to melt those clouds in no time—so I thought.
Something exciting (I think) is happening in
Nampicuan. A significant highway extension is finally going to be built
that will bring this town, among other economically challenged rural towns,
closer to Metro Manila (2 hrs by car, no rush) and other growth centers such as
Clark (1 hr by car, no rush) and Subic (1.5 hr by car, no rush). I say
“no rush” because I can achieve these times without the highway extension by
driving aggressively. Anyway, I decided to take some aerial photos of the
TPLEX, which is short for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union
Expressway—particularly the portion that passes alongside the family
farm—Rancho Caridad. While the interchange or the exit coming out of the
TPLEX is approximately 3 kilometers from the farm, the TPLEX itself barely
misses the westernmost tip of the farm, the tangential distance of which is
less than 100 meters from TPLEX—as seen in the photographs, which are taken
from a northeast orientation heading southwest.
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| TPLEX and Rancho Caridad from a distance . . . coming closer . . . closer . . . |
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| TPLEX and Rancho Caridad from a distance . . . coming closer . . . closer . . .
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| TPLEX and Rancho Caridad from a distance . . . coming closer . . . closer . . .
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. . . until you see the gap with a portion of a mango orchard that needs to be chopped away
Rancho Caridad is less than 100 meters to the left of TPLEX |
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. . . until you see the gap with a portion of a mango orchard that needs to be chopped away
Rancho Caridad is less than 100 meters to the left of TPLEX
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It sort of reminds me of a Charles Bronson
movie I saw about the Wild West and the excitement that came along when the
railroad was built through your town. In many cases then, US towns
sprung-up because of the railroad. (Although in a more recent
context, some would argue that small town USA died because of the interstate
highway replacing the old Route 66.) I’m optimistic that TPLEX is going
to be a blessing for Central Luzon.
From Metro Manila, you would pass through NLEX
(Northern Luzon Expressway) to SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway) going to
Tarlac, which connects to the TPLEX that will eventually reach La Union or the
base from which to start your climb to Baguio.
See the following W Growth Corridor illustration.
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W Growth Corridor of Central Luzon
Rancho Caridad, Nampicuan is at the central tip of the W Growth Corridor
Only 3 kilometers drive from the Anao Interchange or Exit of TPLEX |
It’s one of those not so usual days of low
altitude clouds and it’s plenty of fun flying above them. You see this
all the time when you hop on any jet plane that usually flies at altitudes of
around 30,000 ft. The clouds are way below during most of the trip—except
shortly after take-off and shortly before landing. When you’re flying
recreationally, you decide (within prudent and safe limits, of course) what
altitude to fly . . . and I chose to fly not too high above the clouds.
It’s reeeal puhrty (pretty) up here!
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Low Altitude Clouds
That mountain on the right foreground, approximately 50 kms north, would be about Baguio |
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| Banking the aircraft into the sunrise |
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Low Altitude Clouds . . . and the 3 giant monsters beneath
Mt Balungao, Mt Bangkay and Mt Cuyapo |
Rancho Caridad was covered in clouds when I returned. This could be terrifying for a first-timer, even with the GPS on-board. I had to look for the airstrip before I lined-up my trike for landing.
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Low Altitude Clouds Just Above Rancho Caridad
How do I land if I can't see the airstrip? |
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