Relatively close? Out West, you can see mountains from the highway for 50 or even more miles depending on the location and the height of the mountain.
Looking out at the 'flat' ocean from the beach with the curvature of the earth, the horizon is something less than 10 miles away. A passenger jet covers 10 miles in 2 or 3 minutes.
Seeing contrails like that is not at all unusual.
Yes. As compared to the distance of a normal horizon. Ever been in the city of Palm Springs about 1 to 2 hours before sunset ?