Sunday Morning Worship - Mt. Rainier Style
First of all I have to give a shout-out to my uncle,
Happy Birthday Uncle Steve!!
Secondly, you may have noticed I changed the title of the blog. I originally named it "Clueless in Seattle" because I was taking a leap and moving somewhere I had never been before. Now, I'm still clueless, but I no longer live in the city of Seattle. I moved 40 miles southeast to be closer to the mountain wilderness and work, which are my primary focuses. Seattle is lovely but I've never been a city-slicker, I'm more of a suburban/country girl and that is where I feel most at home. So anyway, that's why I changed the blog title.
Okay then, on to the main event. I went to Mt. Rainier today...
Big surprise. What can I say, the mountain is my church :). I don't always take pictures when I go. Sometimes I leave my camera in my trunk so I can enjoy the beauty without worrying about catching just the right shot. But today I was feeling camera-happy. I got off to a later start than I had hoped, I didn't get on the road until 5:00am. But that's okay, it was still a great morning. I stopped along the highway to take a pic so folks back home can see what the mountain looks like from my town, Auburn. (zoomed in a little)
It's always a little hazy in the early morning but the mountain glows in pastel pinks and purples. Reminds me of pale rose quartz - very pretty. This picture doesn't even do it justice. Sidenote: Did I mention I need a different camera? I'll keep using mine because the picture quality on wide shots is nearly unbeatable, but I need second camera with a great lens for zooming. My camera sucks for zooming and it's really starting to frustrate me. grrrr.
Moving along, I spent the entire morning just tooling around in my little Ford Focus, enjoying the sights. I took a couple of short hikes, one to a glorious waterfall, but we'll get to that. First, the sights along on the way to the national park.
Above and Below: Silhouette of Mt. Rainier as seen from a scenic viewpoint along the way
Below: I believe the water is Alder Lake
Below: Alder Dam
Below: Alder Lake
Below: A little bunny rabbit wanted his picture taken, so of course I obliged!
~ All pictures below were taken inside Mt. Rainier National Park ~
The mountain is gorgeous with the early morning light playing on the ridges. I've taken many photos of the mountain and not only do I not get tired of it, it seems more beautiful each time.
I saw two marmots in different places in the park. This little guy ran straight towards me in his quest for vegetation to munch on - no fear. The other fella was much more camera shy so I wasn't able to photograph him.
Isn't he cute?!
My trusty Focus loves the mountains too, check out his p.o.v.
This path leads to a little bridge overlooking Box Canyon.
It's even deeper than it looks in the photo below, taken looking down from the bridge
On the way down to the bridge I passed a guy coming up who said "I made a little snow man for you down there." He wasn't kidding :)
He's a little reminder that although it's summer and over 90 degrees in the cities today, it's still early spring in the mountains. Some people like to go to the beach when it's hot out, I prefer to come here. It was nice to be in the cool, fresh air for a while.
Below: Paradise River
I took a trecherous little trek down a steep slope of packed, slippery snow to get to the bottom of Narada Falls. Simply beautiful.
I tried to zoom in on the rainbow
So that's it. Another day very well spent. On the way home I stopped and bought some fresh strawberries. I'm eating some with whipped cream as I post this. Strawberries and cream - Yums!
Catch ya next time!
P.S. I should have pics up of my new place in Auburn by this time next week.
