Mt. Rainier

     

Around here, if you can see Mt. Rainier you know it's a good day.  It's amazing that such a huge monolith spends most of the year shrouded in grey and we almost forget it's there.  And the fact that everyone gets so excited to point it out when it's visible attests to just how scarce the view of her majesty is.  And while it's fun to see from afar, the sub-alpine meadows that surround the mountain are breathtaking in their own way.  I didn't realize until I got there that I hadn't been in over two years and I regret that (except that I was probably enjoying being somewhere else ;)).

We were there the day after 9/11, which is why I am guessing that the flag was at half mast, or it could have been for the recovery of some climbers that had been missing since January.  What it probably wasn't for is in reverence of Lance Armstrong getting stripped of his titles, which is what I had originally thought that the headline "Flags at half-staff for Armstrong" referred to last month - yeah, that was actually for Neil Armstrong. 

 Inspired by a Rick Steve's sketching your travels class...

Inspired by the possibility of blueberries on those branches...

                               

Cruz loved to tell people walking by "I hiking!", followed by some dramatic shortness of breath.

 These days Cruz can't take any pictures without saying "one, two...statue" and then freezing in a pose.

 Alta Loop hike topped off with delicious Rainier* blueberries - just like their tart cherry cousins they are a superior fruit!

*I don't know if that is the actual varietal, but I don't know how to categorize them otherwise.
** Actually they are called wild Mt. Rainier blueberries and you can buy them here.  I bet the Mt. St. Helens ones are good also, I wonder if those come roasted?