“You are never too old to dream, too late to begin again, or too far away to reach for something new.” ~ Unknown
in the distance
Greg and I drove to Mt. Rainier today. The visitor center is about 100 miles from Seattle, and since the road to Carbon River, where I wanted to go, was closed, we headed to the visitor center in a place called Paradise. Once we got out of the city, we could clearly see the 14,411-foot mountain. The closer we got, though, the cloudier it became. It didn’t matter. We were on a mission. Once inside the park, which is absolutely gorgeous, we stopped at Carter Falls. The Nisqually River has carved a wide, rocky path down the mountain. Glacier water is always uniquely cloudy blue and beautiful-sounding. We managed to follow the trail down into the riverbed. Greg fell first, and with my camera in one hand and a lens in the other, I then went down, hitting both lenses against rocks and turning my ankle. Somehow, we all survived, including the camera and lenses, but I was not a very happy camper about the lenses. Everything still works, including my ankle and Greg’s leg, but our pride had definitely seen better days, and the lenses are both effectively marked as used.
Bald Eagle on Mt Rainier
We were about halfway up the mountain to Paradise when we pulled over to have a look back down the valley. I got over the lens debacle as soon as I saw a man in a bald eagle suit riding a motorcycle. He made me laugh out loud. I never saw him again after we left this spot, and that was too bad because I would have totally photographed him again and been on a first-name basis by the time we got back to town. It was a long trip, and even though the mountain was covered in clouds most of the time we were near it, it was completely worth it. We passed through several small towns and met some interesting characters – some packing pistols and spewing conspiracy theories – and we saw some of the most beautiful land this country has to offer. I’d only seen Rainier from the air before today, and I’d never been on a volcano before. She’s a lot more beautiful up close. I foresee more visits to the Cascade Range in my future. I think Greg would say the same, but I’m pretty sure he won’t be getting in the riverbed with me again.
14,000+
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