I'd meant to give you a breakdown on exactly how Angie Nixon defeated Alexander Vindman but it is Day Seven here on the Three Queens Fire meaning that I have now work 16 hour days on the last 31 of 35 days. Tired does not begin to describe my current state.
But today's duties required a three hour drive to the Sunrise Vistor's Center at Mount Rainier National Park, so I wanted to at least share that with you since lord knows every other post will have election coverage and y'all deserve a break.
The mountain stands at 14,406’ tall, making it among thr tallest in the contiguous United States and the tallest in both Washington and the Cascades mountain range. Of course, Rainier is only the most recent moniker applied to the mountain. The Nisqually, Cowlitz, Yakama, Muckleshoot, and Puyallup peoples all have names for it as well.
I'd seen the mountain from an airplane a few times—it just sticks right out as you fly by—but I simply wasn't prepared for my reaction as we rounded a bend. Suddenly, there it was.
I was spellbound that I recorded a video just to remember how I felt:
I've never been to the Alps, but in my mind this was about as close to Switzerland as I could get. The landscape seemed to mimick every view I'd seen on tv. As we moved up the mountain, we were entreated with views of conifer stands and subalpine lakes, along with a herd of elk.
After making our delivery, my colleague Ben and I stopped again to admire the view.
I remember feeling a bit odd in that moment. I'm the only one of my family who ever really left Kentucky and I found myself wondering why it was that I had so much wanderlust in me when the rest of my folk stayed home. I never understood how people could not want to get out in the world and see it for all its glory. But I shrugged it off. Sone things you can't know. Better to focus on the things you can.
I thought today, just for a moment, that despite all the struggles I face out here how lucky I was to see this magical place.
And I wanted to share it with you.
Jason
Fort Lewis, WA, was our first duty station. Born & raised in Indiana, I had traveled some prior to moving west, but mostly to places east of the Mississippi. I was awestruck at the scenery as we drove from IL to WA, but nothing could've prepared me for Mt. Rainier.
While you could (obviously!) see her everywhere in the area, there's one particular view that would stop me in my tracks. Walking out of the commissary on base, she was straight ahead. I'd stop every time I came out.
I hope to see other grand mountains someday, but Mt. Rainier will always hold a piece of my heart.
Mt. Rainier is one of my favorite places on Earth. I moved to Seattle many years ago to follow my wife as she went to grad school, and after the first summer of climbing Rainier and hiking many of its trails, we decided to make the Pacific Northwest our home. Never left. And still hike Rainier (or Tahoma) every year. Glad you got to see it. Come back and hike it in more relaxed times.