Sunday, January 10, 2010

Headin’ home, Seattle style

I hit traffic on the 520 Evergreen Bridge yesterday when I was heading home after dropping Kat off at her sorority. (She’d come home for 24 hours of “veg time” after a very busy first week of school.) 

Traffic at 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon?, I thought. Huh?!

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Then I noticed why the cars had stopped right there on the bridge on a quiet Saturday afternoon at 4:00.  I quickly grabbed my camera from my purse and snapped some  photos: 

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In stark contrast to last winter at this time, when Seattle was dealing with freezing temperatures and then flooding, we’ve had some glorious, clear, relatively warm weather lately, and The Mountain (as we Pacific Northwesterners like to call Mt. Rainier) has been out in all her glory fairly often.

Mt. Rainier, at 14,411 feet elevation, is so high it sometimes creates its own weather system. Warm, moist air flows eastward from the Pacific Ocean until it runs up against the ice covered slopes of the mountain, creating clouds which often obscure the peak.

It really is amazing to live amid all the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest!  Tom often talks about someday moving to Maui, but I have a feeling I’d miss the varied beauty of this place, with its TWO surrounding mountain ranges (Cascades and Olympics) , its beautiful lakes and rivers, and its actual seasons. 

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6 comments:

Goofball said...

beautiful

Suzanne said...

I so miss the Pacific Northwest... and Mt, Rainier. I hope to be able to come home for a visit this year.

Tonya said...

I really can't imagine living anywhere else. Short of a 6-month stint when I lived in Maine (yuk), I always have, and the sight of that mountain never ceases to make me gasp.

Margaret said...

The weather has been amazing this weekend; I've loved it!

Lynn said...

We've been here for three years now and never want to leave. There's not another place on earth we'd rather live. I think it's actually a good thing that "the Mountain" isn't always visible. It's such a delightful and amazing surprise each and every time we see it.

Snooker said...

When I moved to Seattle on a short stint I was shown an apartment with a bedroom window which had a lovely view of "The Mountain".
Sold.
For the next six months I would wake up and throw open my drapes hoping to see it again... but never did!
She is an elusive beauty that mountain of yours.
Sidenote:
As I was leaving the area, the airplane pilot gave us a nice "fly by" of both Rainier and St. Helens.

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