Seattle skyline

While those of us who live in Western Washington express our frustration loudly when we can count the total number of real summer days on two hands, we can’t complain about the opportunities we have for entertainment when those days roll around. Where else can you spend one day at sea level and the next at the third most “topographically prominent mountain in the U.S.?”

On Sunday, I took photos of the Seattle waterfront, the ferries and the ferris wheel from the decks of the USS Bunker Hill.

Wildflowers at Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier was glorious Monday, as you can see from the photos.  Not only were wildflowers — lupines, paintbrushes and buttercups to name the ones I could name — in full bloom, the cloud cover that usually hangs over the mountain wafted away leaving us with the feeling we were seeing it from a living room picture window.  We paid attention to the ranger’s warning and kept talking while we walked along one side of a small lake where an adolescent bear was hanging out recently. The alternative was not to talk, while periodically clapping and shouting “Bear.” We climbed and clawed our way up a dusty, rocky trail in search of marmots, furry creatures that look like they’re seeking celebrityhood by posing for photos.  Despite our efforts to find mammals, the only wildlife we came close to were chipmunks and the swarms of mosquitos that lit on our faces and necks looking for lunch. Days like these make it possible to overlook the overcast days that outnumber the rest.

Mt. Rainier from Sunrise entrance