(ThatKidInTheCorner :: Seeing Mountains Doesn't Get Old (For Me, At Least))

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January 31, 2007

Seeing Mountains Doesn't Get Old (For Me, At Least)

I am not remotely bored of seeing Mt. Rainier majestically hovering in the distance

As much as I might whinge about my daily commute across The Dread Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (that is, the 520 Bridge), the experience is not without its charms. That is, on certain clear mornings the Eastside-bound commuters are treated to a magnificent view of Mt. Rainier just as they round the first big bend on the 520 Bridge. In fact, on those mornings when there is a view of Mt. Rainier, there's usually a hiccup in the traffic flow, as each driver slows down to take a peak at the mountain looming to the south. And, as far as gaper delays go, I prefer the scenic-view-inspired ones to the traffic-citation ones.

The Mt. Rainier thing continues to dazzle me. A July snowball fight in shorts on the glacier at Mt. Rainier National Park as part of my family's Pacific Northwest trip when I was 13 was my defining memory of the C@L area prior to my move here in 2005. I remember being blown away by the way the mountain loomed over the city back then, and just assumed that the view of the mountain was there every day. No so fast, junior! Little did I know that "visiting in July" meant "visiting during dry season when it wasn't cloudy and overcast 95 percent of the time like it is nine months out of the year" -- turns out that views of Rainier are much more a summer thing than a winter thing.

Thus, when you do catch a glimpse of the mountain in the winter, it feels like an event. And though I remain something of a C@L rookie, I can confidently say that I am not yet remotely bored by Rainier.

So you can imagine that I was pretty fired up for the weather this past weekend, as my first day skiing at Crystal also happened to be a virtually cloud-free. Folks had told me that clear days afforded you a killer view of Rainier from the top of Crystal, but I had yet to see with mine own eyes.

Right. As of Saturday, I've seen it with mine own eyes. And it's pretty solid (click through for nice big versions of the photos):

And another:

I would volunteer that I also enjoy (a) the view of the Olympic mountains visible to the west of the city (though I have to walk up the hill to get a glimpse of them), (b) the view of the Cascades from my building at work (can't see them from my office, but they're there when I go to get my officially sanctioned lunch foodstuffs), and (c) from across the ocean when friends post cool photos of the Alps.

Fingers crossed for clear weather tomorrow morning.

Posted by thatkid at January 31, 2007 11:13 PM under C@L , ThatKid

January 31, 2007

Seeing Mountains Doesn't Get Old (For Me, At Least)

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