Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park

Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park © 2010 Bo Mackison

We took an unexpected side trip to the Cascades. As we were driving from Seattle to Vancouver, we saw the Cascades Highway and had to go check out the National Park. We ended up spending the night, getting a bit away from our planned trip. That just makes the trip that much more of an adventure, that much more fun!

And our family collects visits to the National Parks and Monuments the way other families collect coupons.

Mt. Rainier from Paradise

Mt. Rainier National Park, View from Paradise Visitor Center

Mt. Rainier from Paradise © 2010 Bo Mackison

We were lucky. “The mountain is out,” they kept telling us as we were getting ready to drive to Mt. Rainier National Park from Seattle. And so yes, we drove to Mt. Rainier National Park and the skies were clear and all the mountains were snowy and shining in their glory. It was the first day of good snow melt, and the waterfalls and rivers were all rushing and gushing!

We entered the Nisqually Entrance, arriving about 9 am, then drove up towards Paradise.  We stopped way too many times to count for photographs, also for a stroll through the lobby at the historic National Park Inn, a hike to Christine Falls, then lunch at the lovely Paradise Inn.

After checking out the Paradise Visitor Center (very modern, very cool — as in temperature!) where I photographed the above shot of Mt. Rainier, we hiked the Box Canyon trail, took another several hundred photos — the mountain was OUT! — and then gawked and gawked as we walked the Grove of the Patriarchs Trail (giant trees, boardwalk, icy rushing river from snow melt!)

We finally exited the park on the Mather Memorial Parkway in the northeast corner of the park about 9 pm and headed back to Seattle — exhausted but happy! Good thing we were exploring in mid-June and taking advantage of some of the longest days of the year.

Paradise is the name of an area of Mt. Rainier NP which is approximately at 5,400 feet on the 14,000+ south slope of Mount Rainier. Evidently Paradise is the most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park, it was jammed with people, but we didn’t stop there long.

There was too much to see elsewhere. There were plenty of people playing in the snow at Paradise though, as seen in the photograph.

To the Friendly Skies

United Terminal at O"Hare International Airport, Chicago

To the Friendly Skies © 2010 Bo Mackison

O’Hare International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and one of the largest. So I am always grateful when I can take the moving walkway through the terminal from one plane’s arrival gate to the connecting plane’s departure gate.

And these walkways were long enough, I was able to take more than a few photographs. They came out in a funky kind of way — appropriate, I think, for the beginning of a journey.

Resting at O’Hare

Ohare International Airport in Chicago

Resting at OHare © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Seeded Earth blog is taking a short break from botanical photography as I take a short trip before I start my summer art fair schedule. For the next week or so, I’ll be sharing a few travel photos as I visit one of the few areas of the country I’ve never seen in person – the Pac Northwest. We started our trip to Seattle at Chicago’s OHare International Airport. We were energized with anticipation of the trip ahead of us, but not all travelers were quite so happy to be on the road. (Or in the skies.)

BTW, best use I’ve seen for a men’s tie in a long time – as an eye mask to block the bright lights of the airport at high noon.

Clematis

Red Clematis

Red Clematis © 2010 Bo Mackison

This particular clematis is growing on my mailbox. At least, it had its beginning at the base of my mailbox. We have had such remarkable growing weather, the clematis has grown so tall that its tendrils have grasped the maple tree that hovers above it, and is now climbing, ever upward, along the branch of the maple.