Priscilla Takes Me Back To Washington Mountains With JR & CJ

In December a package arrived at my doorstep, sent by Priscilla from my old home location in Mount Vernon, Washington.

On Christmas, well, actually Christmas Eve, that package was opened.

And what to my wondering eyes did appear?

Well, among several things one of the things was a calendar, with Washington scenery.

I did not get around to flipping the calendar to February til this morning to see the Washington scene you see here.

This is a scene of the sort it is impossible to see anywhere in any direction for hundreds of miles at my current location.

The mountain you are looking at is Mount Shuksan.

Mount Shuksan is in what is known as the Mount Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest, part of the Cascade Mountains, which range from British Columbia to California.

So, America, you own this scenery, what with it being a National Forest.

There are frequent forest fires in this National Forest. I don't know if any Washingtonians have been dumb enough to take our dumb president's advice to go rake the forest floor so as to prevent those forest fires..

There are two volcanoes in the Mount Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest. The aforementioned Mount Baker and the not frequently seen Glacier Peak. I only saw Glacier Peak a couple times whilst residing in Washington. To see Glacier Peak required doing some hiking, or mountain driving. The Glacier Peak volcano was about the same distance as the Mount Baker volcano from my Mount Vernon abode.

In winter the Mount Baker Ski Area is open for skiing, if there is enough snow, which there usually is, what with the Mount Baker Ski Area holding the world record for deepest snow at a ski area.

When skiing in the Mount Baker Ski Area you can not actually see Mount Baker, except maybe at the top of one of the ski runs which my ski level never allowed me to access. The Mount Baker volcano is to the south and the view of it is blocked by other large mountain masses. But, Mount Shuksan is visible from the Mount Baker Ski Area, hence some people erroneously assume it is Mount Baker.

In summer, after the winter snow pack melts enough, a road is opened to a large parking lot which overlooks Mount Baker, giving easy hiking access to the volcano, and to the switchback trail to the top of Tabletop Mountain, which is what you see below.

The above is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken. Sitting on top of Tabletop Mountain those are two of my favorite nephews in the foreground, Jeremy, known as JR, and Christopher, known as CJ.

In the middle of the photo there is a line of the type rock pilings I call Hoodoos. And in the background that is a fuller view of Mount Shuksan than the one on Priscilla's Washington calendar.

As you can see, much of the snow melts off Mount Shuksan during the HOT time of the year, leaving only a collection of glaciers behind.

Next month it is highly likely I will be seeing Jeremy. Most likely on Monday, March 11 and on Monday, March 18. Mondays are Jeremy's regularly scheduled dinner dates with his grandma, also known as Miss Daisy.

Jeremy's Monday night dinner dates with Miss Daisy always are topped off with a rousing bout of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Jeremy usually wins these games, unless grandma is having a particularly good night...