Theo & Ruby Say Hi Under Mountain Above Crystal Clear Water

 

That which you see above showed up in my email last night. Theo & Ruby saying Hi.

There was no explanatory text in the email. So, I do not know where big brother, David, was during this photo opportunity. 

I can tell the twins are on Harstine Island, a location in south Puget Sound where the Tacoma trio and their parental units have a getaway cabin to escape to when they want to get away from Tacoma.

That water you see behind Theo & Ruby is a rarity at my current location. First off, it is saltwater. I would need to drive a couple hundred miles to see some saltwater.

Second off, that water behind Theo & Ruby is crystal clear. There is no water anywhere near my current location that is crystal clear, other than bottled water. Even the tap water here is a bit murky most of the time.

And just like it taking a long drive to see some saltwater, an equally long drive could take me to crystal clear water in Texas, such as the water which flows from the San Marcos Spring to make Aquarena Springs and the 75 mile long San Marcos River. I have seen this water one time only and at that point in time I remember thinking I had never ever seen such crystal clear water. The San Marcos River terminates when it joins the Guadalupe River, which I have never seen, but also has a reputation for having clear water.

Also behind Theo & Ruby, in addition to the crystal clear saltwater, is Mount Rainier, which looks to be sporting a fresh coat of snow.

Mount Rainier is known by many names, most frequently simply as The Mountain. Most commonly used in a sentence like "The Mountain is out today". Which means the sky is clear and you can see Mount Rainier, a volcano which one can see from almost all over the state of Washington, hence the reason The Mountain is the prominent feature of Washington state vehicle licenses.

The Puyallup Indian name for Mount Rainier was Tahoma, hence the name of the town David, Theo & Ruby live in.

Mount Rainier is also known as Crystal Mountain, which is why the Mount Rainier ski area is called Crystal Mountain Ski Resort.

I just looked up at the calendar on my computer room wall and saw that this month's calendar photo is the aforementioned Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. Wait a second, I'll find my phone and snap a photo of the calendar...

It is difficult not to take a cockeyed photo of something rectangular using a phone. The caption on the lower right, below the photo, says "Milky Way over the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort".

I do not remember when last I saw the Milky Way the way one sees it where there is little competing light and little air pollution. Houseboating, long ago, on Lake Powell, is my most recent memory of being amazed at gazing at the Milky Way.

I also do not remember when last I was at any sort of ski resort. I do not believe any such thing exists in Texas. Or next door in Oklahoma. A couple hundred miles west and northwest, in New Mexico and Colorado I could find some ski resorts.

I drove through Ruidoso, in New Mexico, the last time I drove back to Texas from Arizona. Ruidoso is known for having a ski area. But, I saw no sign of such as I drove on by.

On this next to last Sunday of the 2020 version of November I am 100% certain I will be doing no skiing today, nor will I be gazing at any crystal clear water. Or a mountain....