In Seattle Looking Too Close To Mount Rainier

If I remember correctly, and sometimes I do, I have previously made mention of the fact that I find the frequent instances of misleading photos of Mount Rainier to be a bit worrisome.

What with tourists arriving in Washington expecting to see Mount Rainier being a gigantic presence looming nearby.

This morning's Seattle Times online had the best example yet of this. The Seattle Space Needle peeking above Queen Anne Hill, with Mount Rainier looking like a nearby monster.

Now, when the Mountain is out, it is an impressive sight, naturally, as seen via one's eyes. When one is in Tacoma the Mountain looms way larger, and closer, than it does in Seattle. But not nearly like that which you see in the above photo.

On a clear day, from the vantage point of the Skagit Flats, a little over 100 miles north of Mount Rainier, one can see the Mountain, looking like a big white pimple on the horizon.

I know a lifelong Texan, here in Wichita Falls, who had never been to the west coast til a couple years ago when she flew to Seattle to visit some friends. She'd never seen mountains before. She told me it was mesmerizing, no matter which way she looked, west, east, north or south, she saw mountains. 

I do not know if she had a pre-conceived notion about how large Mount Rainier loomed on the skyline. But, I do know that her friends had a cabin near Enumclaw, the town thought of as the Gateway to Mount Rainier, and that she was overwhelmed looking at that Mountain, so big and white, so close.

She did not know, til I told her, that there are four more volcanoes in Washington. She knew of Mount St. Helens, but not the other three.

Mount Baker, the volcano I lived near when I lived in the Skagit Valley, also gets the distorted zoomed photo treatment. Mount Baker, like Rainier, is also totally impressive in its natural state, without any photo enhancement.

It has been years since I have seen a real mountain, other than the artificial mountain, Mount Wichita, that is located in the town in which I currently reside...

Back In Tacoma Pedaling With David, Theo & Ruby

That which you see here showed up this morning in my email, from Microsoft. a OneDrive Memory from this Day.

The day was in August, but not the first day of August. The year was 2017. I was in Texas the first day of August in 2017. 

A few days later, well, over a week later, I left Texas and flew to Washington where I met my nephews David and Theo, and my one and only niece, Ruby for the first time.

A few days after arriving in Tacoma, David, Theo and Ruby directed me and their parental units to Tacoma's Point Ruston, where we soon found ourselves driving along the Tacoma waterfront, a pedal powered motion device.

In the above photo Theo is in the driver's seat, with Ruby next to him, with David next to Ruby, keeping an eye on the rearview mirror.

The pedal powered motion device was a lot of fun. Someone should bring these to the town I am currently in. Methinks people would enjoy renting one to pedal themselves along the Circle Trail.

Way back in August of 2017 I blog posted about the day we pedaled a surrey with a fringe on top, in a blogging titled Point Ruston Ruby, Theo & David Surrey Survey Of Tacoma's New Waterfront Development.

Point Ruston is an impressive development on the Tacoma waterfront, transforming an industrial wasteland into a huge complex of residential towers, restaurants, and other attractions, like the aforementioned pedal powered surreys.

Point Ruston came to be a bustling success during the same time frame the Texas town named Fort Worth has struggled to reclaim an industrial wasteland on the north side of the town's downtown. Point Ruston is a bigger project than Fort Worth's proposed, stalled, project, which has limped along since this century began.

Point Ruston is the site America's biggest Superfund cleanup, mitigating the pollution left behind by the long-gone Asarco copper smelting operation. After the cleanup billions of bucks of private funding showed up to transform the cleaned-up land.

Fort Worth has not yet reached the point where the EPA determines the former industrial wasteland is safe for development.

It is so strange how two towns in the same country can be so different. One dynamic, the other not.

Perplexing...

Back To Death Valley Badwater With Jason & Joey

A few days ago photos showed up in the daily Microsoft OneDrive Memories of this Day email of the time, way back in August, in one of the final years of the previous decade, when my nephews, Jason and Joey, flew me to Las Vegas for a few days of Super Sunshine.

I made a blog post of the photos I saw that day, including one I thought was Jason and Joey at Badwater in Death Valley, that being the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, a couple hundred feet below sea level.

Well, today more OneDrive Death Valley photos showed up, with one I can clearly tell is at Badwater. 

That is nephew Joey walking on the Badwater salt flat, whilst his big brother, Jason, closely inspects the salt flat.

That white dot you see high on the cliff, that marks sea level.

It seems as if it should be a bit unsettling to be so far below sea level.

But, it actually is not.

It never crossed my mind to worry what if the Pacific Ocean suddenly sprung a leak and started flooding Death Valley. I wonder how big a lake would be the result?

Finding World Record Breaking Snow On Washington's Mount Baker

Saw that which you see here, yesterday, on Facebook. Hard to believe that a couple decades ago I could look out my living room window, and, through the forest of fir trees, see the Mount Baker volcano a few miles to the northeast.

I can look out any of my Texas windows and see nary a single mountain in any direction, let alone a snow-covered volcano.

Reading the text indicating the winter of 1998-1999 Mount Baker's snow accumulation had it being the snowiest mountain on record had me a bit perplexed.

I seem to remember such a claim being made many times prior to that last winter of the previous century. 

I Googled "Mount Baker" and clicked on the Wikipedia article about Mount Baker to see if mention was made regarding record breaking Mount Baker snow, and saw only the following regarding record breaking snow...

"After Mount Rainier, Mount Baker has the heaviest glacier cover of the Cascade Range volcanoes; the volume of snow and ice on Mount Baker is greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. It is also one of the snowiest places in the world; in 1999, Mount Baker Ski Area, located 9 mi to the northeast, set the world record for recorded snowfall in a single season—1,140 inches (95 ft)."

Maybe what I was remembering was Mount Baker setting records for snow accumulated, as in piled up deep, and not the amount of snow falling in a single snow falling season.

I do remember that upon reaching the Mount Baker ski area, with the road plowed clear, that it was like driving in a snow canyon, with the snow deep on either side of the road.

Of late I find myself wondering if I am ever going to see Mount Baker, or any of the Washington volcanoes, ever again...

Final July Saturday Lucy Park Jungle Hike

With the temperature in the relatively chilly mid 80s, with a wind doing some blowing, but with humidity high, it was to Lucy Park I ventured on this final Saturday of the 2024 version of July for some high speed nature communing in the natural sauna steam bath.

I hiked the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle today for the first time in several weeks. As you can see via the above photo documentation it appears some of the Lucy Park Jungle has been stripped of its ground cover.

Continuing on, eventually we arrive at the yet not stripped of ground cover area of the Jungle.

 I like the Lucy Park Jungle better in full jungle mode, with the grass grown tall.

I do understand, though, why the grass gets cut. Left alone it presents a bit of a wildfire danger.

That earthquake, which had me all shook up yesterday, is now upgraded to a 5.1 on the Richter Scale quake. Apparently, there were two follow-up earthquakes in the hour after the first one, but those two did not shake as far as Wichita Falls.

A Little Shook Up In Wichita Falls

 A little over a half hour ago, 9:38 AM, on Friday, July 26, I felt something I have not felt in Texas, which I fairly frequently felt whilst living in Western Washington.

An earthquake.

The shaking did not last long. And there was no loud explosive noise like I experienced in my old home zone. 

I soon learned the quake was epicentered near Hermleigh, Texas, about 156 miles from my Wichita Falls location, as a bird flies.

During the 1990s there was a period when multiple earthquakes were epicentered a couple miles east of my abode.

Those were shallow quakes, less than 3.0 on the Richter Scale. But, due to being so close, the shaking was strong, and loud. My windows popped, the tall fir trees shook and swayed, the tile on my kitchen floor cracked.

Today's quake, centered near Hermleigh, Texas measured 5.0 on the Richter Scale. This must have been quite a surprising shock to those living near Hermleigh.

Remembering A Twin Bluff In Utah With The Goobers

The photo you see here showed up in my Microsoft OneDrive Memories of the Day, today.

I know what I am seeing in this photo, and who I am seeing, and when this photo memory happened.

In October. Not July. And, I think the year was 1998.

Booking ending Wanda, in the middle, are the entities known as the Goober Twins, Big Ed on the left, Wally on the right.

Wally is Wanda's first husband.

The trio is standing in the town of Bluff, in Utah, known for the twin pillars you see behind the Goober Twins.

I have not been in Utah for a couple decades. The last time, I think, was whilst driving back to Washington in early August of 2001. During the last decade of the last century, I was finding myself in Utah once a year, usually.

It is a tad odd this photo of the Goober Twins showed up today. Yesterday was the twin's birthday.

Happy birthday, Goober Twins...

Being Cautious About Wildlife Walking Around Steamy Lake Wichita Sauna

With the temperature two degrees shy of 90, with no wind and the high humidity making that temperature really feel like 93, it was to Lake Wichita Park I ventured today for some endorphin acquisition in a natural steamy sauna.

I saw no one climbing to the summit of Mount Wichita today. I think if I attempted such I would likely faint upon reaching the summit.

That sign advising the use of caution due to this being a wildlife area has been added since last I was at this location.

What wildlife? I could not help but wonder. Wildlife of the wild sort wild enough that one needs to be cautious" I have seen a deer or two in the vicinity, in the past. I've seen no snakes, armadillos or alligators.

As you can see, it is an almost totally clear blue sky above Mount Wichita. Then I turned around to take a photo looking the opposite direction, across Lake Wichita.

Where did the blue sky go? I see some little clouds, but no bright blue sky. Due to that aforementioned lack of wind, Lake Wichita is being dead calm, with a mirror-like smoothness and reflectivity.

I am ready for summer to be over with...

Microsoft Remembers Nephews Jason & Joey Taking Me To Las Vegas

Another Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day that I actually do remember, though I think the month was August, not July.

A few months before I moved to Texas my two oldest nephews, Jason and Joey, flew me to Las Vegas for some fun in the sun for four days.

That photo at the top is from the buffet at the Stratosphere Tower and Casino. The day before we'd taken the rickety double-decker elevator to the top of the Stratosphere Tower. Upon reaching the top the elevator doors opened with our ears greeted with a screeching alarm.

Electric power had been cut to the tower. Nothing was moving. The elevator made it to the top on emergency backup power. Dozens were stranded on the stalled roller coaster on top of the tower.

The temperature was way over 100 degrees.

The temperature inside the tower quickly became quite warm. After an hour, or so, the natives started getting restless, demanding to know how long this was going to last. I loudly piped up with how about giving us something to drink to keep us cool. A call was made and permission was given to open the bar, with free soft drinks to the kids, free hard drinks to the non-kids.

If I remember right it was almost three hours we were stuck on that tower. When power returned we lined up for our turn to return to ground level. Upon reaching ground level we were greeted by the manager of the casino apologizing for the inconvenience. I asked him if he could comp us for three buffets because we were heading for dinner when we got stuck and are now real hungry.

So, the manager wrote some script, like a doctor's prescription. We found our way to the buffet, showed the script and got treated like we were special guests.

The buffet had the option to play Keno whilst eating. I had never played Keno. The nephews asked if they could play Keno. So, they filled out Keno cards, which I then had to play for them, since they were not old enough. The nephews won some at Keno and thought it to be great fun.

And so, the next morning, waking up at Excalibur, at the south end of the Vegas strip, the nephews wanted to return to the Stratosphere for the breakfast buffet. And Keno. And so, we did, which is photo documented in the photo at the top, Joey sitting next to me, which means Jason must have taken the photo.

On one of the Vegas mornings I read in the local newspaper that conditions were such that Death Valley might break its temperature record that day. I asked the nephews if they wanted to get real HOT in Death Valley. They answered in the affirmative.

I've driven Death Valley several times when it is the HOT time of the year. You don't sweat. The moisture evaporates before you have a chance to sweat. You have to constantly be drinking liquids. Previous times I have followed the signs suggesting not to use A/C, as such may overtask the engine. That and no A/C lets one enjoy the overheated experience. 

But, the nephews insisted the A/C stay on.

We got to Badwater, and walked out into the flats a couple hundred feet below sea level.

It was HOT. There is a thermometer at Badwater, advertising the temperature, as this is the location where the temperature record can be broken.

I believe the above photo was taken at Badwater, with the nephews contemplating if they really do want to walk out onto the dried salt flats. Eventually they did so, but I have no photos documenting this.

Another day we drove to Hoover Dam. This was before 9/11 and so you could easily walk across the dam, to Arizona, with no overbearing security.

After playing on the dam, we were a bit overheated, and somehow found our way to a park slightly north of the dam, with swimming access to Lake Mead.  That is Joey next to me, in Lake Mead, which, again, means Jason must have taken the picture.

I webpaged the Nephews taking me to Las Vegas as part of my Nephews in Danger series of webpages....

Cloudy Semi-Cool Breezy Walk Around Sikes Lake

With a cloud covered sky, the temperature in the low 80s, with a wind blowing, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured this Monday morning in July, for a walk around the lake, hoping not to need to dodge lightning bolts, which are on the weather menu for today.

But, so far, no sky drippage, no lightning bolts, just a pleasant cloudy day respite from getting seared over 100 degrees.

In the photo documentation, you are looking north through one of the Sikes Lake gazebos, strategically placed around the lake to give walkers a respite from the sun, or rain, if needed. 

That is a drinking fountain you see in the foreground. Drinking fountains are a rare amenity in park locations in this town. I know of none in Lucy Park or Lake Wichita Park or the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area.

Today is day two of being back feeling optimistic about the outcome of the upcoming election. I prefer feeling optimistic to the opposite of feeling optimistic...