"Bye and Bye"

Last summer, Pippin and I took the family to explore the evergreen state of Washington. Our first stop took us to a viewpoint of Mt. Saint Helens, very near the site where some of the famous eruption photos were taken in 1980.

From Mt. Saint Helens, we travelled to Mt. Ranier National Park and visited the verdant flower meadows of Paradise and the alpine lakes in the shadow of the mountain.

Leaving the mighty mountain, we turned north to the Olympic Peninsula. From the coastal seastacks and foggy beaches to the rugged Olympic Mountains, we explored it all. Along the way, we glimpsed the Elwha dam, which is scheduled to be removed this year to restore salmon migration routes. In the coastal rain forests, we saw waterfall after waterfall. And we even managed time to tour the emerald city of Seattle and enjoy the scents of the lavender fields of Sequim, before finally bidding a final adieu to Washington and Mt. Ranier.