6/2/2009 As The Crow Flies....

On our way out the door today we couldn't help but notice our trash can that we carry with us.

We couldn't figure out what happened to it. Then Bob saw this on the side.

His little squirrel friend could smell the peanut shells in here and probably thought there was some still filled with peanuts and it wanted them. NOW! There was no waiting until Bob sat down in the chair with the bucket close by and throwing an occasional peanut its way. He played hell trying to get at it but he didn't succeed. Needless to say we threw the can away as it had seen better days anyway.

So we got in the truck for what I thought was going to be a short ride. We were on our way to Mt. Ranier and from the Commissary parking lot,,,well, gee IT'S RIGHT THERE! How long could it take us to get there? I had even told my forever friend Susan in Atlanta that we were only like 10 miles from it. As the crow flies. from the looks at how close it was, I figured twenty minutes and we'd be there. Little did I know. In actuality, it was 70 miles. looks can be so deceiving when judging distance!

On the way we pulled over at one of the many scenery vistas and saw the Alder Dam. This dam is 24 stories high!

A pic of the lake that feeds the reservoir at the damn. It was so calm and so serene, hardly a ripple moved the water.

Another scenery vista but the scenery looks rather ravaged after the spring thaw. Copper colors the water. During the time when the water was really flowing the water covered the rocks you see on each side.

The aftermath of the spring thaw. It almost looks like a war zone with fallen trees instead of fallen soldiers. I guess only the strong survived. You can see how the sides of the creek bed have been stripped of trees and brush and top soil.

Bob walked down into the creek bed to cross the small bridge that now crosses the small creek that trickles through this canyon now.

The bridge, consists of one long cut so that it is flat on top to give a better footing, and one rail. (Look center picture, he's standing on the bridge- this should give you an idea of how deep and wide this gorge is)

As we drove along, now an hour into this trip, we got a good peak at Mt. Ranier.

The spring thaw is still going strong as evidenced by this waterfall. Here I am sitting on the wall by this one. Oh wow...do I need a haircut!

Scenery along the way.

We were on that bridge in the center of the picture.

We're getting closer....Mt. Ranier is a volcano that was formed between a half and one million years ago and last erupted in the late 1800's. It peaks at 14,411 feet and is thought to have been at least a thousand feet higher at one time. The upper portion of the cone was likely destroyed by explosions and landslides.

It's June! You gotta at least touch the snow!

We couldn't help but notice that these trees didn't have branches on one side. Wind maybe?

We stopped at this one waterfall on the way up. The water was coming down with such force that you could feel it. You know how when you are near a live band and you can feel music in your chest? Well, you feel this from your feet to your knees and in your chest too. And loud???? Oh. My. Gosh.

A view from up above the falls.

The higher we went, the deeper the snow.

We finally got as close as we could. The roads were closed due to snow up further.

Look how wide the tracks are on this snow remover.

The harshness of the winter was quite evident on the roadways.

After seeing this I made sure Bob hugged the center line!

We passed waterfalls all along the way. I had to touch the water and it was COLD!

It was time to leave. We had a great couple of hours here but it was time to move on. So we said so long to.....

Since I had lots of pictures of the rest of our day I broke this post into three sections.