Today was a great day!  The intentions after breakfast were simply to drive around and see what kind of trouble we could stir up.  We ended up driving up the base of Mount Rainier, one of the tallest mountains in the USA.  We got up to 3,400 feet before roadblocks stopped us.  Foot traffic is allowed beyond that point, so we are going to try that on Friday.  Connecting with nature is a good thing.  It clears out the mind and brings perspective on many levels.  

The wind at 3,400 feet was pretty harsh.  I took over 150 photos today and there will be more when we head back up the mountain.  As soon as I get home and process them, I will post a link to them on my blog.  The unfortunate part about the trip is that I think a visit to Gonzaga University, my newest institution of higher learning is going to be out of the question.  The weather is not optimal and the trip is actually longer than I originally thought.  At the end of the day, it would be about 8 hours of driving round trip and I am pretty sure I don’t want to stay in a car that long.

I will miss not being able to visit Gonzaga.  Perhaps I will catch it next time.  There is so much to see and do here that it is hard to make a schedule.  The weather cleared up a bit tonight and the temperature rose to a very balmy 60 degrees.  That is good news.  With any luck, we will be able to head up the mountain unimpeded.