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Saturday, August 22, 2009

To the Mountains

We love the mountains of Washington. We have mountains to the east and north - they are amazingly beautiful and change with the seasons. Before Don's surgery we took a long ride in the spring on a gorgeous day. It was nice to get out and be with nature for a while.


The Sisters are heavily covered with snow during the winter - and most of it melts each spring. They are the first mountains to lose their snow. When we first moved to WA we couldn't remember if these mountains were the Sisters or the Brothers - so we still call them the Siblings.



Looking out across a valley at The Sisters . . .the peace and quiet in this spot is amazing. . .


Along the way we passed these horses grazing in a field - they looked up at us and went contentedly back to grazing . . .



We drove past a lake and could see Mt. Baker in the distance. Mt. Baker is our most famous mountain in this area. It is over 10,000 feet and a skier's paradise in the winter. It set a new record for the most snowfall ever measured in the U.S. in a single season. The U.S. Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the Mt. Baker Ski Area in northwestern Washington State reported 1,140 inches of snowfall for the 1998-99 snowfall season, that is over 95 FEET of snow - or just over 31 yards - that is a lot of snow! Makes me cold just to think of it.


I took this picture of the lodge on the mountain in March of one year (not on this particular trip to the mountains) - after a lot of the snow had melted and the roads were open to cars. The lower windows in this picture are on the third floor of the lodge. The snow formed huge walls along the road - much taller than our car. We didn't go any farther than this - it was just too scary - and there was an avalanche warning posted so we didn't want to be involved in that.


Do you see the old man on Mt. Baker?



Along the way we saw this fabulous wisteria tree - what a grand idea. . .




And a line of these old metal wheels - leaning against piles of rocks to form a fence. You just never know what you'll see on the way to the mountains.
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13 comments:

  1. LINDA BYLSMAAugust 22, 2009 at 11:19 AM

    Beautiful, stunning, and breathtaking, even though I see them every day. You are quite the photographer.

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  2. BarbAugust 22, 2009 at 12:07 PM

    Loved your pictures.....

    Hope all goes well with the surgery.

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  3. Judy S.August 22, 2009 at 12:10 PM

    We love our mountains, too, Jo! There's no place prettier when the sun's out. We used to go to a Girl Scout lodge in the winter that had its entrance on the third floor and looked really silly after all the snow had melted because you could walk out into nothiness if you weren't careful.

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  4. blushing roseAugust 22, 2009 at 12:34 PM

    I love our WA ST mtns. People can never know the beauty of them unless they have seen them firsthand. How is your DH coming along? This is one part of the state that I truly miss ... TTFN ~Marydon

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  5. PatAugust 22, 2009 at 12:41 PM

    These are such nice photos...thanks for sharing them and writing about them. Hope Don is doing well!

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  6. CrispyAugust 22, 2009 at 1:01 PM

    Thanks for the picture of home Jo. Every time I go back for a visit I make my son take me to the beach so I can stare at the Olympics as the sun goes down. I always forget how big they are after 10 years on the prairie.

    Crispy

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  7. JocelynAugust 22, 2009 at 4:32 PM

    Such beautiful pictures of the mountains. So pretty to look at, although I can't imagine all that snow!

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  8. TeresaAugust 23, 2009 at 7:09 AM

    Beautiful pictures - thanks for sharing.

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  9. DenaAugust 23, 2009 at 3:39 PM

    Jo ~ You really did a nice job of capturing the beauty of Mt Baker and The Sisters Peaks. My husband and I love going on road trips through the Cascades, whether it's in the winter or fall. You can see some of the most spectacular autumn colors while driving on Cascades Hwy. I'm hoping we don't miss out on the colors of fall this year. We already have leaves turning color and falling to the ground. Not because our weather has changed, but because of the lack of rain.

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  10. Purple PamAugust 23, 2009 at 9:18 PM

    Such beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip.

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  11. Susie's country cottageAugust 24, 2009 at 3:54 AM

    What beautiful photos. You certainly are surrounded by some breathtaking scenery. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  12. antique quilterSeptember 3, 2009 at 2:28 AM

    thanks for sharing these pictures.
    wow you live in a beautiful part of our country
    makes me want to visit even more.
    My dream vacation
    Calif, Oregon and Washington
    of course around the timeof the Sisters quilt show!
    Kathie

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  13. *karendianne.September 9, 2009 at 3:51 PM

    How lovely! Love the mountains. And I do admire the wisteria in a tree form. I might have to reconsider that. Been lazy as its about to take over the trees. Those trees are already dead so its no trouble but this would be so much lovelier. Thanks for sharing!

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Thanks for stopping by!