Happy Belated Fourth of July!

So now you all know it's not just birthdays that I'm late for!

We had some company come stay with us for the Fourth of July - some friends from our Cincinnati days. It was great to catch up and hear how they've been getting along. They toured the Olympic National Park and kayaked in the San Juans prior to their arrival, and got in in time for some dinner which Catherine made. We then loaded up the cars and made our way to Joint Base Lewis-McChord for some fireworks, which were very nice.

The next day (the lesser known sibling holiday to the Fourth - Cinco de Julio ;-) we took the trip down to Mount St. Helens. The drive was scary only because it was super cloudy/foggy and at one point my car thermometer read 50 F with almost 2000 vertical feet to climb before we arrived at our destination. Lucky for us, the clouds broke up and let in some sunshine while we were at the Johnston Ridge Observatory.

It was breezy and cool, but when the sun came out it was very comfortable. John and Mitch wanted to get in a real hike, so we left Marion, Catherine, and the kids to enjoy the Junior Ranger Program. I would have brought the kids if it weren't for this one section of the trail that gets narrow and steep. Trust me, the photo above doesn't do it justice!

The hike out to see Spirit Lake was nice. Cool temperatures, warm sun - hard to beat! The distances out there are deceiving too. In the photo above, I took this not too far from where Spirit Lake first comes largely viewable (180 degrees behind camera). Off in the distance is the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Three miles distant.

We made really good time on the way back. It felt good to step it out a little bit. Shortly before we made it back to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, Mt. St. Helens decided to come out from behind her block of clouds and grace us with her presence. It was a very nice way to finish the hike.

Thanks John, Marion, and Mitch for a very nice trip! I know Ian and Leah were thrilled to have some new ears to chat at, and I enjoyed the company on the hike. Happy Independence Day everybody,

Marc