The first time I saw Silver Falls was in the spring of 2020 in the middle of the Covid shut down. Like most of the country, Scott and I were suffering from severe cabin fever and were looking for an outdoor place to enjoy.

We heard the National Parks were closed to cars, but open to foot and bike traffic and decided to walk into the Stevens Canyon entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. Grove of the Patriarchs is just a short distance from the entrance and we knew we could easily walk there.

I love early morning light on the mountain. That first hour or two following sunrise is my favorite. The lighting is beautiful, and really shows the mountain off in a very special way.

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was out and the mountain was glorious with fresh snow against clear bule skies. What a great day for a hike at the mountain!

We approached the lake in the early morning. It was quiet and not many were out and about yet. It was beautiful! Mount Adams was still surrounded by the morning haze, but the lake was clear and calm.

We discovered Takhlakh Lake last year and have been looking forward to returning ever since.

There’s this stellar view in Gig Harbor that somehow, I always forget about until I’m looking at it again. Each time I wonder to myself ‘why is it I don’t come here more often?’.

I love it when we are out exploring and stumble upon a hidden gem. This summer we’ve found a few. A new mountain view, a meadow of wildflowers, a new waterfall. It’s one of the things that keeps us going out there and exploring. You never know what you will find.

Have you ever been out in the middle of nowhere on a clear moonless night and looked up at the sky? It’s pretty amazing! We are very fortunate to have lots of dark places to choose from if we want to view the night sky. It’s something we try to do at least once every summer.

The first time I saw the alpine meadows in full bloom up at Mount Rainier was a complete accident. Scott and I decided to hike the skyline loop - a gorgeous 6-mile loop starting at Paradise. I couldn’t believe my eyes! You couldn’t design a garden more perfectly if you tried. It was just stunning!

Hiking to Fire Lookouts in Washington – High Rock Lookout

Wow! What a view! After 1.6 miles with a 1635 ft elevation gain, we had finally reached the top. The scene before us was amazing!

We wanted to get some photographs of the full moon rise happening in a few days, and wanted to make an adventure out of it, but needed to stay in the area since we had to work the next day. So what did we do?

We decided to hop on a ferry boat and head for Vashon Island and Point Robinson.