Happy Fourth!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth!  Our Fourth of July festivities kicked off at Crystal Mountain, which is just shy of 2 hours south of Seattle.  As you can see from the photos the view of Mt. Rainier from the top is gorgeous!   

After riding the gondolas to the summit, we hiked along the steep, rocky and sometimes snowy trail to the sound of Gray Jays.  We were perplexed by the disk golf course on a 45-degree slope; but didn’t have much time to ponder as we were soon chased back towards the summit by some very determined bees.  

No worries though as we were able to breathlessly out-walk our new friends and soon found ourselves at the Summit Restaurant overlooking the Cascade Mountain Range.  There we rested our tootsies and enjoyed comfortable seats, tasty sandwiches, and a cocktail (or two).

With our bellies full we ventured to find the old men that live in the Grove of the Patriarchs.  

These bearish fellows can be found in Ohanapecosh National Park just North of Crystal Mountain.  After paying our $15 entrance fee, which helps maintain this beautiful park, we crossed a highly entertaining suspension bridge, and a few slow pokes to finally find these gorgeous seniors hiding on the other side of the river.  

After a brief visit, we said our goodbyes to our new old friends and headed back to Seattle.

We finished off the night at Lake Union Park with a spectacular show of fireworks!  I mean seriously people, there were people sky diving into the lake from a Chinook helicopter, followed by these beauties…