BLUEBIRD DAY

Well, I haven't blogged for a very long time, but as the photo below shows, there has been a very good reason!

Well, not good to me, but an excuse in any case.

Two weeks before Christmas, I broke bones in my wrist and hand and was in a cast, followed by a permanent brace until just 2 weeks ago.  I could not by any means heft my camera, let alone hold it steady enough for taking photos. The best I could do to feel better was to beg the orthopedic technician to make a candy-cane cast for me!

Then, when I was free at last from the cast, D and I vowed that if a blue-sky day came in the middle of our stretch of local snow, we would take off for Mt. Rainier.

Two weeks ago, on my morning walk, it appeared that might be the day!

Close to home, with our own Mt. Si in the background:

Indeed it was.  We drove up to the Rainier ski resort, Crystal Mountain.  Then we swallowed our pride and rode the gondola (never before having done so as "tourists", without our skis!) to the highest point:

Yes, it was a perfectly clear, blue-sky day, but also bitterly cold because of the fierce wind at the top of the gondola.  Wearing the arm brace made it difficult for me to steady my heavy camera, but a few shots were

"keepers" in spite of the blur: 

"The Mountain" was literally, "in our faces":

As the ticket guy said, on a day like this, a better view could be had only if doing a "fly-by" in a small plane.

We were happy to have both feet on the ground, even though it took our breath away: