It was a first: I visited a National Park and didn’t get one photograph of what I was there to see.

I’ve talked a little about what a strange Scamp this has been, with the entire West seemingly on fire and all. Smoke and intense heat in the early weeks made hiking and even camping (at Sequoia, where the smoke was so thick my eyes itched and chest felt tight) a challenge.

And then – rain. Rain, rain, rain, in Oregon and Washington. Yes! More, please!

I guess Mother Nature was listening and took my challenge to heart, because by the time I got to Mt. Rainier in Washington State she was like, Oh yeah? Sick of the heat? Well, how about this, in the last weeks of summer? What do you think of this, little miss photographer-on-a-mission-to-photograph-every-National-Park?

Louise Lake, Mt. Rainier, Washington

This is Louise Lake when the snow had just started coming down. I would have a photo of Mt. Rainier, up and off to the right, but it was hidden in clouds. As it was the entire time I was there. Sigh.

Louise Lake, Mt. Rainier, Washington

At this point I was thinking, hm. Maybe this shooting in the snow thing isn’t so bad. Look at those colors!

Louise Lake, Mt. Rainier, Washington

And then I couldn’t stop shooting that scene.

When I came down from the mountain and drove out of the snow, there was this:

Louise Lake, Mt. Rainier, Washington

It all made not actually seeing Mt. Rainier a bit easier to take.

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