#mount rainier camp cabins

[rvtravellife]

The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Adventure at Mount Rainier National Park Washington

by Paige Guscott Discover the thrill of outdoor adventure at Mount Rainier National Park, Washington with our comprehensive guide. From hiking trails to breathtaking views, plan your ultimate escapade today! Join us now and embark on an unforgettable journey..... Introduction Welcome to Mount Rainier National Park Washington, a towering testament to nature's awe-inspiring beauty. Before we set foot on the trails or gaze up at the glacier-capped peaks, let's dive into the rich history of one of America's first national parks. Mount Rainier isn't merely a mountain; it's a place where past and present converge, inviting us to explore not just its landscapes but also its legacy. IntroductionHistory of Mount Rainier National Park Washington Establishment of Mount Rainier as a National Park A Peak Like No Other Elevation That Commands Respect Volcanic Power Sleeping Beneath A Refuge for Biodiversity Human Footprints Across Time Flora: A Tapestry of Plants Fauna: Creatures Great and Small Adrenaline-Pumping Activities Hiking Trails for All Levels Safety Measures and GuidelinesEncounters with Wildlife Respect the Environment The Rich History of Mount Rainier National Park Washington Indigenous Communities and Preservation Educational Opportunities for Visitors Inside the Park: Historic Inns and Wilderness Camps Near the Park: Cabins, Lodges, and Resorts Camping and RV Sites Backcountry Camping for the Adventurous Permits, Camping Options, and Visitor Centers Best Times to Visit and Weather Conditions Hidden Gems within the Park Learning More About Mount Rainier National Park Contributing to Mount Rainier National Park History of Mount Rainier National Park Washington Photo by WikiImages on Pixabay The story of Mount Rainier stretches back thousands of years, with its first human interactions traced to the Indigenous tribes who viewed the mountain as a spiritual icon. Known as "Tahoma" or "Tacoma" by the Indigenous peoples, this colossal stratovolcano has been a prominent landmark throughout the ages. European-American exploration began in the late 18th century, with the mountain being named after Rear Admiral Peter Rainier by Captain George Vancouver in 1792. Establishment of Mount Rainier as a National Park On March 2, 1899, President William McKinley signed legislation establishing Mount Rainier National Park Washington as America's fifth national park, putting it under the stewardship of the National Park Service. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of a concerted effort to preserve the mountain's ecosystems and cultural heritage. It was an acknowledgment of the park's extraordinary value, not only as a sanctuary for wildlife and flora but also as a source of inspiration and recreation for all those who visit. As we embark on our journey through Mount Rainier National Park, these foundational stories lay the groundwork for all that we will experience. From the first bloom of spring wildflowers to the silent watch of ancient trees, every element here tells a part of Mount Rainier's enduring tale. So, let's lace up our boots, fill our lungs with crisp mountain air, and prepare to be captivated by the park's many wonders, both visible and those tucked away in the folds of history. 5 Facts About Mount Rainier Carving a striking silhouette against the Washington skyline, Mount Rainier holds tales and truths as fascinating as its glaciers are deep. Following the rich history of this natural wonder, here are five intriguing facts that stand out about Mt Rainier: A Peak Like No Other Mount Rainier isn't just another mountain—it's the most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States, boasting 26 major glaciers that cover 35 square miles of its surface. These icy giants serve as the source for six major rivers, which in turn serve as foundational elements to the many different habitats located on and around the mountain. The Emmons Glacier, for example, is the largest single glacier by area, excluding ice fields, in the continental United States, and the Carbon Glacier lays claim to being the thickest and longest. This glacial grandeur not only shapes the side of the mountain but also supports a diverse ecosystem and supplies water to nearby communities. Elevation That Commands Respect Mount Rainier's summit stands proudly at an elevation of 14,411 feet, making it the highest mountain in Washington and the Cascade Range. This elevation doesn't just make for breathtaking views but also means that the weather can be unpredictable and severe. Even in summer, these heights can harbor cold temperatures and snowfall. Climbing to the summit is an adventure that requires preparation, respect for the mountain's power, and acknowledgement of its potential dangers. Volcanic Power Sleeping Beneath Beneath the serene snow-capped peak lies a giant slumbering volcano. Mount Rainier is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, due to its large amount of glacial ice and proximity to metropolitan areas. If awakened, the lahars—volcanic mudflows—could pose significant risks..... Read More... Read the full article

[mountrainiernps]

The Mount Rainier National Historic Landmark District includes quite a few buildings, roads, and even the Wonderland Trail. Still mostly buried under winter snows, the Wonderland trail encircles our beautiful mountain. Over 93 miles, the trail climbs from the bottom of river and creek valleys up to the soaring subalpine meadows and then back down again. Summer and fall, this can be a great trail for day hikers or backpackers with wilderness permits.

But the Wonderland Trail has humble origins. Park rangers needed a way to get around the national park. In the park’s early days, there were few roads and park rangers needed to patrol distant areas like Ohanapecosh Park, Skyscraper Pass, Mowich Lake, and Klapatche Park. Hiking or riding (horses were allowed in the back-country at that time) cross-country was time-consuming and dangerous. The park rangers needed a better way to get around. In 1907, the park superintendent directed the staff to start on the park’s new official trail system. Adding more miles of trail each year, park staff built the trail going around the mountain. At key locations, park rangers built patrol cabins where they could stay and cache supplies.

Completed in 1915, the original Wonderland Trail was a bit longer and at lower elevations than it is today. This kept the trail snow-free longer so park rangers could patrol through more of the year. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, other groups started to work on the Wonderland Trail too. As the Civilian Conservation Corps camps were established in the park, these men took on a lot of work on the Wonderland Trail. Besides maintaining the trail, the CCC built new sections of trail and trail shelters (like those at Indian Bar and Summerland).

Hiking the Wonderland Trail today is still a great and challenging adventure. Have you hiked a short piece of it as a day hiker out of Longmire? Perhaps you got a wilderness permit to spend a few nights on the west side near Golden Lakes? Or have you been one of the fortunate folks to backpack the entire loop, picking up your cached food along the way with your permit tied to your backpack? Though under snow right now, what’s you favorite memory of Wonderland Trail? ~ams

For more information on the Wonderland Trail and Wilderness Permits visit park webpages like: https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/the-wonderland-trail.htm and https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/wilderness-permit.htmand https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/trails-and-backcountry-camp-conditions.htm. For more park history, visit https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/historyculture/index.htm and https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/trails-and-backcountry-camp-conditions.htm

NPS Map. Mount Rainier National Park Showing the Wonderland Trail. R.N.P. Co. 1921. This map from 1921 shows the much older alignment of the Wonderland Trail and the old park boundaries. NPS Photo. Black and white image of CCC enrollees working on the Wonderland Trail. Circa 1930s. NPS Photo. Color image of stone and wood Indian Bar shelter. Summertime wildflowers blooming nearby. NPS/C. Roundtree Photo. View looking up trail on Emerald Ridge to Mount Rainier. July, 2018.

[doc-pickles]

what is it with @cicinicole-14 and somehow roping me into writing jolex AUs? todays AU is a parent trap one set post 16x16. no there’s not really twins but my jolex baby and alexis get a kick out of getting Jo and Alex back together. and even though coco talked me into it this is dedicated to @mac-andcheeses who I told I would write this during my maternity leave (said child is almost a year old now) cheers to the annie to my hallie! ❤️

Our story starts with Izzie Stevens dropping her twins, 13-year-old Eli and Alexis Stevens-Karev, off at summer camp. It’s her own beloved childhood summer camp at the base of Mount Rainier that she had many treasured memories of. Alexis and Eli are both rolling their eyes at the story but Izzie just kisses them and reminds them that their dad will be there in two weeks to bring them home.

Meanwhile, across the camp we have Link dropping off Scout Shepherd-Lincoln and Audrey Wilson-Karev, his son and Jo’s daughter who are both eight years old and absolutely inseparable. Scout is nervous to leave his dad but Audrey is bursting at the seams to get some freedom from her mom and her Uncle Link for two weeks. Scout, Link, Jo, and Audrey had all lived together since Audrey and Scout were infants, the best friends deciding to raise their children together after experiencing their own heartbreaks. Audrey finally pulls Scout away from Link and they go to their respective cabins.

Later that night at dinner Audrey ends up accidentally knocking someone’s dinner over and they get into a fight. The camp director breaks them up and the girls end up calling a truce between themselves. They sit together and Audrey finds that she and Alexis are easy friends. Alexis brings her twin brother over and Scout looks curiously between Eli and Audrey as the two have matching crooked smiles and both scrunch their noses in contemplation as they think.

Eli, Alexis, Audrey, and Scout quickly become an inseparable quartet. A few days after their first meeting they’re all in line to do an activity together. When their names are called Alexis and Audrey realize they have the same last name. Alexis explains that she and Eli hyphenated their last names when their dad moved to Kansas to help raise them when their mom got sick. Audrey says that hers is from her dad, that her mom wanted her to have some piece of him, but that she’d never met the man. She did however have a picture of him, one that she happily showed Alexis and Eli later that day. It was her parents' wedding photo, Alexis had said. She knows because her dad carries the same one in his wallet to this day.

Alexis and Audrey are over the moon to realize that they’re sisters. Eli is a little confused still and Scout the poor nervous wreck that he usually is worried that somehow they’ll get in trouble for this. The girls brush him off and quickly begin to plot how they’re going to get Jo and Alex back together so they can see each other all the time.

The last day of camp rolls around and Alex and Jo are both coming to camp to get their kids. Alexis and Audrey told them they’d meet up at the mess hall, all four kids hiding in the bushes outside of the building eagerly waiting. Jo shows up first, Alex not far behind her. Alexis doesn’t miss the look of awe on her dad's face as he realizes who the woman in front of him is. Jo is shocked, nervous even, as she takes Alex in for the first time in almost a decade.

Things are silent between them before he finally asks what she’s doing at a kid's summer camp. There’s a pause, Jo opening and closing her mouth before uttering the only thing she could.

“Alex, I’m so sorry.”

It clicks for him then, why she’s there. He starts to say something, then stops. His hands are on his knees as Jo watches with tears in her eyes. Eli and Scout both try to pull Alexis and Audrey away but the girls are watching intently, hands clasped in the others.

“Jo, you had no right.”

“Me? You left me! You mailed me divorce papers because you wanted to be with your ex wife!”

“Izzie was sick! She was dying and I had to help her.”

“I could’ve helped too! I would’ve come with you and helped raise Eli and Alexis!”

“You remember their names?”

“I’ve memorized every word of that stupid letter. I-“

Audrey snaps a branch and suddenly she’s face to face with a man she’d only seen in photos. Alexis squeezes her hand as silence envelopes them. Alex stares at Audrey standing next to Alexis, both of them equal parts him and the two women he’s loved.

Alex and Audrey are both frozen, Jo speaking up when it’s clear that neither of them is going to say anything more.

“Alex, this is Audrey. Audrey, this is… your dad.”

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Alex can pick out the features of Audrey’s face that are his, the same way he can also see Jo’s. She’s truly a perfect mix of the two of them both.

“Jo, can I talk to you? In private?”

Jo eyes Audrey for a moment before nodding, following Alex’s lead and disappearing around a corner out of sight.

“Oh my god, they’re still in love! You can tell by the look on dad's face.”

“They’re not in love, dad was just shocked.”

“Auntie Jo seems calm about the whole thing which is pretty shocking.”

“Do you think that they’ll get back together?”

“No dads still with Jenna so I doubt-“

“Who’s Jenna?”

Audrey turns to Eli and Alexis who both look slightly guilty. Eli nudges his sister who finally speaks up.

“Dad’s girlfriend. But she’s the worst, don’t worry about her. I doubt she’ll stick around much longer.”

Eli and Alexis banter back and forth about Jenna but Audrey tunes them out. She eventually wanders away from Scout and the twins, lost in her thoughts.

“I just want a chance to get to know my daughter, Jo!”

“I’m not shipping her halfway across the country just for-“

“If you’d just told me when you found out you were pregnant then we wouldn’t be-“

“What so you could leave me all over again and disappoint our daughter in the process? That’s not what I wanted for her.”

“I never would have left if I’d known! I told you I only stayed for the kids to make sure that they-“

“I heard you but that doesn’t explain why you wrote me that stupid letter, Alex!”

“I just-“

“Mom?”

Both adults freeze as they turn to look at Audrey. Alex is flushed and Jo is crying but quickly wipes her cheeks as she walks over and wraps an arm around Audrey’s shoulders.

“Hey sunshine, I was just… How about we get out of here? Okay? Uncle Link is ordering pizza for dinner.”

Audrey looks from Jo to Alex and then back to her mom, “I don’t want to leave Alexis or Eli. Can’t they come with us?”

Jo pauses, tears welling in her eyes again as she looks behind her to Scout, Eli, and Alexis who are still bantering. She looks back to Alex who’s staring at her with a look that’s both familiar and altogether new.

“Audrey, maybe we can meet up when you get back home if it’s okay with your mom. Alexis and Eli and I will be in Seattle for another week.”

Audrey looks to Jo who nods silently before turning back to Alex. She looks at him for a moment before launching herself into his arms, Alex wrapping them around her easily. Jo turns away, the moment too much for her to handle. Instead, she goes over to Scout and the twins and lets Alex and Audrey have a moment to themselves.

When Audrey and Alex return to the group the kids all say goodbye, knowing it’s not going to be a long separation but still discontent with the fact that they all have to separate. Eventually, Alex and Jo pull the four kids apart, meeting each other’s eyes again. Alex lets a shocked gasp out as Jo launches forward just like Audrey had and wraps her arms around his waist. He hugs her back for what seems like only a second before she’s pulling back and wrapping her arms around Scout and Audrey.

“My number is the same, you can text or call me when you get back to town.”

There’s a silence between the two as their eyes meet, but Jo quickly shakes her head and leads Scout and Audrey away. Eli and Alexis hug Alex, and he focuses on his kids and asking them about their time at camp.

Three days later Jo and Audrey are getting ready to meet up with Alex and the twins. Audrey is excited but Jo is worried about the situation, lamenting to Link about truly seeing Alex for the first time in so long. Jo knows Izzie will be there since they’re all visiting Seattle and she’s not eager to meet the new-ish woman in Alex’s life. Audrey and Scout are quick to correct Jo that Izzie and Alex are not together. Despite this new information Jo still spends an exorbitant amount of time freaking out.

Jo, Audrey, Link, and Scout arrive at Pike Place and meet up with Izzie, Eli, Alexis, and Alex. The kids run off almost immediately and Link and Izzie hit it off, leaving Alex and Jo to fend for themselves. It’s awkward at first but they fall into an easy and familiar rhythm together. Their day is going well and Alex is about to ask Jo more about Audrey when the kids find them again and beg to go on a ferry boat ride. Although Jo is hesitant at first Alex agrees and they all hop on a ferry. The trip brings around memories for both Jo and Alex but all hope of anything fruitful happening is dashed when Jenna, Alex’s girlfriend, unexpectedly shows up.

The next few days are pleasant but awkward. Alex and Audrey try to spend as much time together as possible, bonding quickly much to Jo’s exasperation. The situation bothers no one more than Jenna who’s upset that she had to find out about Alex’s other child from a Facebook post by Izzie. Jo attempts to befriend the woman but is quickly pushed aside, Jenna informing Jo that she has no place in Alex’s new life.

The night before everyone leaves back to Kansas Audrey is reluctant to leave her siblings and Alex. Alex suggests she comes to visit for a week which Jo agrees to after much convincing from Audrey, Alexis, and Eli. While the kids are basking in their excitement Alex pulls Jo out of the room, wanting to speak privately. At first Jo thinks that he’s going to pick a fight with her but he quickly pulls her into a hug, thanking her for giving him the opportunity to connect with their daughter.

“It’s really… I’m sorry that I never said anything. I know that, I mean I know…”

Jo heaves a sigh, turning her gaze from her hands up to meet Alex’s eyes. She thought the action would make her nervous, instead she feels at peace and her words come out with a renewed ease.

“I should’ve told you, I’m sorry about that. More sorry than I’ve ever been about anything. I was so angry, I was so hurt by you leaving me. I was in pain for weeks on end, it took me months before I realized that Audrey was on board and as soon as I did I hated you even more for leaving me with this perfect little girl. I wanted you by my side through every doctor's appointment and every kick. I wanted you there holding my hand while Audrey came into the world, I wanted you by her side in the NICU instead of Link. I wanted… So much for us but you left me.”

Jo’s cheeks are soaked as she continues to look at Alex, her heart beating wildly in her chest as they both step closer to each other. She’s not entirely sure why she suddenly feels the need to be so vulnerable with Alex, but Jo feels as if her whole heart could spill out of her chest right now. Her hand reaches up to cup his cheek, blinking up at him as if no time had passed between them.

“Alex, I-”

“There you are, I was looking for you.”

Alex and Jo leap apart as Jenna comes into the room, all fake smiles and passive aggressive tone. A quick excuse has Jo leaving the room just as quickly as Jenna had shown up. The moment comes and goes in a flash, Alex trying to decide if it actually happened or not as Jenna begins to talk about something he couldn’t quite interpret over the vision of Jo playing over and over in his head.

The next day Jo brings Audrey to the airport and tearfully says goodbye to her. Alex is quick to reassure her that he’s going to take good care of Audrey and have her call everyday.

“At least you know I’m actually going to Kansas this time,” Alex smirks as he comes to stand in front of Jo. “I’ll even call you when we land.”

“You’re a jerk, you know that,” Jo rolls her eyes, looking up at Alex with a smile. “Take care of our girl, okay?”

Alex nods and seems like he’s about to say something more. Jo waits with bated breath, a heavy sigh coming from her as Jenna comes up and drags Alex away. Jo stands in the airport long after everyone is out of sight, her heart beating slightly out of time as she lets the last few days truly sink in.

Back in Kansas the twins and Audrey have fully hatched their plan to break up Alex and Jenna. They’d been tagging along with Alex to the hospital and sneaking off to the dermatology floor to play harmless pranks on Jenna that annoyed her to no end. Alex knows that something is up, but no one will fess up and Izzie refuses to get involved. Finally Alex is fed up with the tension between his kids and his girlfriend and insists that they all spend the weekend at the lake.

As soon as they arrive it’s a shit show.

Alexis has added green food dye to Jenna’s suntan oil, Eli has switched her salad in the picnic basket with a container of baked beans, and Audrey makes a big show of doing a cannonball directly in front of her beach towel. Jenna keeps her displeasure to herself until she exits the shower in the cabin with blue hair. Her anger overflows then, shrill yelps echoing through the small space as she comes out to find Alex.

“Your little brats have gone too far! My hair is blue Alex! I can’t do this anymore.”

“I mean it’s not that bad, they could’ve gone with green to match the suntan oil,” Alex struggles to hold back his laughter as he looks at Jenna. At her piercing look he schools his features. “I’m sorry, I’ll talk to them later.”

“No! I am not doing this, I’m not enduring a stupid rivalry with a bunch of pre teens. Alex I-”

“Mom!”

All three kids are darting across the living room to the front door of the cabin where Izzie and Jo stand. The sight of the two women infuriates Jenna, her high pitched voice ringing in Alex’s ears.

“Nope! I can’t, not with them here too. You need to choose Alex, me or them.”

“What?”

“Either we leave right now or you can stay here with them.”

There’s a pause as Alex begins to chuckle, thinking Jenna’s question was a joke but as she stares him down he realizes that she’s serious.

“So? Who’s it gonna be?”

“Them. Always them.”

Jenna leaves the room in a huff, going to pack her things up as Alex greets Jo and Izzie with an apology. They both waste no time in teasing him over the situation as he brushes them off, rolling his eyes.

That night after the kids and Izzie have gone in for the night Alex and Jo find themselves sitting next to each other on the deck, the firepit between them slowly burning out. They’d grabbed a bottle of wine from inside and were sitting in a comfortable silence.

“You said Audrey was in the NICU?”

Jo heaves a sigh as she concentrates on her fingers, “She was five weeks early, I had preeclampsia and nearly bled out after she was delivered. I made Link promise me that he’d go sit with her while Carina rolled me into surgery. I told him he could only call you if I… If I died.”

“Jo-”

“You broke my heart Alex. I didn’t want you there because it would’ve made everything more painful. I know that I kept our daughter from you but I figured one parent here full time would be better than her getting her heart broken again and again every time you came and left.”

“I’m sorry too. For how I left, for how much I hurt you. If I’d known…”

“You should’ve known, you’re not stupid. You should’ve known that I would be miserable without you. I love Audrey more than life itself but everyday since you left me has been empty. You took a piece of me when you left.”

Jo and Alex are staring at each other in the dying firelight, nine years of heartache between them. Alex brushes Jo’s hair back from her face and it feels like there’s no air around them. Suddenly they’re both leaning forward, lips brushing so softly that Jo barely would’ve registered it had it not been for Alex’s hands in her hair. They pull back a moment later and Jo’s shocked by the tears welling in her eyes.

“I can’t Alex… I can’t get hurt again.”

Jo rushes inside after that, Alex left with his thoughts as he sits in the quiet of the night.

Two days later Jo and Audrey are set to go home. The dynamic between all three kids and their parents is something that makes Jo sad for the future they all could have had together. She gets misty eyed saying goodbye to Izzie, promising that they’ll come and visit for the holidays. Alexis asks them to stay, Eli offering up his room so they don’t have to leave but Izzie reminds the twins that Jo and Audrey have their own life in Seattle and they can’t drop everything to move to Kansas. The twins begrudgingly say goodbye to Audrey, making sure that she sends them a text from Jo’s phone once they land in Seattle.

Audrey and Alex share a long goodbye as he promises to come and visit before they come to Kansas. He does his best to keep a smile on his face as Audrey lets a few tears leak onto her cheeks. She goes to say one last goodbye to Eli and Alexis, leaving Jo and Alex face to face.

“I really hate this feeling. It feels like you leaving Seattle all over again.”

Jo’s voice is barely above a whisper as she meets Alex’s eyes. Her fingers just barely brush against his hand and the contact sends sparks through his whole body.

“I’ll see you soon. Two months at the latest. Okay?”

Jo nods, but the tears welling in her eyes say otherwise.

“This one hurts more than last time because I know what exactly I’m giving up by saying goodbye.”

Alex can’t find it in himself to say anything else, instead he wraps his arms around Jo and keeps her there for a few minutes. The two of them keep their tight holds on each other until Audrey tugs at Jo’s sleeves and informs her they’re going to miss their flight. Jo pulls back from him and he can almost feel his heart breaking in his chest as his daughter and the love of his life walk away.

Link and Scout pick Jo and Audrey up from the airport, the Seattle rain welcoming them home. Scout excitedly talks with Audrey about the science camp they’re attending the following week and Link tries to engage Jo in a conversation about one of his surgeries he’d done while she was gone. He notices Jo’s silence and asks if she’s alright, a lackluster nod of assurance coming from her. They get back to the penthouse and Audrey and Scout are off in a flash. Link orders pizza and Jo tries to focus on anything besides the gaping hole in her chest.

“Hey Jo?”

Link’s voice sounds from the doorway, Jo rolling her eyes as she grabs cash from her purse, assuming that he forgot to tip the pizza guy. When she walks over however, her heart leaps for just a second as she takes in the twins and Izzie at their front door.

“You, I just… What are you doing here?”

“It took us about 30 seconds after you guys left for us to realize we didn't want to lose you two again,” Alexis smirks and the simple words make Jo’s knees weak.

“We?”

Alex appears behind Izzie and the twins, hair soaked from the Seattle rain and that same stupid crooked grin on his face.

“We. I made the mistake of leaving you once, Jo. I'm not going to do that again no matter how brave you are.”

Jo lets out a wet laugh as Audrey and Scout appear in the hallway. Audrey’s eyes are wide as she realizes who’s at the door.

“You can’t just show up here! You have a life in Kansas! All of you!”

“It’s not fun without you and Audrey,” Eli wears a frown that makes Jo stifle a chuckle.

“None of that matters if you’re not with me Jo. With us.”

“And I suppose you just expect me to go weak at the knees, and fall into your arms, and cry hysterically. And say we'll just figure this whole thing out. A cross coutnry relationship with our daughter being raised here and there,” Jo can’t help the tears streaking her cheeks as she takes in Alex’s stupid smirk that she wishes she could wipe off his face. “And you and I just picking up where we left off and growing old together? C'mon, Alex, what do you expect? To live happily ever after?”

“Yes. To all of the above. Except you don't have to cry hysterically.”

“Oh yes I do.”

Jo is in Alex’s arms before he can blink, their lips melting together as he holds her tightly. Their kids cheer triumphantly and Izzie and Link share a knowing look, as if to say they could’ve called their best friends getting back together.

The next summer Eli, Alexis, Audrey, and Scout are getting dropped off at summer camp. Alex reminds them that Link and Izzie will pick them up in two weeks when they’re back from their honeymoon. Alexis makes sure to remind Jo to call them if she goes into labor because they’re anxiously waiting to see who wins the bet for boy or girl. Jo laughs and rests a hand on her stomach, insisting that the camp will be their first call as soon as the baby is born.

“Have fun!”

Audrey rolls her eyes as she looks between Alex and Jo, “Mom please. You know that nothing this summer could ever be as fun as getting you and dad back together. Nothing beats a good parent trap.”

[captainwaffles]

Hey if you haven’t read part one click here. I listened to this playlist while writing this part. Here’s part two of Driving Together

Me and Jordan left Idaho falls June 6. We just got to Mount Rainier a few hours ago. We planed on going to a small camp ground just a bit away from Idaho Falls. But, planes change.

We’be been dating for 10 We drove to this place called La Grande in Idaho. We couldn’t get a cabin, and we didn’t have a tent so we curled up in the car.

I just need to tell someone. Jordan, is the most beautiful person I have ever met, inside and out. Their hair is this sandy brown, it’s cut in a diamond style, or at least that is what they told me. Their, eyes, oh their eyes. A simple brown, maybe; but when the sun hits them it looks like gold. They have a smattering of freckles that dance when they laugh. And that smile. Even on my worse days their smile warms me through. I met Jordan when we where seniors. They just moved in from some small town in Colorado. We met in band. I’ve never seen anyone play the French horn that well. They are so smart, they can name all sorts of piano and French horn composers for that matter, contemporary and classical. They always know just what to say, where I fall short on words. ———————————————————————

We wake up to the sound of birds chirping and the sun streaming through the thin curtains.

“We didn’t bring anything for coffee did we?” Jordan ask running their eyes.

“No I didn’t darling, I thought you didn’t like coffee?” I ask, they always complains it’s to bitter.

“I don’t but how am I gonna stay awake to get us to our destination?”

“I can drive us if you tell me what our destination is.” I say. They have yet to tell me. I don’t really care. I don’t have any planes, and to be with them is good enough.

“Fine you can drive, I’ll tell you where.”

“Good, wanna leave in and hour?”

“Sure, I’m going to the shower house.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Part two of ?????

[mirasdarkmaterials]

THE SECRET DOCTRINE - The Atlantean Plan - Chapter 1

ONE: The Fall Of Isla de Pascua

     Shimmering blue-green waves splash endlessly in an open vastness of the Pacific Ocean. The gently churning of the open ocean places the wary mind at rest as the plane rocks back and forward like a boat at sea.

     Ahead, the sea gives way to rocky red earth. A rusty red color breaks the calming ocean blue with white water splashing against the rocks as the waves try to overtake the land but is kept at its limits. The plane pitches against the headwinds that shake the cabin like a tumbler-jar.

     Glancing at the reflection of two blue-grey eyes staring back at the observer, he is aware that his hair has become messy from the on-board air. He brushes back his light brown hair with his long slender fingers. His face looking tired and uncertain. The flight has been a long trip! Over 22 hours from his home in British Columbia to this hot, desert-like island out in the middle of nowhere.

     ‘Isla de Pascua’ Meir thinks as he looks at a geologic map that he has been studying. Meir is what you’d call a free-to-hire geologist. Never working for governments or corporation. People hired him to investigate something geomorphic and, in a month, he usually mails the results to his employer. Meir liked to work unabated, his own boss. But this time he was hired into a group of researchers from around the world. Two names: Jen Kleito, geophysics from Greece and Kiera Azaes, a geology historian from Portugal; were to meet him when he arrives at the airport.

     He almost did not take the job when he learned that he was going to have to work with two other individuals; but he needed the money and the price that his employer was paying was…almost to good to be true! Nevertheless, here he was, about to land on Easter Island.

     Touching down on the ground, he has finally arrived at the Mataveri International Airport. He closes his eyes as he never really liked flying, and the landing-part scared him the most! The plane rolls down the taxiway as it makes a sharp left turn into the terminal’s parking lot. The plane stops as the engines cut out and he looks outside to see a truck bringing a staircase over for the passengers to disembark. He wondered ‘How do you push a person with a disability down those stairs?’ He could not guess at the time, thinking that the stairs must have some type of ramp from the disabled, but luckily there were no wheelchair bound people on this flight today.

     Meir collects his carry-on and exits the plane as he walks over to the luggage being unloaded and takes his two bags; one bag with clothes and one bag with his personal surveying gear. He wipes his forehead as it is hot and muggy outside. It is always hot and muggy on Pascua! He looks ahead, wondering how he is going to find his connection.

     Ahead, there is a tall, six-foot-high woman wearing some loose-fitting bright plaid clothes. Her hair is almost white and tied back in a ponytail! Her skin pale white, like it has not seen the sun. She does not look like anyone that would fit the role of a geologist; but in her hands she holds a sign with one word: ‘Rainier’.

     Meir smiles as he walks over to the woman as he greets her. “Meir Rainier…you must be?”

     She smiles as she puts the penned sign away as she shakes Meir’s hand. “Kiera Azaes.” she says, her voice sounding like it is recovering from a cold.

     “It is nice to finally meet you Mrs. Azaes…” as Kiera takes both of his heavy bags with ease without much word from Meir as he was shocked but just goes with it. He hurries to catch up with Kiera as he looks at his bags “It is okay, I can handle my own bags…” he says as she just smiles as she looks towards her park car.

     She sets the bags down as David hopes nothing got broken in the flight. With the bags placed in the backseat, Meir takes the passenger’s seat as she takes the drivers seat. She hands a small badge to him to wear. He looks at it “What’s this?” as he looks at the tag: MEIR RAINIER ~ OCEANID ON-LAND EXPLORATION. “Okay? So we are striving to look official?”

     Kiera nods as she engages the engine and throws it in drive.

     Meir glances around, noticing they are missing one soul “Where is Miss Kleito?” Meir comments as Kiera fills in him.

     “She is waiting for us at the research site,” she states as she drives on the outskirt road that separates the airport from Hanga Roa. Meir looks out his window to a gentle slope that seems to just end abruptly. “That is…”

     “Rano Kau…” Meir says as he just familiarized himself with the names of all the extinct volcanoes that were wasting away. Easter Island was a dead island, volcanically inactive. At one time, this entire island was covered in vegetation and trees, but deforestation by the ancients have left this place a wasteland. They were heading to the youngest of the volcanoes, Poike.

     Keira studies Meir for awhile and can see that he is uncomfortable. “I take it that you don’t work often with others!” she remarks as he turns and glances at her, his eyes furrowed and mouth crinkled like having bit into a lemon.

     “No,” he says with a deep breath and sighs “my way of getting my answers and how I conduct geology is not…” as he pauses to find the right word.

     “Typical?.” Kiera says as Meir glances at her and lightly smiles. “We all were sought for our ‘odd’ approaches to geology and science. Call it intuition, but we pose talents that the Oceanid…” she pauses and carefully says “…collaboration, needs.” she smiles and adds cheerfully, “Consider us, family!”

     Meir turns back to the mountainside as they follow the airport to the other side of the island, 1.4 miles down the taxiway and make a gentle left-hand turn and follow the coast. They slow down as the road looks in bad shape. Keira and Meir look ahead as the road is barely hanging on…the whole land seemed to have fallen off into the ocean as the waves roll over the basalt rocks. There is a look of concern on Keira’s face as she looks at the road. “Think it is safe?” he asks as Kiera pushes the gas, they will soon find out as they skirt the drop off.

     Meir is left to wonder how much of the road is like this…and from the look of concern on Keira’s face, something tells him that this was once dry land. He takes out his cell phone and calls up his app that he uses to detect earthquakes. The USGS in California collects all the data and in a few minutes’ releases it to the public. Right off the island, somewhere in the water, there is a new squiggly line; ‘It was an earthquake?’ he wonders.

     Clearing the obstacle, they go down the bumpy dirt road as they breathe a sigh of relief. They follow the coast as Meir keeps a weathered eye for any other signs of island collapse and sees small areas that have weathered and worn away, but nothing that looked like that!

     Over ancient flat pahoehoe lava flows, the land is flat and unimpressive. There is a rise in front of them and a series of hills in the north, with the tallest now behind them. Meir looks at the water as his eyes widen. A massive crack opens from the ocean and splits across the landscape, racing from the road. “Look!” as he points to the black crack. Keira shakes her head as she does not know what it means. The crack splits the road, Kiera punches it as she hits the crack with a terrible bump. “What the hell!”

     “We need to go get Jen!” Kiera says as Jen is at the foot of Mount Poike as the ground begins to quiver. The instruments that she had been setting up all morning rattle. In her mind, she says ‘Earthquake?’ as the history of powerful quakes on Easter Island is rare to almost unheard of! Looking to the east, Mount Poike grows, rises as if the whole earth is was growing upward. Off in the Pacific, powerful explosions erupt rocks high into the sky before raining back down. The Tongariki heads in the southwest, near the coast sway back and forward as the ground she is standing on lifts her into the air. Massive cracks split across the landscape as the ocean floods in a hurry.

     The ground buckles and the earth fall back down, knocking over all the heads and the cracks widen and gas explosions from deep within the earth blows lava rocks all over the place. Jen grabs her steel carrying case and covers her head as rocks the size of oranges rain down upon her. Mount Poike begins to collapse, crumbling away in landslides as the ocean splashes against the rocks it 30-foot sprays.

     Keira and Meir look ahead as their brains can’t comprehend what their eyes are seeing. Mount Poike rises into the sky…as if the mountain was swelling, ready to erupt. Massive blocks of earth explode out of the ground as Kiera must dodge walls of old basalt. Meir is death-gripping the seat belt as the earth seems to roll, the road disappearing as they drive down a hill only to hit the gravel hard and be pushed back up.

     “It’s a rolling earthquake!” Meir says as he has read about these in collage and seen one when he was only 7 years old. It happened at his home on the North Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. The ground rolled like waves on the ocean. He rose and fell with the earth, it was very disorienting!

     Kiera lays on her horn as she drives into camp. She and Meir see Jen laying on the ground as they look at Mount Poike sliding away into the sea. Kiera places the car into park and runs over to Jen. Meir gets out to give her a hand...to find that Jen is okay, just a little banged up. The sound of collapsing earth eats away at their nerves as they help Jen to her seat as Meir looks at the mountain break away in blocks, looking as the fractures spread across the island. “We have to move!” he yells at Keira as she looks at what he was looking at, she is frozen with dread. The mountain is gone and the ocean is advancing!

     In their car, she turns back the way they came as she looks in her rear-view mirror to watch the whole island dropping off, the ocean roaring towards them. She throws the car into drive as she flies across the landscape. Orange size rocks bang into the car as it startles them every time. She tosses her phone into Meir’s lap. “Open my contacts and call the airport and have them read the plane!” as he looks through her contacts and finds the only name that looked like it would belong to a plane company.

     By the time they pass the Rano Raraku splatter cone, he was able to get through as he addressed the person on the other line. “I am calling on behalf of Mrs. Azaes…we need you to get the plane ready to take off!” he commands.

     “Who is this?” the man commands in an odd sounding voice.

     Meir looks at Kiera, “He wants to know who I am!” he says, annoyed and glancing out the window to the vanishing earth.

     “Tell him that you work for the Oceanid On-land Exploration…” she tells him as the man on the phone hears Kiera’s voice as his attitude changes.

     “What did Miss Azaes need?”

     “Get the plane ready to take off when we arrive! The whole east side of the island is erupting!” he says as he looks into the mirror and see nothing but water! The ocean is higher then he is as he looks wide eyed at Kiera. “The ocean is…?”

     “Higher…” she answers, “yeah! We are sinking!” she tells him as the ocean looks like a tsunami as the wave takes out everything. Looking ahead, they climb out of the sink, but it seems to follow them!

     Looking ahead, the ocean is racing towards them as the earthquake has taken out the road. Kiera slams on the breaks as she yells. “Damn!” as she looks at Meir. “Wasn’t there a road back there?”

     He thinks and nods as they make a U-turn and head north, across the island as they look east to a massive wall of water racing towards them. “Wave!” he shouts as the roar through farming communities, doing about 80 miles per hour, the road is killing the car! Higher and higher they climb, up the side of the largest volcano on the island, the wave is about two miles away, but thanks to the mountain of basalt, it is splitting into two.

     Coming to the end of the road, they make a hard-left turn as they resume heading west, away from the chaos. With a view of the city below, the road begins to lift high into the sky as they quickly sink and rise again…but this time, continue to rise as they watch the wave roll through the city as the earthquake overloads transformers as they explode. There are fiery explosions as gas mains break and columns of smoke form. The hill they are on begins to sink as they watch cracks cut through the landscape and across the road.

     “It isn’t just the east side!” Kiera says as she punches the gas. They need to get to the airport now! With the airport in view, it was hit bad! The runways are fractured. Kiera continues straight as Meir glances at the turn and realizes that at this speed, they will roll!

     “Oh Kiera...the road...you can't...make that turn!” he says as she isn’t distracted and blows across the road and onto an emergency road for the airport. It is blocked by a gate. “Gate! Gate!” he panics as he sees that she isn’t stopping, and he braces for impact. She cuts off the road and slams through the fence as she feels the car’s under carriage be ripped by lava rocks that are naturally scattered all over the island.

     On the run way, a commercial jet waits, its engines hot as they pull near the plane. The pilot waving them to hurry as his eyes look upon an island tumbling into the sea. Jen, Meir and Kiera exit the car as Jen and Kiera race to the plane; but Meir will not leave his gear behind. Kiera turns and sees that he is collecting the computers and his luggage.

     “Forget it!” Kiera screams. “Leave it!” as the pilot urges her to get onboard. With everything in hand, Meir runs across the taxiway as he begins climbing the stairs, carrying his gear. He feels the ladder shake as the cracks open and fountains of water begin to erupt. He throws the gear into the plane. The ladder falling just as Kiera and Jen grab onto whatever skin they can grab and pull him into the plane.

     “Your one crazy sum-of-a-bitch!” Jen says, still bleeding.

      “Its water!” Meir says as he looks frantic. “Water is exploding out of the earth!” the jet violently rocks as the captain engages the plane as air traffic control calls him in.

     “Passenger jet 377412N 256756W, stand down. You are not clear to go!” the controller commands as the captain ignores the order. He looks ahead, there is nothing in the sky. The plane roars down the runway, being sprayed, pelted and rocked by the airstrips condition as he pitches the jet up and they leave the ground before they expected. Looking out the window, the ground drops off and in front, the ground rises above the plane. The captain white eyed, pulls up as the plane barely makes it over the rise before it falls away and the ocean rolls in.

     They circle around as the whole island seems to fracture and break away into massive blocks. The city of Hanga Roa is swept away into the ocean as the ocean replaces land. Only the summit of Ma′unga Terevaka remains above the ocean as the waters churn like mud. The ships in the area are pulled down with the island as there is a rebound, a shockwave radiates away from where Easter Island was. Soon the water rises on the island of Terevaka. A massive tsunami pulls all the soil and life away from the mountain top, leaving a rocky crag.

     Jen and Meir stare out the window at the empty place where Easter Island once was. All the ancient history, mystery and lore is gone. Resting somewhere under the Pacific Ocean. No one has an answer. Jen shakes her head, the trauma of seeing her own death still raw. “Never in recorded history has a whole island just sank under the waves.”

     “Well, not exactly…” Kiera says as she checks on her passengers “…10 thousand years ago, that happened to the ancient of Atlantis.”

     “Atlantis!” Meir says, tired and aching. “Atlantis is a fictional place made-up by Plato.” he says as Kiera just shakes her head.

     “And they said that plate tectonics was also fiction…” Kiera offers as Meir returns to looking at the ocean as they are traveling east away from the setting sun. Kiera gets up as she can see that they need some time to reflect what they just saw.

     “Where to?” the captain asks as his eyes look to the eastern horizon.

     “Sao Miguel…” Kiera says as she takes a seat in the copilot’s seat and stares across the vast Pacific Ocean as they soar through the clouds. The knowledge of what has happened on Easter Island still fresh in her mind. She has much to be grateful, if it wasn’t for Meir’s selfless actions back on the taxiway, all the research and data would have been lost. Years of research, gone. She leans back in the seat as she closes her eyes as the captain glances at her.

     “You can go back and get some sleep, I’ll call you once we cross over the Atlantic.” he offers as she shakes her head taking out a needle and vial of blue fluid as she draws some of the fluid into the needle and pushes it into the base of her neck.

     Rubbing her sore skin, “I don’t think I could honestly sleep…right now!” as the faces of terror on the people’s faces are still fresh in her memory. No salvation for the people of Easter Island, only death! The captain can see the ethical turmoil in her eyes as he looks back out the window as he stares out across the skyline, watching for other planes and things that might damage his plane.

     In the back of the plane, Meir and Jen sit quietly, just staring out the windows as they look out upon the Pacific Ocean. The ocean looks so peaceful and serene. Unaware of the devastation that just occurred on a remote island that most have never visited before.

     Meir grows bored of watching the endless blue, so he takes out his phone and pulls up the USGS site to see if they registered the earthquake at Isla de Pascua. He would call to warn someone, but cell service was non-existent out here and only internet was provided by the plane...and it was spotty at time. He looks at a map of the South Pacific Ocean and finds the tiny island of Pascua and sees a massive red alert near the island. It was a massive 9.9, shallow earthquake. Another quake registers near the city of Hanga Hoa as a 9.8 and right under the island, a powerful quake that has the word: ERROR. ‘Error?’ Meir wonders as he pulls up the records and sees that the seismographs were recording a 9.9 before all the graphs abruptly…end. ‘They don’t know what happened to the island!’ he realizes. He then ponders. ‘They think that it was isolated earthquakes, not that the whole island got sucked under the ocean! That much water displacement...’ he realizes that the horror isn’t over as he quickly opens his Facebook app as he can’t text or call and will have to hope someone is reading his page.

‘Just Escaped Easter Island…The Whole Island Is Gone! Massive Seismic Disturbance Has Caused The Island To Disappear Into The Ocean. Please Alert Authorities Of Possible Mega-Tsunami For The South American, Central American, North American, Australia And Asia Coast - Rainier.’

     As he hits send, he waits for the message to upload as they near the Galapagos Islands. Meir takes his phone, looking out the window. If there was a mega-tsunami out there…he should see evidence of it here.

     In the cockpit, the captain and Keira look out the window as they look across the ocean to the Galapagos Islands. Keira stares at the green island as the white-water lapping at the black rocks begins to pull back rapidly. The shoreline from Isabela Island reaches out for the expanding shoreline of Fernandina Island. Meir, sitting in the cabin watches the water begin to crest as he snaps some pictures of the receding water and the growing tsunami as he jumps out of his seat, startling Jen, as he rushes to the cockpit.

     “There is a tsunami!” he shouts as he looks out the window at the islands of Isabela and Fernandina, the water has drawn back so far that now the island of Fernandina is reconnected back to Isabela, where there was once a 50-foot-deep passage. The water begins to rise as the wave seems to rise towards the plane. At an estimated height of around 3000 feet, it is the largest mega-tsunami ever seen by human eyes! The wave rolls up the shore with devastating results as it scours the earth, obliterating old outcrops and throwing rocks the size of houses around.

     The wave hits the active volcano of Cerro Azul, the spray impressive as the water explodes high over the summit. Unable to crest the 5000-foot volcano, the wave wraps around the volcano as the tsunami rolls over the lowlands of Isabela Island. On Fernandina island, the water rolls up the gentle slope of the island with little to no obstacles as the water poured into the caldera as the wave rolled through the harbor and crested against the shore of Isabela Island

     Flying over Isabela Island, the green earth with its cold black lava flows disappeared under an azul blue wave that towered over the land by almost 2000 feet as it races towards the tiny village of Santo Tomas. Serra Negra volcano cut the strength out of the wave as the volcano completely disappeared under the wave as the force of the wave was split to the north and to the south, right towards the lightly populated city of Puerto Villamil. The city was washed away under a wave that towered over the city by almost 1300 feet as the wave raced towards the airstrip. The captain steers up as a plane rolls down the run way, trying to take off. The wave seems to explode and swallows the plane as it disappears in the tsunami.

     Meri is shock shocked that he forgot to take photographs as the devastation is complete. He finally realizes his error as he snaps a few photographs from the cockpit as the wave is now behind the main tsunami. The tsunami overtakes the island of Santa Cruz, wiping the five towns off the map. Meir has seen enough as he leaves the cockpit as Jen stands there at the door, equally devastated as she looks emotionally sick.

     “All those poor people!” Jen whispers as Meir looks at his Facebook post, not a single comment! All these people could have been warned. He thinks about the lives in his hometown. By the time the tsunami reaches them, it would have weakened, but still have a wave of around 300 feet! That is pretty much Victoria and his town at Crystal Cove. He uploads the pictures from the Galapagos to his site as they immediately receive views and the comments begin to roll in.

‘Where Is This?’

‘Were You There?’

‘How Tall Is That Wave?’

‘Is This Connected To The Easter Island Earthquake You Mentioned?’

     Meir sits down as he looks out the window as they fly over the location of San Cristobal. Only the summit of El Junco rises above the waters surface as the ocean looks muddy. He closes his eyes as he has seen enough. He loves a good disaster, but to watch the world end, it was too much to bear! To watch a 3000-foot wave wipe away everything man has created makes him feel so small. He thinks about all that he has seen, all that he has been through as his thoughts go back years; to a time when he was addressing a pretentious employer from Alaska:

     ‘What is the likelihood of a mega-tsunami hitting our rig?’ his employer asks him as he never considered mega-tsunami’s much of a threat. They were especially rare in the field of geosciences and hardly studied as the likelihood of one happening is about once every 25 thousand years. The last mega-tsunami to occur was back in 1980 at the Mount St. Helens eruption sent a landslide into Spirit Lake, causing a 853 foot tsunami to race across the lake. But that mega-tsunami was nothing compared to the 1958 Lituya Bay mega-tsunami that was over 1,710 feet high.

     ‘You have a better chance of winning the lottery and dying the same day by choking on a piece of cauliflower then seeing a mega-tsunami…’ Meir says as the employer interrupts him.

     ‘So…not a threat then!’

     Meir shakes his head. He has learned that predicting anything in the field of science is strongly frowned upon. It isn’t science when you guess or predict, that stuff is left to the nut-jobs and supposedly gifted folks. He gives an example. ‘Anything and everything can be a threat if the scenario is just right! Take for example, there is an island in the Canary Archipelago called La Palma. On that island is a volcano called Cumbre Vieja.’ as he draws the island and places an ‘X’ for the volcano. ‘Now, let’s say that the western half of the volcano has a volume of 500 cubic kilometers with a mass of 1.5 trillion metric tons and it slide into the ocean all at once…’ as he slashes the image with his marker. ‘…that displacement would create a wave 3,280 high…’

     ‘Three thousand!’ he says as the volume is incomprehensible.

     Meir nods, ‘3,300-foot-tall wave! The greater the displacement, the greater the wave. By the time the time the wave rolled upon the eastern seaboard, it would still be 164 feet tall! Cities like Halifax, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Miami and Havana…devastated! Cities in Europe and Africa would be completely wiped off the map! Vanish from history...like Atlantis and Crete...!’ Meir says as his words leave a chill in the room.

     ‘Is there anything in the Pacific that could do this to us here?’

     Meir thinks of any localized threats and can’t think of one. His mind goes to the one-of-many Aleutian volcanoes…they have produced tsunami’s in the past, but nothing of massive scale. His thoughts go south and think of a paper he read. ‘Mauna Loa!’ he says as he deliberates ‘About 110,000 years ago, a massive block of the volcano fell into the ocean and triggered a mega-tsunami that inundated the Hawaiian Islands to about 1,600 feet, as evident on the slopes of Kohala volcano. Let’s say, that a part of Maui or Hawaii Island were to collapse today…about, oh lets says 20 minutes ago…we’d have about 10 minutes to get to high ground. Every city on the west coast of North America and South America, below 300 feet would be destroyed! The cities closest to the ocean, completely gone!’

     Meir opens his eyes as his phone is constantly vibrating, people finally taking his comments serious. He scrolls through the comments until he sees one from a fellow colleague at Menlo Park:

‘How Much Of Easter Island Slide Into The Ocean?’

Meir texts back:

‘All Of It…The Whole Damn Island!’ he adds ‘The Galapagos Islands Were Just Hit. Many Of The Islands Are Just Gone! Underwater Now! Reference Pictures…’

Second later:

‘Can You Come To Menlo Park?’

Meir wants to go, but he quickly types his warning.

‘Mega-Tsunami In Pacific Ocean, Heading Towards The West Coast Of America’s. You Need To Evacuate!’

     He warns as he does not hear anything for awhile and considers that the conversation was purposely dropped. About an hour later, his phone vibrates again. This time it is from a friend in Alaska.

‘Meri, Don’t Come To West Coast! Tsunami Warning Issued…It Is Chaos Here! Give Me A Call When You Get This Message! - Melusine-Siyokoy’ 

     Stories are coming into his Facebook feed about the tsunami that just devastated Panama. Looking out the windows, they are sopped in a thick cloud bank as rain pelts the window. The plane rocks hard as the air is turbulent, but soon they break through the storm and are approaching the coastline as Jen calls out for Meir.

     “Meir!” Jen cries out as he snaps out of his day-dreaming and walks over to the cockpit as they soar through the clouds. The skyline opening as new clouds rise in the horizon. Black clouds rising from the ground as the city of Panama is on fire! The tsunami had arrived, and multiple waves continue to rip the city apart. About ten miles into the mainland, there are massive ships resting against the hillsides where the wave lost its power…the canal, gone. The people of Panama shall never awake from this nightmare!

[faseidl]

Mountain Music The view of the trees reflected in the lake behind the backcountry patrol cabin at Golden Lakes Camp in Mt. Rainier National Park always reminds me of an audio track in a sound editing app. I wonder what it would sound like. . #mtrainier #mountrainier #backpacking (at Mount Rainier National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcS77qZLUfr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sciencespies]

SpaceX's First Civilian Astronauts 'Underestimated' How Intense The Training Would Be

https://sciencespies.com/space/spacexs-first-civilian-astronauts-underestimated-how-intense-the-training-would-be/

SpaceX's First Civilian Astronauts 'Underestimated' How Intense The Training Would Be

SpaceX is about to attempt a new first: launching a spaceship full of people who aren’t professional astronauts into orbit.

The four-person crew consists of a billionaire, a physician assistant, an engineer, and a scientist. On Wednesday, weather permitting, they’ll climb aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship atop a Falcon 9 rocket, then roar into space.

They’re set to orbit Earth for three days, enjoying the views and collecting data for scientific research, then plummet back through the atmosphere and parachute to a safe landing. They call their mission Inspiration4.

Billionaire Jared Isaacman chartered the flight from SpaceX and is both footing the bill and commanding the Crew Dragon spaceship. He gave the other three seats to Hayley Arceneaux, who survived bone cancer as a child and now works at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Chris Sembroski, an Air Force veteran who works for Lockheed Martin; and Dr. Sian Proctor, a geoscientist who serves as an analog astronaut in simulations of long-term Mars missions.

The crew isn’t just climbing into the spaceship like you or I might board a plane. They’ve spent the last four months training – studying manuals, pushing their bodies to new limits, and practicing for worst-case scenarios. They completed the training, which is largely based on NASA’s program, this week.

Even though Isaacman has spent thousands of hours flying jets and ex-military aircraft, he told Insider that the astronaut training was “more intense” than he expected.

“I definitely underestimated it to some extent,” he said.

When billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson each took their own rocket rides – flights which skimmed the edge of space but did not enter orbit – neither revealed the details of their training. But the Inspiration4 crew has been sharing its preparations publicly, offering a glimpse into what it takes to prepare amateurs for spaceflight.

Here’s what they’ve revealed.

Step one: Meet your rocket and watch it launch

Once the Inspiration4 crew was assembled, one of the first things they did together was watch SpaceX launch its third set of professional astronauts towards the International Space Station.

Arceneaux had never seen a rocket launch before.

“I thought I was gonna have anxiety before the launch, but it was actually really serene,” she told Axios reporter Miriam Kramer for the podcast “How It Happened.”

The soon-to-be spacefarers used a centrifuge to simulate the feeling of launch

Chris Sembroski sits in a SpaceX centrifuge chamber. (Inspiration4/John Kraus)

A centrifuge spins really fast to create centrifugal force that pushes things outwards, much like a salad spinner or the spinning carnival ride that presses you against a wall. That force mimics the feeling of launch, when the pull of gravity on your body feels three times its normal strength. Many astronauts and pilots use centrifuges in their training.

Isaacman took his teammates up Mount Rainier 

The Inspiration4 crew climbs Mount Rainier. (Inspiration4/Scott Poteet)

Washington’s Mount Rainier is a 14,410-foot active volcano covered in glaciers, with punishing weather and hazardous crevasses. Summiting requires ice axes and crampons. So Isaacman decided it would be the perfect place to break the ice with his new crewmates. They climbed the mountain together in early May.

“They built some mental toughness. They got comfortable being uncomfortable, which is pretty important,” Isaacman said. “Food sucks on the mountain. Temperatures can suck on the mountain. Well, that’s no different than Dragon. We don’t get to dial up and down the thermostat … And I can tell you the food isn’t great in space, from what we’ve tasted so far.”

After camping, it was time to hit the books

After Mount Rainier, the crew flew to SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California to begin training in earnest.

“Every day was pretty much a 12-hour day, and then you were getting back to the hotel room, and you’re just studying. That was kind of the intense academic portion of the training,” Isaacman said.

They had to learn about the parts of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spaceship, how everything works, and what can go wrong.

“We have like 3,000 pages across 100 different manuals. It was a lot. I don’t think any of us really predicted that,” Isaacman said.

Then the crew practiced flying Crew Dragon in simulations

Sian Proctor on a visit to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. (Inspiration4/John Kraus)

Inside a mock Crew Dragon model, the Inspiration4 passengers practiced the procedure for launches and landings. Once they got used to how things are supposed to work when all goes smoothly, trainers started adding issues and spacecraft malfunctions to the simulation.

Some of these exercises involved all four crew members, but some were just for Isaacman and Proctor – the commander and pilot of the mission. Eventually, they were doing full simulations with mission control and a launch director.

In early August, the crew did a grueling 30-hour simulation

Isaacman, Proctor, Arceneaux, and Sembroski put on their spacesuits, climbed in the simulation model of the Crew Dragon, and sealed themselves inside for the 30-hour ordeal. Nobody knew what was coming, not even the mission controllers. A simulation supervisor had pre-programmed everything.

They practiced a regular launch, with a weather delay included. They ate a meal and slept. But as their simulated mission began to reenter the atmosphere and fall back to Earth, all hell broke loose.

The Axios podcast recounts what happened. In the simulation, as the Crew Dragon pushed itself into Earth’s atmosphere, three computers failed. The crew lost touch with mission control. Then the capsule’s parachutes wouldn’t deploy.

“Now you’re blind, you can’t talk, and there’s no way for the chutes to come out. There’s also no way for Dragon to stabilize itself during essentially a hypersonic reentry,” Isaacman told Kramer.

When they got their bearings, the crew realized the simulation was sending their hypothetical capsule a continent away from its intended splashdown site.

“It felt very real. You’re living in it for 30 hours. The last 45 minutes, there was awareness from us in the capsule, and them on the ground, that there is a chance that this might not be actually a survivable situation,” Isaacman told Kramer.

In the end, they landed safely, but the podcast did not specify how the crew pulled it off.

The training also involved fun parabolic flights to simulate microgravity

In a parabolic flight, a plane flies in arcs up and down, creating up to 30 seconds of weightlessness at the peak of the arc. Some people call the planes “vomit comets.”

The team tested their bodies in a high-altitude chamber

It’s rare, but sometimes spaceship cabins become depressurized, just like an airplane cabin. Spaceships typically have oxygen masks on board in case this happens. But it’s still helpful to know how your body will react before you slip that mask on. Being familiar with the symptoms of oxygen deprivation can also alert crew members to a cabin leak if the spaceship’s systems don’t detect it first.

To experience those symptoms firsthand, under supervision, the crew took to an altitude chamber that exposed them to a low-oxygen environment.

“It provided great insight into each of our various symptoms,” Arceneaux said, according to a tweet from the mission’s account.

They’ve learned to draw blood and take skin samples

Since scientists want more information on how spaceflight affects the body, the Inspiration4 crew offered to gather biological data for NASA. In addition to taking each other’s blood and skin samples, the crew will monitor their sleep, take daily cognitive tests on an iPad, and scan their organs with an ultrasound device. Isaacman said they didn’t realize quite how extensive this research would be.

“We were like, maybe we should have talked about this before we did it,” he said.

He added that the crew members will have to take skin-cell swabs “three times a day on 10 different parts of our body.”

The crew squeezed in some jet piloting above SpaceX’s facilities in Texas

During their training period, the crew members made public appearances, did media interviews, and took trips to Space Camp and SpaceX’s rocket-development facilities in Boca Chica, Texas.

That latter site, which SpaceX founder Elon Musk calls “Starbase,” is where the company is building and testing prototypes of its Starship mega-rocket and Super Heavy booster. When they visited, the Inspiration4 crew members went for a plane ride high above the rockets.

Earlier in the summer, Isaacman and Proctor also did fighter-jet training in Montana to brush up on their piloting skills. NASA astronauts do the same to practice thinking and responding quickly under stress.

The Inspiration4 crew flies jets above SpaceX’s facilities in Boca Chica, Texas. (Inspiration4/John Kraus)

With their training is complete, Isaacman, Proctor, Arceneaux, and Sembroski flew to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday to complete the final preparations for launch.

They are SpaceX’s first commercial passengers, but the company aims to fly more. It already has another such mission lined up in January: For that flight, called AX-1, the company Axiom Space chartered a Crew Dragon to take customers to the International Space Station for eight days.

The AX-1 crew includes real-estate investor Larry Connor, Canadian investor Mark Pathy, and former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe. Axiom Space’s vice president, former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, will command the mission. It’s not yet clear what their training regimen will be.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

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#Space

[lhannusch]

Day 3, Ashford, WA I fell asleep to the sound of rushing water from the stream outside. The bed was super comfy, although it is so high I have to use the side railing to get into bed. 😆 Bob and I had coffee on the deck while the kids slept on. We were visited by a trio of deer, who were grazing around the cabins.

Bob made us a yummy breakfast tacos to start the day off right. We are about to head to Mount Rainier National Park. We had a beautiful drive through at least one national forest before entering Mount Rainier National Park. I’m not sure how we took the long way around, but we were glad we did, as the scenery was gorgeous.

Betsy’s photo:

Once we got into the park, we headed to the aptly named Paradise, which had beautiful views of Mount Rainier. The place was packed with tourists; we later found out it was unusually busy for a Monday, but that there had still been snow on some of the trails as recently as a week ago, so people were flocking to the area now that the snow was gone. (Thee was still plenty of snow at upper elevations, as you can see.

We did a 1-mile round trip hike to see Marble Falls. To get a good view, you had to climb down some steep (IMO) stairs, which only the kids did. This photo of the falls was taken by Betsy, as were the photos of Will and Lola.

After our hike, we had a very late lunch and headed back to the house to rest. Later, we went to find pizza in Ashford for dinner. We went to a place called Base Camp, which actually serves as a base camp for mountaineers. They have a couple climbing rocks outside, one of which Lola scaled easily.

We were greeted by another deer when we returned home. (We saw several on the road to and from.). We hung out for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet, then Bob built us a fire in the fire pit for s’mores. We roasted marshmallows, ate s’mores and tried to tell scary stories which mostly involved Walmart employees and the phrase “environmental indemnities.” Then back inside to chill a bit more before bedtime. We will be sorry to leave here tomorrow.

[fargolan]

POSTSCRIPT

The Numbers: Days: 21 Nights in Hotels/Cabins: 7 (btw 3 cities, Fernie, Calgary and Coulee) Nights Camping: 14 (8 off the grid, 6 in campgrounds) Total kms Bikes, approx: 210 Total kms per day, approx: 40 Total Miles Moto/Jeep: 3,385. Average Miles/Day, Excluding bike-packing trip and off days in Fernie and Calgary: 260 States traversed, including in Canada: 7 Flat tires, bikes, moto's and jeep, all in: 0 Fish caught: 10+ Fish eaten: 3 Bears seen: 0 Bald Eagles seen: 2 Wolves heard: a pack! Showers taken, each person, whole trip, approx: 15 The Words: The last night at dinner, we recalled some of the many memorable things about the trip and captured their descriptors. These are key words only, and in no particular order. Further explanation, if available at all, is only so in person over beers. Power Wranglers Nig Nog Snowboard Olympian Line Dancing Mount Rainier out of the valley Bye Bye Buff Hat Cold baths Bitten legs Blown bike shoes Wrong turn was right turn Road sign in front of Church- 'You think it's hot here...' Rural road, naked woman Bears don't shit in the woods- they shit on the road Holy down hill Cowboy lunch stop Poutine Coal mine Teck Hidden campsites Fish flinging 6 month plan changed in 5 minutes Itchy beards Mexican restaurant name 'Nacho Mama' Daily diversity Ghost gust Magic machines Ground hog day Bloody Caesar Road kill Still no bears... 'I would stake my life on this- you are here.' If Fernie could talk... Poachers Free camping Pool sharks Freeze dried Flower Lady 2 bottles of Veuve before lunch Aurora bore-a-nothing Charcoal cocktail Strep throat Talking to my self in someone else's ear Intercom trauma And more Intercom trauma Curry bowl Daylight to 11 Baja in Washington Big Truck- Magic Sushi Saddle sore(s) Extreme beauty Machine love Alberta wind terror. Same state, similar water, different year, different jet Hwy 80 hostage Kent Britton, Canadian Hero Glider racing Wind machines Bald Eagle Glacier.National.Park Coffee is key Don't leave a tomato behind, it will catch up. Road sign from Earl's Diner 'this is a sign you should eat here' The Defendant Bridge of marbles, 30 knot crosswind Yellow Puppies Give the rock to the sick guy. Come on, we can do it. Gratitude

[mountrainiernps]

The old saying goes that park rangers get paid in sunsets.

And many national park service sites do have amazing sunsets. But when the sun sets, where do you lay your head for some restful zzzz’s? In the early days of Mount Rainier National Park, rangers had to make their own beds. Most spent their days on patrol and camped out under the stars many nights. But even rangers appreciate a roof over their heads, so when Superintendent Ethan Allen indicated that rangers could build themselves cabins to stay in, some handy rangers got right to work. This was the start of the ranger cabins at Mount Rainier.

One of the earliest is also the easiest to see dating to about 1908. It’s the Oscar Brown cabin right inside the Nisqually Entrance. It was built by park ranger Oscar Brown as a residence. Closed to the public, it is still used and maintained today.

It looks pretty good for being over a hundred years old, doesn’t it? ~ams

For more park history, visit https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/historyculture/index.htm

NPS Photo. People in early touring car in front of Oscar Brown cabin with people standing on porch in black and white image. NPS Photo. Fresh snow on the Oscar Brown cabin.

[sublimotion]

Where Can I Try an Almost Heaven Sauna?

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What to do when you want to buy, but would first like to try an Almost Heaven sauna.

Canopy Barrel saunas, one of Almost Heaven’s most popular designs

You are in the market to buy a sauna (welcome, can we interest you in any sales?) but you are not yet ready to commit to such a large purchase. Smart. You’ve done all your research — measured out the footprint of the sauna you want, watched the assembly video half a dozen times, read our many customer reviews, and contacted a slew of electricians to get a quote for the heater requirements. But there is still something bothering you — you want to try the sauna. Actually sit in it, stretch out, and compare notes.

If you are still on the rocks about investing in a large ticket item from an online store (we understand! It can be scary), might we recommend you seek out one of our saunas to try? How do you do that exactly? The easy answer is by visiting one of the many Airbnb’s and boutique hotels that have an Almost Heaven sauna. If one is in your area — you’re in luck! Zip on down for a night. If there doesn’t seem to be anything nearby, you probably need a vacation anyways. Go down for a long weekend and treat yourself to some travel and a sauna.

Try an Almost Heaven Sauna on the East Coast

Eastwind. Photograph by Lawrence Braun

Eastwind Hotel and Bar | New York This picturesque location has it all: glamping, a hotel, a bar, and a Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna! With a wide variety of options for sleeping arrangements, you won’t want to pass on an opportunity to check out Eastwind!

Book Eastwind 

House on Fair

House on Fair | New York This cute Airbnb has a Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna and is a short walk away from many shops and restaurants. Come for the relaxing sauna, stay for the cute historical house!

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Modern Escape

Modern Escape | New York This quaint cottage is close to a lake and surrounded by trees! Besides the beautiful furnishings, the best part is the Watoga 4 person barrel sauna — with a vista window!

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Partridge Hill Lodge

Partridge Hill Lodge | Massachusetts This lodge features a wood-burning Grandview 8 person canopy barrel sauna. To add to the rustic atmosphere, the lodge is set on 40 acres of land and you can drive to either Boston or New York in under three hours.

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1845 Backacres | New York This quaint farmhouse has been renovated to modern perfection. A wood-burning Grandview 8 person canopy barrel sauna is coming to the property in spring 2020. Enjoy the woods surrounding the house during your getaway!

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Cabin on 600 Acres

Cabin on 600 Acres | Pennsylvania You will have plenty of land to enjoy at this Airbnb! With 15 miles of trails to explore, plus an open invitation to bring ATVs or horses, the sauna at the end of the day will be well deserved. You can try the beautiful Audra 4 person canopy barrel sauna and the wood door with a window!

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  Try an Almost Heaven Sauna in the Midwest

The Point Retreats

The Point Retreats | Minnesota This wellness retreat has it all! Plan a vacation that keeps your health at the center. Go with a group or on an individual basis; the choice is yours. While you are here, visit the Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna and leave with a wholistic understanding of your health!

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Northern Retreat

Northern Retreat | Minnesota You can rent the small cabin or the whole house at this beautiful property. In addition to tennis courts and a hot tub, relax in the Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna.

Book the Whole House

Lake Michigan Home

Lake Michigan Home | Michigan This home is right by Lake Michigan! In addition to the beautiful Bridgeport 6 person indoor sauna, this Airbnb has a private pool and is the perfect destination for your summer vacation. You can book the whole house or a private room.

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  Try an Almost Heaven Sauna on the West Coast

The Sunset Yurt

The Sunset Yurt | Hawaii If you’ve been dreaming of a Hawaiian vacation, add this Airbnb to the list! It’s time to get into yurts because this adorable studio has the ocean as its backyard. Spend some time in the Pinnacle 4 person barrel sauna and then go take a swim!

Book the Sunset Yurt

Cedar Bloom Farms

Cedar Bloom Farms | Oregon You can experience unique camping — from domed homes to A-frames. The Cedar Bloom Farm is situated on 100 acres of land, and you can enjoy the Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna while you take in the beauty of your surroundings!

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Cabana Del Oso

Cabana Del Oso | Washington This cozy forest home is inviting and perfect for a vacation. You can enjoy this Airbnb year round — from the forests to skiing. No matter the weather, you can take advantage of the Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna.

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Poofy’s Paradise

Poofy’s Paradise | Washington This rustic cabin is modern and perfect for a getaway. Besides the sledding hill and fun cabin-feel, you can sauna in the Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna. Enjoy the patio right near the sauna for a good time.

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Hera’s Chalet

Hera’s Chalet | Washington This cozy cabin is close to Mount Rainier National Park. Enjoy the Salem 2 person barrel sauna just steps away from the chalet. Cozy up in the winter by the fire and jump in the snow between sauna sessions.

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Hygge Chalet

The Hygge Chalet | Colorado Hygge (hu-geh) is the Danish concept of cozy and the simple pleasures in life, which this chalet has down to a T! Enjoy the mountainous atmosphere and relax in the Watoga 4 person barrel sauna while you are at it.

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City Park Home

City Park Home | Colorado Golf, a hot tub, and a sauna? This Airbnb has it all! Visit the Denver Zoo, explore the city, then come back and enjoy the Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna.

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Alpine A-Frame

The Alpine A-Frame | Colorado This Airbnb is coming soon! The A-Frame is currently under renovation, but the owners already have a Huntington 6 person canopy barrel sauna ready for opening day! They have an Instagram account documenting this experience, so you can follow along in anticipation.

View the Instagram Account

Tiny Mountain Cabin

Tiny Mountain Cabin | Arizona Enjoy 1.5 acres in the Coconino National Forest. Check out the historic downtown or venture to some famous landscapes. Spend your evenings stargazing out the vista window with the heat of the Pinnacle 4 person barrel sauna.

Book the Tiny Mountain Home

    If a night away with a heavenly sauna doesn’t convince you to take the plunge and make the purchase, we don’t know what will! Trying the sauna should tell you all you need to know. And if you are still deciding, don’t forget to contact our friendly customer service team and ask all your remaining questions. We look forward to welcoming you into our sauna family!

P.S. If you know of a listing with our saunas not mentioned above, let us know! 

[Read More ...] https://almostheaven.com/2020/01/where-can-i-try-an-almost-heaven-sauna/

[jroddy2000-blog]

American Literature: Natives, Naturalists, Immigrants, and Settlers Class Final Project -- Research Project on John Muir

John Muir’s life was marked most of all by his love for the natural world and his pursuit and protection of the beauty, sublimity, and great importance he saw in it. With this in mind, Muir was born on April 21st, 1838 in Dunbar, Scotland. In 1849, the Muir family moved to the United States and ended up on a farm near Portage, Wisconsin, where Muir was raised and where Muir’s father, Daniel Muir, a dictatorial Presbyterian minister, worked him from dusk to dawn. Muir’s father beat him, until by age eleven, he had memorized three quarters of the Old Testament and the entire New Testament. At the farm near Portage, Muir also did two things that would go on to define his life: he developed an affection for the wilderness and proved to have a knack for business and inventions. In 1860, Muir won acclaim for his inventions at the Wisconsin state fair, leading to opportunities to escape his father’s grasp in the form of job offers and a chance to attend the University of Wisconsin. He jumped on a couple of these opportunities. 

Muir attended the University of Wisconsin for three years and studied botany and geology, but not before taking a job as an inventor’s apprentice. After his studies, the next beat usually hit in the life of John Muir is the factory accident that blinded him for several months. And though it is perhaps the next crucial moment in his life, since it would further kindle his love of the natural world and eventually lead him to the Sierra Nevada, it is worth acknowledging that before the accident, he dodged the draft for two years in Canada. In 1867, after the eye injury caused by the accident had healed and Muir had regained his sight, he dropped a promising career to set out on a 1,000 mile walk from Indiana to Florida. On his way, he studied plants and began a journal he would keep for the rest of his life. His original intention was to walk to South America, build a raft, and ride it down the full length of the Amazon, but when he got a fever, likely from malaria, he instead travelled to the West Coast to visit the Sierra Nevada. In March, 1868, Muir arrived in San Francisco. Upon getting off the boat, he was asked, “Where do you wish to go?,” and responded “Anywhere that’s wild.” From there, he walked for six weeks across California until he arrived in the Sierra.

In the Sierra, John Muir discovered his temple and his way of worshipping, and it had nothing to do with memorizing the Bible. Instead, everywhere he turned, he found God in God’s creation. During the summer of 1869, he wrote the journal that would become My First Summer In The Sierra. In it, he posited a theory that the domes and valley of Yosemite were created by glaciers, a theory that, though heavily disputed by California’s state geologist, would be proven correct after Muir discovered living glaciers in the Sierra. Then, Muir was offered the job of building and running a sawmill there and gladly accepted, since it was an opportunity to live in a place he now adored. As a living quarters, he built a cabin for himself and a coworker at the base of Yosemite Falls with one window overlooking the falls, a floor made of stones spread far enough apart for plants to grow, and a small creek flowing through a corner of the cabin. During his time in the Sierra, Muir came to believe his destiny was to spread the gospel of the natural world--“Heaven knows that John the Baptist was not more eager to get all his fellow sinners into the Jordan than I to baptize all of mine in the beauty of God's mountains.”

In 1873, Muir moved to Oakland, where he hoped to preach the value of the wilderness. He spent five years writing articles for popular magazines and became nationally famous. However, he grew discontented: “I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.” (Oakland would not be the last time Muir threw himself into work, only to feel strongly pulled back to the natural world.) When he had the opportunity to visit Glacier Bay in Alaska, he took it. There he encountered massive glaciers like nothing he’d ever seen before. Glaciers, he knew very well, played a an absolutely key role in the creation of the natural world: “glaciers, back in their cold solitude, work apart from men, exerting their tremendous energies in silence and darkness…until in the fullness of time the mountains and valleys are brought forth, channels furrowed for the rivers, basins made for meadows and lakes, and soil beds spread for the forests and fields that man and beast may be fed” (The Atlantic Monthly, 1899).

After Glacier Bay, in 1880, Muir married Louie Strentzel and moved onto her family’s estate and orchard near Martinez, California. There, Louie and John Muir had two children and John spent most of his time taking care of them and of the orchard. He increased the productivity of the farm and slowly amassed considerable wealth. However, his health began to deteriorate, likely due to the grueling upkeep of the orchard and, probably even more than that, his isolation from nature. He lost weight and became “nerve-shaken.” Louie encouraged him to get back out into the wilderness by visiting Mount Rainier in Washington and sold parcels of the estate to allow Muir to take the trip. And so Muir traveled to Washington to see the 14er. Once there, he felt some of his energy return. When the young men he was camping with went to make the 7 ½ hour climb to the top of Rainier, a 50 year-old Muir decided to join them on a whim and was incredibly glad he did. The climb brought him back, so to speak. He decided once again that he must devote himself to protecting and preserving places like Rainier.

And so Muir set out on his national parks mission, though he did not know it yet. He would end up doing a massive amount for the preservation of wildernesses with the national parks idea, so much that director of The National Parks -- America’s Best Idea Ken Burns said, “John Muir is the single most important person in our series” (BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, Lee Stetson - Keeping the Spirit of John Muir Alive). Muir loved wilderness and believed going out into nature was an essential part of human existence. He said of national parks, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life” (Muir, Our National Parks). He furthered his point about the essentiality of national parks by saying, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike… This natural beauty-hunger is made manifest… in our magnificent National Parks… Nature's sublime wonderlands, the admiration and joy of the world” (Muir, The Yosemite).

On the first leg of his journey promoting national parks, Muir became the public voice for setting aside the Sierra high country as a park. After Robert Underwood Johnson, an editor of The Century magazine, asked him for a tour of Yosemite, he arrived at the place that had changed his life only to discover giant holes cut in trees for tourists to pass through, litter in his temple, plans to put colored lights on Yosemite Falls, and sheep herders and loggers taking over the high country, which he predicted, if left unchecked, would lead to dire consequences for the Sierra. Johnson suggested Muir write more articles in the hopes of earning the Sierra high country a national parks designation. Muir did as Johnson proposed, despite personal attacks launched against him by opposing politicians and vested interests. His perseverance paid off when, on October 1st, 1890, Yosemite National Park was created. It set aside more than 900,000 acres, or nearly 1,500 square miles, of wilderness.

Muir had won a great victory, but Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove were still under state control and he hoped to make these areas part of Yosemite National Park. In the meantime, as part of his continuing mission to preserve the natural world (and perhaps in an effort to help better his chances of making these areas part of Yosemite), Muir, along with Robert Underwood Johnson and a group of prominent Californians, formed the Sierra Club in 1892. Muir was elected president of the club (and remained so until his death). Then, with the help of a broad coalition including the Sierra Club, Muir helped make Mount Rainier a national park in 1899. Then, in 1903, his chance finally came to make Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove part of Yosemite National Park. He received word that President Theodore Roosevelt planned to visit the Sierra and wanted Muir to be his guide. When the President arrived, he snuck away from his procession of troops, reporters, photographers, and officials and camped alone with Muir in the wilderness. Roosevelt came back from the trip and proclaimed to the crowd, “This has been the grandest day of my life.” Within three years, Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley were part of the Yosemite park.

Muir won yet another national parks battle when the petrified forest of Arizona became Petrified Forest National Monument. When he traveled to Arizona and found himself in the 200 million year old forest, Muir fell in love with another of God’s majestic creations. And upon discovering the petrified logs that made up the forest were in danger, Muir wrote to Roosevelt--whom he now considered a friend--and Petrified Forest National Monument was signed into law. Although Muir won this battle, he unfortunately lost the last national parks battle he fought in his lifetime: the one for Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The growing San Francisco wanted to use the valley and its Tuolumne River as a water source to support its growth. Muir believed the city’s plan to put a dam and reservoir in Hetch Hetchy would ruin the valley’s natural magnificence, belie the purpose of a national park, and, most significantly to him, set a dangerous precedent for the future. At first, it looked as if Muir would win one more parks battle. However, when a massive earthquake hit San Francisco, killing thousands and destroying most of the city, politicians lied that Hetch Hetchy’s water supply would have prevented the destruction and, as a result, San Franciscans voted 7 to 1 in favor of the dam. Muir once again reached out to Roosevelt for help, but had no luck this time because of the overwhelming support for the dam. Two presidents later, the first of whom actually supported Muir’s view, the long battle for Hetch Hetchy was lost.

A man named Robert Marshall described the state of a defeated 75 year old Muir like this: “I could not but think that if Congress, the president, and even the San Francisco contingent could have seen him, they would certainly have been willing to have delay any action [on the dam] until the old man had gone away.” Muir’s devastation after the loss of Hetch Hetchy as described by Marshall captures Muir’s love of the natural world and commitment to its protecting better than any I found. The fact that Marshall believed bureaucrats would have waited to start a project because of one man’s feelings paints Muir’s grief as palpable and demonstrates that his love for even one section of wilderness was enormous. Another quote that captures the essence of John Muir was spoken by a Native American park superintendent named Gerard Baker in the documentary National Parks: “John Muir would have made a great medicine man in his day because he would feel the same things an American Indian would because he was listening, he was truly listening. He wasn’t exploring. He was living, he was learning, he was living with the elements out there, and John Muir would have been part of it just like the elders I knew were part of the environment.” As demonstrated in these observations, Muir was an exceptional, one-of-a-kind man who dedicated his life and a lot his wealth of love to the natural world. He died of pneumonia on December 24th, 1914 at age 76, but not without leaving a lasting legacy. John Muir had started a movement, a kind of nature religion, that would last. In other words, Muir’s life has deeply shaped the present world and I hope we do not forget the lessons he revealed, particularly about the importance of our national parks.

[iloveitontop-blog]

This photo is from loop C, The White River Campground is just the ticket for exploring the east side of Mount Rainier. Because of the steep terrain around the campground and its proximity to the White River Camp ground has little brooks cascading through the area provide a consistent and delicate serenade. The Wonderland Trail runs through White River Campground, making it a good choice for beginning or ending a circle hike or as a resupply location. There’s a hike-in area reserved for backpackers just behind the historic patrol cabin between loops C and D. There are picnic tables, fire platforms, flush toilets, and water. #camping #hiking #river #trails #nature #trees Discovered at Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington. See more at Trover

[thadshannon47-blog]

Is Kinder Morgan Kissing Canada Farewell?

When Mount St. Helens, situated 50 miles (80 kilometres) southwest from Mount Rainier, possessed its significant outbreak in 1980, the leading lahar was much smaller.3 In reality, the amount from product that flowed down the http://supplements4fit-blog.info/maxibold-%E0%B8%96%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%9E%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99/ flanks from Mount Rainier was 1,400 opportunities the amount. A mountain range bike may be for you if you live in a country place or even prefer to make an effort riding on hill tracks. The target from Hill America Cooperative Credit Union is to offer its own participants along with a beneficial incentive for all of them to create a sound groundwork and realize their financial dreams. Whatever your flavors are you can find sportfishing, water sports, hunting, jumping, swimming, wildlife viewing as well as additional when you choose to lease a hill log cabin. Its casual settlement deals and also lots of shanty towns are actually created high on mountain range inclines, leaving tens from 1000s of occupants susceptible to death and variation when the rainfalls happen. Right here you could discover a good little bit of camping site that uses a swimming pool as well as tidy showers for a decent cost and also you possess the amazing view towards the ruins of the Arco towering over the metropolitan area. For the children' enjoyment, there are actually play areas situated in a variety of locations in Bear Hill State Playground. Mountain neighborhoods all over the world are encountering the very same problems. movement, poverty, unfilled towns," Romeo claimed. That is a mild to exhausting trail to hike as is actually produces a sharp climb to Bald Hill which has an altitude of 4,000 feets. I partook the quietness from my room taking pleasure in cheese as well as cookies and also fresh fruit product provided along with white sherry while searching onto the attractive Klein Stream Mountain. The entire place, from Sand Mountain Range and throughout Grimes Factor is extremely religious, with the importance of the early Indigenous American people that lived there. Soar from mountain internet sites all around the Andes, or for something a little other to the regions you have actually been actually walking, Peru's Costa Verde in Lima is actually the best spot for paragliding. Today, however, bowhunters are actually additionally finding mountain whitetails, specifically in Montana, Idaho, as well as Washington. A number of sorts of coffee brands are taken to be in front of the break and Mountain Eco-friendly Coffee is actually just some of them. But these craziness may not be limited to mountain range folk as well as need to not be stereotyped. The Mountain range has tie color a step better through incorporating their unique styles to the tye pass away tees. Gunung Rinjani National Forest and Pond Segara Anak Lombok Island is most gorgeous views worldwide. The Great Smoky Hill National forest itself includes about 2,115 kilometers of streams within its perimeters open for sportfishing. Cashmore is actually the outdoors operations supervisor at Dining table Mountain range local playground, the ski mountain near North Battleford. The path is actually possesses mountain ranges ascents on either end which is actually something newbie hikers ought to remember of. The route itself is actually framed in stunning witch hazel and hill manner. You could also lease an amount of autos like 4x4s, mountain bicycle, as well as motorcycle in order to get a quick thrill from an other kind compared to on the snowfall. The tread on hill biking tires is actually knobbly to incorporate grip for both hill mountaineering as well as braking. When raising the hill on labelled trails, this prevails to view plants handed out with sacred cigarette offerings covered in colorful towel as depictions from requests to the Designer. When you take longer journeys it greats to become capable to move your palms around to other placements to avoid going numbed. Various other companies from Mountain range The U.S.A. Credit Union consist of financial investment choices, insurance policy products, a graduation computer registry, identification theft defense, and also much more.

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Albanian Police Record Believed Awesome Of Czech Travelers.

Among the issues I've discovered commonly is that a reduction of motivation can easily make you feel like quiting. However I assure you you are actually not if you are actually experiencing this you could experience alone. The 14,410 feet Mt. Rainier is a volcano similar to Mt. St. Helens, however the almost 40 upright kilometers from glaciers and also snow help always keep a limit on it. The hill is surrounded through kilometers from meadows as well as rainforests. Baseding on the company's site, it offers companies in every primary field and also from all sizes, featuring more than 94% from the Fortune THOUSAND, which depend on Iron Hill as their relevant information control partner. Your brand new mountain range leading real property acquisition could certainly not have a tale to tell yet however you may simply produce that appear like a house with a history. Mount Kangchenjunga is the 3rd highest possible mountain on earth, and also lies to some extent in Nepal and also mostly in Sikkim, India. In reality, while our company go to that, I'll mention The Mountain Cycling Geocaching Connection if you 'd like to find out where a few of the most effective locations in the conditions are for that. Called for the design from its top, Teapot Hill lies near the Gold Ecological Park (near Jinguashi) on Taiwan's north-east shoreline. Comical that you stated mountain range biking-I was a coach while operating in New Hampshire (my qualifications allowed me to do such work). Oak and desire log futon hardwood frames are going to include a fantastic rustic hope to your hill log cabin. Jiulong Mountain Range National Forest Park is actually made of numerous rocks, heights, old caverns, falls and circulating waterways. Its own altitude is 6,593 feet (2,010 m)-- the 3rd highest possible peak in the playground and also, gauged off its foundation to its highest top, the highest mountain range east from the Mississippi http://sportexcercises.info/mengenai-bustelle-lazada-lotion-push-up-korset/ Stream Alumnus Cave Path is actually one of the most highly use the five pathways en option to the peak.

The head-and-body size from the fully grown hill coati can easily float around 14.17-15.35 inches (36-39 centimeters). There are actually couple of rivals (from similar scale) as well as Iron Hill has ended up being a globally-recognized brand for trusted documentation storage space, details damage, and also records backup and recovery. The Mountain range is actually a chain of mountains in Asia, splitting the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Stage. The absolute best time to browse through is during the course of late April to late September if you are actually planning an excursion to Rocky Mountain range National Playground. In main Europe where there the are actually many mountain ranges that produce fast managing rivers and also daunting rapids, the sporting activity from browsing these waterways with kayaks was actually carried. I got back as well as got John and also the pet dogs for a stroll at East Bear Paw where Tin Mountain allows logging, but they won't let me clear the trails from leaves for my race at their Albany location. This simple legislation with the rugged Wills Mountain Anticline is right now utilized by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (left), Alternate U.S. 40 (facility, left from the creek), as well as the CSX Railway (right). In November 2010, Green Mountain restated its earnings for several fiscal years after a review by a board committee established in feedback to the SEC examination. I simply want i could check out a number of these mountain ranges 1 day, i love camping outdoors and also I adore mountains, yet besides Balkans I never ever went outdoor camping or even mountaineering in other region. This is actually a picturesque dispel to Isinglass Mountain and then up to the leading, where you'll find the entry to the mine.

[unmappedterritory]

2017 Roundup

What I Did:

Watched 37 movies.

Read 44 books.

Turned 22.

Got accepted into the accounting program, discovered it wasn’t for me, switched to management, and am still trying to make my plan work.

Went to Asheville, NC and stayed in a cabin.

Spent spring break in Florida and visited my great aunts.

Went on a 14 day trip camping in New York, going to NYC and Niagara Falls.

Went on a three and a half week camping trip through Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and even saw California.

Saw the total solar eclipse on August 21 in Idaho Falls.

Went on a ten day trip with my parents and brother to visit relatives in Idaho and Utah.

Some of the new places I went: Mount Rainier National Park, Mount St. Helens, Olympic National Park, Redwoods National Park, Portland, Arches National Park.

Where I Was:

My birthday with my mom and brother in Michigan.

July 4th in Michigan with my mom and brother.

Thanksgiving with the whole fam in Michigan.

Christmas with my family and grandparents in Twin Falls, Idaho.

What Stood Out:

Books: The Secret History, Homestead, Under the Skin, Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, White Teeth, All Creatures Great and Small, The Girls.

Movies: Zodiac, Changeling.

Moments: Getting my major acceptance in a cabin in Asheville; My senile great aunt holding my hand and crying, telling me to take care of my mom in Florida; Standing in a wheat field on the Washington state line; Seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time; Gawking at the beauty of the natural world time and again.

What I Hope/Plan for 2018:

Try harder academically.

Graduate from college ???!!?!?!?!?

Spend more time with God.

Try to make the best of each situation and circumstance.