Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Chinook Pass

For Tuesday Challenge--Tall.

Chinook Pass

Elevation 5432--Tall enough? I passed over this pass en route to Seattle on my road trip through the northwestern states. Chinook Pass crosses the Cascade Mountains between Eastern and Western Washington. It is a part of Mount Rainier National Park but I only caught a brief glimpse of the mountain itself from the road. The pass just reaches into the sub-alpine regions and the flowers were beautiful even in August. I wish I had had the time to stop and hike a bit but I was driving with a deadline (arrive in time for dinner with my family).
I think it is interesting that part of the sign is carved into the log and another part is on a painted board added later. I wonder if the sign itself was erected before the park was created. Mt Rainier National Park was the fifth national park in the United States; it was established in 1899. There was a Forest Reserve prior to the establishment of the park itself. We are so fortunate that people had the foresight to establish these parks! The park is definitely on my must revisit list.
Here is another view from the pass:

View from Chinook Pass

1 comment:

Betty Carlson said...

Glad you visited the Great Pacific Northwest -- it really is God's country. But I am a little biased...