Our first look at Mount Rainier

MOUNT RAINIER FROM THE WEST

Holly and I were visiting Washington state more than 10 years ago, and we'd driven the route from Seattle to Sea-Tac two or three times. And we hadn't noticed any mountains.

It had been overcast before, but it was clear this day when we drove toward Sea-Tac.

Holly was driving. I looked to my left and went "Holy shit!" There was this gigantic mountain in the distance, and I knew at once that it was Mount Rainier.

I grew up with the modest mountains in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, but this was the first time I'd seen anything like Mount Rainier (14,411 feet).

We actually stopped somewhere and I got some pictures of it (I wish I could find those photos).

Let me put Mount Rainier in perspective: Mount Rainier looks taller from maybe 50 miles away than a mountain near here, Pilot Mountain (2,421 feet), does from maybe two miles away.

The Cascade Mountains were impressive, but Mount Rainier was the area's crown jewel.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

Beautiful rainbows

FOUND ON YOUTUBE 

Twice, I've had unusual encounters with rainbows. And both have stayed with me for more than 40 years.

When I was a young man, I was walking a ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and I saw a rainbow ending against the side of a mountain! I walked across the ridge and moved under the rainbow, but I saw only blue sky when I got there. There was no pot of gold, just a pleasant tree-covered area with little undergrowth. I sat and enjoyed the moment; then, I got up and continued walking, and the rainbow reappeared.

Years later, I was living in South Carolina and visiting Clemson University. There was a concrete-sided pond in front of the library, and sprinkler jets were firing mists all around the lake. THERE WAS A TINY RAINBOW ABOVE EACH JET OF WATER! I had already checked out something from the library, and I was sitting on the side of the hill enjoying the day. Within minutes, that hill was covered with people looking at the tiny rainbows.

Boy, I wish I had had a camera with me on either day.

><

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing