My Love Affair With The PNW

I grew up in the Seattle area where green is everywhere and mountains are snowcapped year-round. These things were lost on me as a child. I'd seen Mt. Rainier in all her glory every. single. day. of. my. life. Big whoop.

Over the past 14 years I've lived and/or visited places near and far. Seeing everything from the you-didn't-know-land-could-be-this-flat midwest, to standing on snow covered Pike's Peak. I've gazed at the  English countryside and floated down the Nile; stood on mountain tops in Haiti and dipped my toes in lakes Michigan, Coeur d'Alene and Victoria. I've known Denver, Chicago and Spokane as "home" and my feet have trod on Italian and French soil just as easily as Ugandan and Haitian.  I've seen God's work and love throughout a decent swath of the earth. And still, nothing compares to the PNW.

The Olympic Range in the distance

I didn't know this, of course, until I moved back here in September. Since then, I've fallen in love, for the first time I think, with the splendor of this place. Being away for so long has opened my eyes to the absolute beauty that surrounds me on a daily basis. I've pulled over numerous times just to snap a pic of Mt. Rainier...it doesn't matter if she's capped or bathed in clear blue sky, she's beautiful no matter what.

A capped Rainier just before the rain

The Cascade range and the Olympics are seen as borders on clear days but it's just as beautiful when the fog rolls in--the trees become mysterious creatures with a story all their own.

Moving home has been cause for a wide range of emotions but all it takes is a look outside to calm my heart and encourage my soul for another day. 

Come on...tell me this place isn't incredibly beautiful...

Sunset over the Pacific

A beautiful fall day in the Cascades