After more than 30 years, I flew home to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Washington State this November. I flew into the Portland Airport for the first time, rather than Seattle. Mount Hood makes quite a statement, but I could see Mount Baker and Mount Rainier to the north in Washington on our descent. 
 The drive up into Washington along the Columbia River is beautiful. There is a shocking intensity of greens in every shade, with fir trees dripping moss and lichen growing on branches and trunks. Even in winter there is green everywhere. The air is filled with the resinous scent of sap from the trees. 

 

 We crossed the river and traveled up to Highway 12. The Mountain Highway winds around the base of Mount Rainier, providing views of the western face, southern face, and finally the eastern face of the mountain as it peeks through the hills and trees. The highway cuts through thick forests and previously logged areas, following along rivers and creeks. The road a twisty maze that passes through Eatonville, Morton, Randall, then Packwood. The smell of smoke from the local lumber mills in Randall and Morton is an acquired taste […]