saturday afternoon roadtrip

On Saturday, relatives who remained in Washington after the reunion took a trip up to Artist Point; a scenic point at the end of the Mount Baker Highway. Mom, Dad, Uncles Bob, Denny, and Aunt Marilyn (pictured in front of Mount Shuksan) drove the hour to the last parking lot and took a short hike while we enjoyed the amazing day.

This point is sandwiched between two mountains; Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. The view of Baker came in and out between the clouds, but Shuksan was out in all it's glory the entire time we visited. This is a mountain's mountain. Actually, it is one of the most photographed peak around. With binoculars, we even saw a party of four people descending one of the mountain's glaciers.

The area we were ascended through on our drive is appropriately named Heather Meadows. The road to this area just opened last week and will be accessible until the snow starts falling again in a month, or maybe two, but the short-season wildflowers are small and beautiful. This mountain heather was in many places along our path; adding brilliant pinks to white patches of snow and the green grasses and trees. As we walked, we also took a look at a few mountain goats climbing down a ravine across from our perch. With the naked eye we would have never found these creatures, but other people had binoculars out and were more than happy to point out their discovery.

If you want to feel small, spend some time up at Artist Point. It's a good place to remember that the world is much bigger than one person. God's got amazing creative power to let his human audience view up there. We saw the towering powerful mountains, and tiny flower detailing the edges of our trail. It's also a place to remind us what we are protecting by taking care of the earth! There are still many pristine places that escape the skyscrapers, the congestion, and most of the smog.