In mid-July of 2021, my husband and I took a late afternoon gondola ride to the top of Crystal Mountain. We sat up at the top and enjoyed our picnic dinner while the crowds thinned. Pretty soon they were calling out "Last gondola down" and it was just the two of us and some restaurant staff closing up the place. Eventually one of them said "this really is your last chance for a ride down the mountain" and we said thanks, we'd be walking. Having that amazing view to ourselves at the end of the day was such blessing. We descended slowly at first, taking it all in and capturing lots of images as we strolled along the wide path. But as the sun began to set and the mosquitoes came out, we had to step up our pace. We got back down to the parking lot by nightfall with only a little bit of help from our flashlights.
This was a historically low snowpack year, which is why so much of the mountaintop is bare. The White River trickles below.
The collage materials are from two booklets about Mt. Rainier National Park published by the Department of the Interior. One version is from 1932, the other from 1936. Information provided ranged from trail distances to transportation options from various cities to the price lists for everything from golfing, to camping equipment rental, and salon services.
- Subject Matter: Landscape, Mt. Rainier, Forest
- Collections: Flow States