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About a month ago, having returned from CMS Expo and JAB 11, I got an email from Grace Francisco at Microsoft. She invited me to a one day conference at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington (just outside of Seattle) on WebMatrix, called the WebMatrixFest, which would be held on June 13. Microsoft offered to pay airfare and hotel, and was I interested in going?

I learned long ago when these kinds of opportunities presented themselves, you should take advantage of them. After studying my calendar a bit, I told her yes, and would it be OK to include some time before the conference? I'd like to tack on a bit of vacation. They very graciously did that. So I am now on vacation for this week, courtesy of Microsoft. Thank you.

So, now where to go on vacation? This question is a bit more difficult than you might otherwise expect. Twenty years ago, I was a college intern out here in Washington, courtesy of the US Department of Energy. In the fall of 1990, I spent a term in Richland, WA, working on desert ecology. In the summer of 1991, I was on the dock of the marine lab in Sequim, WA. The marine lab had a RV on the dock, which no one was using, and where I was told I could live rent-free for the summer. I saw bald eagles, seals, dolphins, and plenty of deer. It was a fabulous summer.

In between 1991 and 2011, I've been back to the Pacific Northwest several times. But I haven't really had a week to enjoy the area, all by myself, like I did in 1991. I borrowed a camera from Amara, made hotel and car reservations, and headed for Washington. I decided to visit Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens again.

Flying into Seattle or Portland on a clear day is one of the most beautiful sights anywhere on the planet. Just as you come in for a landing, you leave the dry, desert side of Washington and hit the Cascade mountains. Here's the end of the desert. The river below is either the Snake or the Columbia, most likely the Columbia, though I'm not entirely sure where we are. In the upper left of the photo, you can see some white-capped mountains, mixed in with the clouds.

A bit further west, and there are more mountains, as well as more clouds. I wish I could have taken more pictures, but by this point, we were on our way in for a landing and I had to turn the camera off.

These volcanic mountains are not the highest in the US, but because of their jagged appearance, I think they are some of the most beautiful. In early June, most still have a significant amount of snow on them.

The big peaks, starting at the Canadian border and going south, include Mt. Baker (which I was able to see from the plane), Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens; in Oregon, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and the Three Sisters; and Mt. Shasta in California. All are volcanoes. When Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, it was originally thought that Mt. Rainier was about to go. It's predicted that Mt. Rainier will erupt sometime in the next 100 years.

After landing and picking up a rental car, I headed for my hotel, the National Park Inn, which is right inside of Mt. Rainier National Park. My window is the upper left.

The first thing I did was to look out my window and gasp.

One of the first things you learn in the Pacific Northwest is that it rains, often, and for a long time. If you get a good view, you should take advantage of it immediately. Save the hikes to the waterfalls and the creeks for a cloudy day. If the mountain is out, go see it. I also knew this might be the only view of the mountain I'd get the entire trip, because it was supposed to cloud up and rain over the next few days. Unfortunately, it was already 5 PM, so there wasn't a lot I could do, but I did go across the street and do a quick hike through the woods.

For some reason, this picture brought Joomla to mind. This is a pine tree, which has been gnawed by beavers on all sides. It's still standing, despite the damage, though I'm not sure the tree is still alive. Did the beavers bite off more than they can chew? Normally, beavers take down trees much smaller than this.

They did take down a tree further along the trail.

The National Park Inn has no cell signal and no internet, so I am completely cut off from the world until I rejoin civilization on June 10. This is the first time in 10 years that I've had this luxury. With Heidi home taking care of the business, I can take myself off the grid completely for 3 days. I am frightened to think about how many emails I'll have when I get back online, but for now, I am enjoying the time off.