Because I do get international readers who may not know about Lewis & Clark...

Back in 1804, when Thomas Jefferson was President and the US was a new country with roughly 15 states, Merriwether Lewis and William Clark, who were Army captains, were asked to lead an expedition of peaceful exploration and discovery. Their mission was to leave from St. Louis, Missouri, then travel west until they reached the ocean. (Missouri is somewhat east of middle of the US.) Along the way, Jefferson instructed them to catalog the plants and animals they encountered, make a map of the area they explored, and take careful notes about the Native Americans they encountered along the way, including where and how they lived, the languages spoken, and their culture.

Lewis & Clark set out with 33 men, traveling the Missouri River until they hit the Rocky Mountains. They they bartered for horses, and rejoined the Snake River, which then lead to the Columbia River and the ocean.

I was promised a "mostly sunny" day today, so I checked out my window first thing in the morning. Sure enough, Mt. Rainier smiled back, so I raced out the door and up the hill to Paradise. I drove through several layers of clouds, and I worried that I would not be able to see the mountain once I got there. But I had nothing to worry about.

It was absolutely quiet up top, with only a few cross-country skiiers and hikers present. A handful of photographers roamed the grounds with giant lenses.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up to miserably pouring rain. Even the small amount of distance I could see yesterday was completely wiped out by low hanging clouds. It was pretty clear that I wasn't going to see much. But there were a few highlights.

Over at the Twin Firs trail, just inside the Nisqually entrance, I was treated to a bunch of beautiful trillium in bloom.

On Tuesday morning, I woke to find Mt. Rainier had disappeared from my window, as predicted. The sky was overcast, but not raining. I could not wait to get out and see the world, so I left about 8 AM to talk to the park rangers about hiking in the area. They mentioned snow in a few places, which did not bother me. I'm from New Hampshire. I can deal with snow and walking on it. They just smiled. I figured out why later.

I started with a great hike at Kautz Creek.

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.