After we left Mowich Lake Campground, my buddy and I decided to take the Spray Park trail instead of the Wonderland Trail Proper. On the way we had the chance to see this spectacular Waterfall! Spray Falls is a short side-trip off of the Spray Park Trail.

After we left Mowich Lake Campground, my buddy and I decided to take the Spray Park trail instead of the Wonderland Trail Proper. I read in Bette Filley's book, "Discovering The Wonders of the Wonderland Trail" that Spray Park offers some magnificent views of Rainier whereas the Wonderland Trail is more forested and covered. The only catch is that if it's bad weather, Spray Park is absolutely miserable as there is no cover and it"s the highest point on the trail. Thankfully we lucked out and had blue skies and great views!

After we finished The Wonderland Trail, our scheduled bus picked us up and we began the drive back to civilization. It was bittersweet as are most trips like these for me. I was glad to be off the trail (because it was cold), but thoroughly enjoyed it and wished it could continue at the same time. I was excited to get "back to life" but wanted to stay disconnected. A paradox of thoughts and emotions. This photo is from a vista off the side of the road or a lodge as we began our descent.

I will say that I was very thankful for the coffee and ice cream at Wapiti Woolies (Wapiti Woolies Website, Wapiti Woolies Yelp Page) on the way down the mountain and back to Seattle!

Here is a different photo (and somewhat close to the same angle. I think we were a bit higher in elevation) without the steps: Mount Rainier From A Roadside Vista

Here is a photo of the shoreline at Mowich Lake. We stayed at the campground that was nearby for the night and picked up our food re-supply stash! Also, as a late night surprise, there was a group of people surveying the land for a University, they introduced themselves to us with left over Chocolate cake that they couldn"t finish. It was delightful!

After we left Mowich Lake Campground, my buddy and I decided to take the Spray Park trail instead of the Wonderland Trail Proper. I read in Bette Filley's book, "Discovering The Wonders of the Wonderland Trail" that Spray Park offers some magnificent views of Rainier whereas the Wonderland Trail is more forested and covered. The only catch is that if it's bad weather, Spray Park is absolutely miserable as there is no cover and it's the highest point on the trail. Thankfully we lucked out and had blue skies and great views! Here is a photo of Fay Peak (I think) from the eastern part of the Spray Park Trail Meadows.

On our way to the Indian Bar campsite we crossed over the Panhandle Gap. This photo was taken a short distance after we crossed the gap.

 While at "Neigh Day" presented by Diamonds in the Rough Horses (Equine) Rescue Shelter this particular horse was very inquisitive of me and I was able to capture a photo of his attitude.

After we finished The Wonderland Trail, our scheduled bus picked us up and we began the drive back to civilization. It was bittersweet as are most trips like these for me. I was glad to be off the trail (because it was cold), but thoroughly enjoyed it and wished it could continue at the same time. I was excited to get "back to life" but wanted to stay disconnected. A paradox of thoughts and emotions. This photo is from a vista off the side of the road or a lodge as we began our descent.

I will say that I was very thankful for the coffee and ice cream at Wapiti Woolies (Wapiti Woolies Website, Wapiti Woolies Yelp Page) on the way down the mountain and back to Seattle!

The most famous waterfall in Yosemite National Park. This image was captured near the start of the John Muir Trail at the Happy Isle Nature Center in Yosemite Valley.

A beautiful sunset off the coast of Lake Erie with a pier in the foreground. This image was captured in Cleveland Ohio, specifically near Edgewater Park. 

I took this image of the Terminal Tower from Whiskey Island. Trains are constantly coming and going through this area - It is quite an impressive site seeing this train bridge elevator move! I took the liberty to make this picture a little more "majestic" in my post-processing. I did this by making this a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image where I used different photos (each of which was of a different exposure (brightness) than the others) to add in all the different brightness levels into one photograph.

I took this tugboat photo from the Hope Memorial Bridge. This little guy was pulling a huge boat behind him - naturally. I like to call this picture "Merry Christmas Tugboat" for it's bright red and green colors.