Mount Rainier Updates, Sunrise and Mowich Lake.

SUNRISE AREA UPDATE:

Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga advises that
Sunrise facilities will be opening on July 2 as planned however, due to
water system issues caused by the cool, late spring, some visitor services
may be limited over the Fourth of July weekend.

Sunrise Ranger Station which is located on the ground floor of the Sunrise
Day Lodge, will open on Friday, July 2. The Ranger Station will be used as
the main visitor contact point this season while the Sunrise Visitor Center
undergoes installation of new exhibits and other renovations.  The
renovation project, which is funded by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is scheduled to be completed by late August.  The
Ranger Station will provide visitor information and sales items as well as
Ranger programs.

Concession facilities in Sunrise Lodge will open on Saturday, July 3 and
provide gift sales and limited pre-packaged food service.  Once the water
issue is resolved, normal food service will be available to visitors.

MOWICH LAKE UPDATE:

Due to continued cool temperatures and lingering snowpack, opening of the
Mowich Lake road is being delayed until July 9 (noon).  Much snow still
remains at the lake and campground and the road into the lake is extremely
wet and soft.

NOTE:  Visitors are reminded that a great deal of snow remains on the
ground at the higher elevations of the park (6-8’ at Paradise and Sunrise)
and trails remain snow covered.  Lower elevation trails are relatively snow
free.  Check at the nearest visitor center or ranger station for current
information or visit the Mount Rainier web page at www.nps.gov/mora and
click on the Hiking and Climbing Quicklink for specific trail reports.

                                  -NPS-

The best time of Year for an East African Safari, Tanzania.

Just returned from another fabulous expedition to Kilimanjaro and Serengeti.  I've compiled the below chart to help you decide when and where to go when you decide go on Safari.  This list includes Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, and Mahale as well as two categories for Serengeti.
Please click on the image to view it full size.

Mount Rainier loses a friend.

Ake Sundstrom passed away peacefully on May 31, 2010. Ake was born in Jameten, Sweden, on March 4, 1917.

Ake is survived by his cherished Bronka, wife of 64 years, his son Allen Jack Sundstrom (Robin), and grandchildren Chloe and Grover.


Ake was proud to be a carpenter for Tucci and Sons for 26 years, and a member of Local 252. Ake had an exquisite sense for harmony and environmental balance, reflected in the fine craftsmanship of the beautiful home he built on the banks of the Nisqually River. Ake was equally at home deep in the wild backcountry or high on the pristine alpine snowfields of Mt. Rainier. The quintessential cross-country skier, admired for his grace and balance, Ake was also a ski jumper as a young man in Europe. An inseparable pair, Ake and Bronka forged many lasting friendships on the slopes of Mount Rainier, friendships that have woven an expanding pattern that includes scores of loyal friends.


Ake and Bronka’s life story is a remarkable tale of survival and enduring humanity, of courage and renewal. Ake was a rare man of exceptional quality, as was immediately recognized by anyone who had the honor of meeting him… a man of stature, a vanishing breed.


A celebration of life will be held in the coming weeks, date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, any memorial contributions should be made to the charity of one's choice. Please leave condolences online at www.GaffneyCares.com. Arrangements by Gaffney Funeral Home, 253-572-6003.

FREE ENTRY TO MOUNT RAINIER JUNE 5-6

Mount Rainier Superintendent Dave Uberuaga announces that entrance fees to
Mount Rainier National Park will be waived this weekend – June 5-6.
Additional fee free days are scheduled for August 14-15, September 25
(National Public Lands Day) and November 11 (Veterans Day).

While Spring-like weather hasn’t arrived yet at Paradise, where 11 feet of
snow remains on the ground, the Paradise Inn, Henry M. Jackson Memorial
Visitor Center and Paradise Guide House are open and operating daily on
their summer schedules.

With the exception of the roads to Sunrise and Mowich Lake all other major
park roads are now open for the season.  The Sunrise Road is projected to
open on June 25 and the Mowich Lake Road on July 2.

The historic Paradise Inn and National Park Inn are open daily offering
lodging, dining, café, gift shops and post office.  For reservations call
360-569-2275 (www.guestservices.com).

The new Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center is open daily at 10:00
a.m.  The center has ranger programs, exhibits, information, a theater,
bookstore, food and gifts.  The Ohanapecosh Visitor Center opened to the
public on May 28 and will be open weekends only until June 12, then daily
throughout the summer.

Campgrounds currently open are Cougar Rock (173 sites + 5 group sites) and
Ohanapecosh (188 sites + 2 group sites).  White River Campground (112
sites) is scheduled to open to the public on June 25.  The road into White
River Campground is currently open to provide access for early season
climbing groups.

Sunrise Lodge, Snack Bar and Gift Shop are scheduled to open on July 2
providing food and gifts.  There is no overnight lodging at Sunrise.

...the ultimate gift of photography...

“I publish more articles in a year than most people publish in a lifetime!”  These were the words of my Paleontology professor.  Soon after, he disappeared for a while, and class was taught by one of the TA’s.  Not what I had paid for, but I would get the credits nonetheless.  Besides, it was actually a nice change of pace.  When our prof returned he told us that he had had a nervous breakdown.  I flashed back to geology field camp, when at each break he would take a wet-wipe bath before sitting down to one of his many nalgenes filled with instant coffee.  What a wreck!  He would stutter and stumble, and his heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s from dawn til dusk.  He was validated however, because he was published.

Fast forward to last autumn.  At the studio, bottle of vino, day is winding down.  The last student there is fretting over a way to sell some of his pictures.  He wants to make a little money, to buy more gear, to make more pictures to sell, to buy more gear.  “Understandable” I say, “But you’ve come a long way already.  Are you willing to put in the time and dollars to get your images out there?  Is that what you really want?”  The great power of photography is so much more than that.  Photography enriches our life.  It can change lives, alter opinions, make us cry or smile or laugh.

“Try this on for size,” I said.  “You’ve got a job that pays good money.  You’ve got a great house and live in a great place here at Mt. Rainier.  You’ve got benefits.  By all measures you are doing quite well.  Your previous success is what brought you to this stage in your photographic journey.”  “Imagine that you forget about selling a picture, and put that energy into only making pictures.  When the pictures are made, you give them away.  You focus on this mountain, and learn it like a lover, paying attention to it’s every mood, good and bad weather, season to season.  Your pictures become the only evidence of a heartfelt relationship that will form with the mountain.  You keep giving and giving and then in 20 years ask yourself this question.  “Did this enrich my life?  Did it enrich the lives of others?”  I’ll bet you my studio and all the equipment in it that it will have.

Looking for outside validation of your inner journey has no end.  You can “publish more pictures in a year than most people publish in a lifetime,” and in order to find worth the next year you’ll need to do it all over again and again.  As cliche as it sounds, it’s the journey that makes it worth while.  And by making and sharing, however it may be, you will enrich your life and the lives of all those around you.  That to me is the ultimate end result, and the ultimate gift of photography.