One of the surprising things I learned when my cousin came up to visit was that she'd never seen snow before.  I guess it shouldn't be TOO surprising... she IS from Florida, after all.  Having learned that, we took a trip up to Chinook Pass, where we were SURE to be able to not only see snow, but a LOT of snow, and while we were there, some AMAZING views as well!

Quite a ways out from the pass, we were treated to a VERY nice view of Mt Rainier, our volcanic neighbor.

The views along the way are quite spectacular... I have to be careful when I drive this way, because I'm a "Scenery Monger"... :-)

 
Its a VERY fun drive that I don't get to take NEARLY as much as I'd like, because there's just not enough time.

Before too long, we were up above the snow line, and into the areas where even the trees look like you're WAY up there! 

 
So, she got to see snow.  :-)

The ice over Tipsoo Lake was just breaking up... which made for some spectacular scenery.

The clear waters of the lake were nearly the temperature of the ice it melted from... the frogs hadn't even come out of their burrows yet, and the plants were only just beginning to grow... spring had only just arrived - and its nearly July.

The pass got a tremendous amount of snow this year... something like 50 feet or more... Enough so that the pressure from its weight pushed over the guard rails, and broke the side walk in places.

We could NOT have asked for a nicer day!

By the end of July, the snowy fields will be mountain meadows, covered in colorful flowers... 

 
There's a bridge that marks the pass itself.  It also serves as the gateway to the National Park.

5400 feet, 200 feet higher than any point you can get to in my home state of Maine, and 5,050 feet higher than any point you can achieve in Florida! 

So not only did my cousin see snow for the first time... she got more than a mile above Sea Level!

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