I guess it goes without saying that I take a lot of pictures.  Every so often one will stand out from the others... I'll try to put those here.

Some of you have said I was a month behind, but that's just because the picture is from the month before...  I don't know what THIS month's best pic will be... I might not have taken it yet!

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To say its been raining a lot this month is an understatement, and almost everywhere you look, it shows.

This church is no exception, and while its a pretty scene, you can feel for those who attend there! It does seem, though, that they built it a bit elevated, for just this sort of situation  
 

 
This tree is on the lawn of the Capital Complex in Olympia.  Its branches, and almost haphazard growth really makes for an interesting scene, especially in fall, when its damp, and the green of the fungus and moss growing on the tree are at their healthiest.  With the contrast of the changing leaves in the background, and the well-watered green grass... its quite striking!  
 

 
Built as an exhibit hall for the 1962 World's Fair, The Center House now is a food court with a large community theater.  Entrance is free, snd the city sponsors various charitable groups to put on concerts, plays, and the like, typically having to do with broadening cultural awareness. 

Its a great place to go to grab something to eat when you're down that way, and since its basically at its base, the view of the Space Needle is quite amazing!  

 
For Labor Day Weekend, we went to Kalaloch to go camping with the Shadow Lady's Family.  The beach is riddled with stacks, some of them quite large.  It made for an amazing view from the trail heading down to the beach from the parking area.  There's something about a Pacific Northwest beach that you don't get anywhere else... maybe its all the logs, or its the cool, steady breeze... I don't know; but what I do know is that its a feeling that you just don't get anywhere else.   

 
 
To say that May 18, 1980 was a bad day for plants around Mt St Helens is understating the obvious.  Scientists at the time estimated that it would be more than 100 years before life returned to the region, if ever. 

They were quite wrong.  

On Johnston Ridge, where once a tree farm stood, now lies a high mountain meadow... a bit sparser than some, and a bit light on grass, but the flowers are there, and they are quite incredible! 

 
Now crossing a picturesque portion of the Yakima river at the inlet of Lake Easton, this bridge was once part of The Sunset Highway, the first reliable auto road between Eastern and Western Washington.  The  Highway ran between Seattle and Ellensburg, where it connected to a cross-country automobile route called the Yellowstone Trail, which continued southward from Ellensburg to the Columbia River, and went to the Pacific along the Columbia's shores.  The lake was created in 1928, when the Yakima River was dammed to retain water for irrigating the dry Yakima Valley in the Summer...   

 
Not much beats a Sunset over the Ocean. 

We took a drive to the coast for the specific reason of seeing a sunset, and we weren't disappointed at all!  There's just something about watching a sunset, with the waves, the breeze, the birds, the peacefulness... you just can't duplicate that anywhere...   
 

 
We went to spend Memorial Day Weekend with Family, and spent a couple of hours on Monday waving flags on an overpass. 

The wind was blowing pretty mightily, but it wasn't cold, and I had a GREAT time! 

Almost everyone honked their support, and no one was rude or anything, which made it nice.  We had 4 generations of people out there, which was quite nice, too!  In all, it was a great time, and I look forward to the opportunity to do that again!  
 

 
We took a drive into Mt Rainier National Park, mostly for the fresh air, but also for some scenery mongering, and on the way out of the park in the late afternoon, we happened on this picture of the mountain, glistening from newly fallen snow, after having been shrouded in clouds all day.   
 

 
The city of Seattle had a problem... a mandated percentage of the city has to be 'Art', and they had an old gas refinery on their hands that needed to be cleaned up.  So, they declared the gas works to be "Art", and piled clay and dirt over the contaminated area... a "Two-fer" if you will.  

Now called Gasworks Park, I went for a walk along the waterfront after a wonderful birthday dinner... ending up at a nice spot blocked from the wind, with this amazing view.  We were there for more than an hour, talking about family, work, fun, and the view.  It was nice!  

 
This winter has been unique in that we've had nearly endless sunny days, it seems...  While we're at about 25% of normal precipitation, and this summer should prove to be particularly grueling in the way of fires and drought -- unless it rains all summer -- for now, we can simply enjoy the canvas that God is presenting to us.  This sunset view was from the parking garage where I work... Since I'm working late so often now, I make sure that I take a break around Sunset on the nice days, and just revel in the awesome power of God, revealed in this scene that He seemed to have created just for me...   
 

 
Winters here in the Northwest are FAMOUS for the rain they bring... 

But in spite of the deserved reputation, sometimes the Sun breaks out, and when that happens during Sunrise or Sunset, the results can be INCREDIBLE! 

Here, the Sunset provides a wonderful Backdrop for an otherwise ho-hum drive....  
 

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