Hoping to escape the smoke and heat, I headed for the mountains and ocean.

Mount Rainier filled the bill with 45-degree temperature and no smoke. Of course transitioning from 100-degree temperature, I nearly froze but it was so worth it. Everyone should visit Mount Rainier at least once. I think it’s the most beautiful mountain in the world! This time of year there are wildflowers in bloom, the mountain lakes are inviting, and the waterfalls are tumbling down.

And only 10,000 people wanted to see all of that gorgeous scenery at the same time! Someone paved Paradise, the visitor center, with parking lots that were full. After circling them twice, I decided to wait for a dune buggy couple to depart which took about 10 minutes for them to store gear, put on helmets, and rev the motor. I relinquished the same space to another grateful visitor after a couple hours. On the way down the mountain, there is a glacier that is no longer a glacier but a moraine field of debris. The reward at the base of the mountain is the Wild Berry Restaurant, owned by a Nepalese mountain climber, where the marionberry/blackberry pie was delicious!

And then on to the ocean at Newport, Oregon. I like everything about the ocean except for the sand, surf, and wind. Turns out the sand was hard-packed, the surf was mild, and there was no wind for the most enjoyable time I’ve ever spent at the ocean! Alas, there were no whale sightings but I have fond memories of staring at Willy/Keiko (Free Willy movie) five feet from me in his temporary quarters at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in 1996. Willy nearly died in captivity living in a warm Mexico pool and had to regain thousands of pounds and heal skin lesions before he could be released in the wild in Iceland. Alas, Willy preferred people to the wilds and I’m sure he died of a 50-pound broken heart. But I got to see his 6-ton live body up close, an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The last stop on the trip was Silver Falls State Park in Oregon. There are seven waterfalls but I had no time to hike to see all of them so I settled for one. Waterfalls are my favorite water. Then it was back in the car for the drive home with the smoke increasing all the way. By Pendleton, the smoke was so thick you could cut it with a knife.  Now, settling back into the smoke and heat, I’m praying for fall!

-Priscilla Martens