Hey tweets, Mt. Rainier was wild yesterday - at least weather-wise. We
drove up to Sunrise very early, only to find the scenery obscured by mist.
As we waited for the clouds to clear, it began to snow. Then sleet. Then
the fog moved in. We heard the ranger in the visitor center tell a caller,
"Don't come up here today, unless you like hypothermia." Everyone in the
parking lot was huddled around the big fire in the lodge, or sitting with
big smiles under the eaves outside. Why big smiles? Have you ever noticed
that the only time a jogger smiles is when he's sloshing through puddles in
the rain? I think it's because he's even more miserable than usual and
doesn't want passers-by to think he's a nut to be out there in the rain. So
he smiles. Those hikers had the same expression. Two mountain bluebirds, on
the other hand, looked like we felt: disgusted. They were hiding under the
eaves, too.

Anyway, on the way up we did see two really wonderful sights. One was at a
wet meadow just after the turnoff to Cayuse Pass. There were two lovely
solitary sandpipers feeding on the ponds. I was amazed to see them to high
- the elevation must have been 4400 feet, at least. Also in the area was a
good-sized flock of Vaux's swifts. What was unusual about them was their
speed. They were flying around much faster than the swifts do at the Fill.
In fact, they were so fast that they looked like an entirely different
species. I'm guessing that their increased speed was made possible by the
thinner air. Does anyone know if that is true? -

Finally, we stopped at the White River campground to check for sapsuckers.
No woodpeckers, but plenty of other great birds, including evening
grosbeaks, tons of common yellowthroats, and a nice flock of Townsend's
warblers. - Connie, Seattle

csidles at mail.isomedia.com