For Daniel Behind the Mountain

Photo & Text Copyright 2008 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.

I got an email late yesterday afternoon from Daniel Keebler, who is a ranger with the National Parks Service on Mount Rainier. I became acquainted with him and his wife Jerri about 13 years ago through a phone call about our mutual appreciation for the music of Bruce Cockburn. He at that time edited a Cockburn newsletter, "Gavin's Woodpile," which he now has available as a webpage.

He signed his email yesterday "from the mountain." I'd been busy with work and errands indoors most of the day and I thought I would just go out in the yard and look toward Daniel on the mountain and connect with the outdoors for a bit, maybe give Daniel a wave "hi," (yes, I am that crazy ;^) ). My jaw dropped when I saw the mountain, it seemed to be magnified and towered above the city, crystal clear. I grabbed the gear and tried to think of the nearest unobstructed view that wasn't Kerry Park, site of yesterday's shot (I don't want to bore you with too many postcard shots, and I promise this will be the last for a long while). The sun was going down fast, so I hightailed it to this park we started using for barbecues and field games last summer. So, thanks to Daniel who is all the way on the other side of this scene for putting the idea in my head to look that way last evening. "Hi Daniel! Hope it was a great summer in the backcountry!"