Layers of land and cloud

 

Photo by Lee Lageschulte

This photo shows clearly the different layers of land and cloud as most photos of the Olympics do not.

In the foreground are the hills of Kitsap county and the ferry headed toward Kingston.

Behind the hills, a layer of clouds collect in Hood Canal. After that you see the jagged foothills of the Olympics, and then the high peaks of the Olympic Mountains.

One year a mid-western friend came to visit and I was touring him around. We were standing on a dock on the Seattle waterfront and talking. He had his back to the water.

I looked over his shoulder and saw an absolutely magnificent view of the jagged Olympics, covered with snow and not a cloud in sight, apparently dropping into the waters of Elliott Bay. 

I was afraid that if I didn't turn him around right then, the clouds would roll in and the mountains would be gone.

He was a talker and was on a roll. I was so stunned at a view I had never seen before, that I just pointed and made inarticulate noises.

He turned around and said "Good Lord! Are those the Cascades?"

No, I said "Those are The Olympics and they are only in Washington state."

That's one way to impress out of town guests.

--Diane Hettrick