Kevin In Character

Day 62: Of all the roles Kevin has played, none suit him so well as those when he wears the costumes of the mid- to late 19th century. As P. B. Van Trump (one of Mount Rainier's pioneer spirits), he seems to have just stepped down from a horse-drawn stage, ready to take his walking staff in hand to go on an adventure at Indian Henrys. Night before last, I saw him in another period guise as the Narrator of his church's Christmas pageant. Although I captured this portrait in color, I wanted my readership to see him more appropriately represented for the era and therefore converted the image to the old albumen process of my grandfather's time. He caught me framing the shot and held his pose, just as photographers would have demanded of their subjects in a studios circa 1900.

Nose-and-Eyelashes Snow

Day 99: It's not uncommon to see groups of Parkies walking the campground loop at Longmire on their lunch hours in all sorts of weather. After all, we're an exercise-oriented lot. However, now that the winter Fitness Challenge is on, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail will keep rangers from their appointed rounds. Each one of us who is participating in the Challenge is committed to chalk up the aerobic equivalent of 100 miles between January 7 and March 30, competing against other parks in the region. Some people participate as individuals, while others form teams of no more than eleven. A team must contribute at least 1200 miles to qualify. I joined the Wanderers, the Interpretive Division team.

Today, one of my colleagues (a fellow Wanderer) suggested a walk to the back gate, never mind that it was snowing. It was a delightful fall..."snowflakes that stay on your nose and eyelashes" snow; soft, tickly snow, a drier snow than the usual Pacific Northwest slop, and it kept up steadily until we were back inside the building, resuming our daily tasks. We walked three miles, Kristyn and I, laughing and chatting while keeping up a good aerobic pace, following the footsteps of some other walker determined to get their mileage for the day. Exercise done in good company puts the lie to "no pain, no gain," and almost seems like it shouldn't count.