summer snowballs

After a reasonably calm June and July, summer has just started to snowball in August. Friends from San Francisco to stay, a weekend in San Francisco for miss bear and I, a visit from my mum, an upcoming visit from relatives of Tim, and all sorts of getting ready for school activities. That's right, miss bear is off to school on 7th of September. Unbelievable.

And a visit to the snow, truly, in the middle of summer. We visited the absolutely incredible Big Four Ice Caves: "Formed from cascading water and warm winds hollowing out heaps of avalanche-deposited snow, the caves usually appear by midsummer."

The ceiling, so to speak, of these hollowed out caves has an amazing texture, formed I gather by the droplets of water. No stalactites but this concave baffled effect. The picture is hazy because there is icy water vapour pouring out of the caves the whole time.

It was a great walk on a beautiful day and I really felt like I could be nowhere more beautiful in that very moment. Strongly recommended for anyone who lives in or is visiting the Seattle area. And because they are naturally formed, or rather re-formed, every year, every year they are different. I can't wait to go again.