Sights + Sounds of Washington: pt 4

After we said goodbye to Mt Rainier,

we drove through Ashford again and I saw this...

of course we turned around

(my friend knows me VERY well)!

But how could I resist this bit of history?

I wonder if my grandparents ever stopped here on the way into the National Park?

I wonder how long this was in operation?

So many unanswered questions on trips...

~

And then another good thing happened-

my friend saw a sign and it said

(I) Huckleberry pie!

We stopped, how could we not?

After all - pie, candy, jam, jelly or ANYTHING made from this juicy 'jewel'

of the PNW mountains--

well it is something we who have partaken of huckleberries before CAN NOT resist!

By the way, the restaurant we stopped at -the Wildberry Restaurant-

is owned by the nicest couple originally from Nepal!

Sad thing--

my mind was SO focused on huckleberries that it wasn't till we were gone that I realized they offer Sherpa Himalayan food items on their menu besides the Yak burger listed on their sign outside.

Next time I will have to try some--I love foods from different regions!

AND I will, of course, order some more huckleberry pie because it was SOOOOO good:)

Another view of beautiful Mt Rainier--

in this part of the PNW you can see the mountain a lot!

When I got home, I found another area with a awesome view of Mt Rainier and a lake too;

we will definitely have to make a trip there too:)

Not too long after leaving Ashford we came to the small community of Elbe,

and my friend tells me she is turning around and THEN I see why!

A gorgeous little church;

another church for my growing photo collection of historic churches...

and this one was very, very special for

at least one of my ancestors was Lutheran and from Germany!

She was an amazing woman who survived so many things--I would love to talk to her!

Kind of off the subject here, but my favorite Communion--ever--was at a Lutheran church--

I will never forget it; it was that special!

Anyway, one of my next statements went something like this

(I) See we never would have seen this if we hadn't been pulled over in the park by the officer!

Of course, there was a beautiful lake nearby--

and we didn't have to cross over a bridge this time to see it!

In fact, we both liked this road the Park Ranger suggested--
beautiful mountain views, small towns, windy roads--no cliffs:)

After a few more pleasant side trips

(at one point we were even headed towards the coast to find another historic church)

and

more food

we arrived home--

tired but happy:)

I'll be back soon--I never can stay away long from my second home of Washington!

Be blessed,

Aimee

Note: a BIG thank you to the owners of the Wildberry for allowing me to take photos in their establishment and post them here! Should you be hungry for pie or something more--

they are located at 37718 SR 706 in Ashford. They have a website here: http://www.thewildberry.net

And now...time for me to get to work:)

Sorry if this post is a little rambling--my left eye is really bothering me today.