Hosting guests from Australia is a perfect opportunity for us to explore our new home. Yesterday we drove up the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway to Artist’s Point. In the span of a little more than 50 miles we went from near sea level to over 5,000 feet. At the end of the highway, Artist Point, we were treated to spectacular views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. And, to the delight of our grandson, the area still has lots and lots of snow. The day was beautiful and warm and a perfect day for a summer picnic in the mountains.

The North Cascades are incredible mountains. Mt. Baker is considered to be one of the most active volcanoes in the range, second only to Mount St. Helens. The highway to the Mt. Baker Ski Area at Heather Meadows winds along the North Fork of the Nooksack River. From our viewpoint at the end of the highway, Mt. Baker’s 10,781 foot snow-covered peak, neighboring Mt. Shuksan and the surrounding slopes of the Cascade mountains make for 360 degrees of alpine views.

As a bonus to our trip up and down the mountain road, we were able to show our guests and our grandson a black bear walking alongside the highway. It was a perfect adventure for our small group.

The road up Mt. Baker goes through Deming, the location of the tribal headquarters of the Nooksack people. This Coast Salish tribe has inhabited the region since time immemorial, living mostly off of the salmon, steelhead, rainbow, and cutthroat trout. The lush forest of cedar, hemlock, Douglas fir and other trees provide abundant resources for constructing homes. The forest is home to bald eagles, black bears, mountain goats, elk, and spotted owls. The old growth forests are the nesting grounds of the marbled Murrelet, a small Pacific seabird.

The Nooksack River is named for a famous chief of the tribe and means “noisy water.” The name is clear as we looked at the numerous cascades and the 88-foot waterfall into the deep rocky canyon below. The river system is the northernmost drainage of the Cascade Mountains in the United States.

In the late 18th century when explorer George Vancouver gave the name of Joseph Baker to the mountain. Europeans first summited the mountain in 1868. Not long after that, miners who were passing through the area heading for the Fraser River gold rush in Canada and Alaska, discovered gold in the North Cascades and the region’s uncomfortable history of extraction began. Although it never produced enormous amounts of precious metals compared to other areas, active mining has been a part of the region’s history. Not long after the miners came the loggers, who harvested the giant old growth trees to supply the timber needs of the growing city of Seattle and other areas along the west coast.

From a geological standpoint Mt. Baker is relatively young, perhaps less than 100,000 years old. The cone of the volcano sits on top of an older volcanic cone called Black Buttes, which was active between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago. The hard volcanic rock has resisted erosion even the action of glaciers during the most recent ice age. The top of the mountain continues to be covered with snow and ice year round, with areas where the volcanic rocks show through the snow in the summer.

One of the wonderful things about spending time with our almost-three-year-old grandson is that it doesn’t take much to entertain him. The huge snow banks near the parking lot at the end of the highway were an amazing delight for him. He laughed and giggled as he made snowballs and snow angels in the melting piles of snow. He borrowed his grandmother’s gloves, which provided some protection from the cold before they became soaked with melting snow. His laughter echoed in the high country and delighted all of us.

I have always thought of myself as a child of the mountains, being born on the east slope of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. The truth is, however, that I have lived much of my life in the rolling hills of southwestern North Dakota and western South Dakota. I’ve spend many hours driving across the prairie landscape of the Dakotas. The place I now call home is simply amazing to me. To go from the seashore to high alpine meadows in less than 60 miles is a dramatic transition. To be able to throw snowballs in the mountains and rocks into the sea on the same day is something I couldn’t imagine in the other places that we have lived. The combination of high mountains so near to the ocean makes a beautiful place to live and a fun place to show to guests.

I imagine that the people who have called this region home have long expressed their gratitude for such a beautiful place. On clear sunny days we can see the mountain peaks , but the mountains “hide” in the foggy mists on cloudy days. Mt. Baker appears to be very close on some days and farther way on others. It is easy to imagine people creating stories about the mountains and the creatures that call them home.

One of the joys of having friends from far away who are able to travel from time to time is that we have been able to show our Australian guests the places we have lived in Montana, North Dakota, Idaho, South Dakota and now Washington. Each visit has brought fresh opportunities to show them something different about this large and varied country. Showing them this corner of the country yesterday reminded me of how fortunate we have been to have been able to live in such different and beautiful places with such diverse wildlife and birds. This particular visit doesn’t afford us enough time to show them the great cities of Seattle and Vancouver, but there are many other things we could share with them in future visits. For now, we feel fortunate to be discovering more about our new home as we share it with our guests.