University of Puget Sound graduation

Benjamin at the Commencement Reception
The white sash is for English majors. 

On May 19, 2019, our eldest son Benjamin S. Chessler graduated from college, after a mere 4 and 1/2 years.  (The extra semester was on account of multiple major switches).  The commencement was held outside, always a dangerous proposition in the Pacific Northwest.  Despite predictions of showers, the sun held out as 500+ undergraduates received their degrees.  Benjamin was #352.  A single brave woman with a strong voice read all the names, and then we were off to the reception on the campus grounds.  We of course were very proud, but as with any transition, it is bittersweet.  University of Puget Sound put their arms around Benjamin and it was exactly the right fit. But as they say, Once a Logger, Always a Logger.  We're sure he'll keep in touch with his alma mater.

College graduate with a final cuppa at Diversions Cafe,
his favorite campus coffee shop

What now?  Well, Benjamin has an internship lined up at LeMay Car Museum in Tacoma, just a few miles from campus.  He will assist with collection development.  As someone truly passionate about cars (he took an automobile history course in college), this is a perfect fit.

Benjamin in front of LeMay Car Museum

Mt. Rainier with Mom and Dad

Mom on the Longmire trail, Mt. Rainier National Park 

Dad on Longmire trail, Mt. Rainier 

So I've been visiting my parents for a week in Puyallup (home of the famous Washington state fair), and we always like to visit Mt. Rainier National Park, with a stop at the Cottage Bakery along the way.  It's May, so no snow, but plenty of green everywhere.  We took the short Longmire trail, past an occasional beaver pond (pictured above) and the mineral springs that once were the reason for Longmire's health spa, in operation from the late 1890s to 1915s.  The Longmires hacked a trail from Puyallup to Mt. Rainier, allowing people to travel to "take the waters."  A mere $8 per head got you room and board and access to the springs. The original hotel, which would house 500 people each summer, is long gone, but the percolating springs remain. 

Mom points excitedly at the bubbling springs. 

You can still see a one room log cabin, built circa 1888 on the trail.  Otherwise, it's just you and the forest, and beaver construction.

The beaver decided he didn't want to finish the job, after all.