Enjoyed a 12-mile round trip hike up to the Sahale Glacier, despite the heavy crowds. Sure would be nice to see some national park staff safeguarding such a precious resource, but these are unprecedented times. The huckleberry and blueberry created a spectacular display of color on the high alpine slopes, signaling that fall is here. Missed seeing the mountain goats, but I suspect they have moved to lower elevations. Meanwhile, ptarmigan and marmots chirped and grazed. The dramatic peaks and U-shaped valleys are quintessential North Cascades scenery formed from tectonic collisions between the Pacific and North American Plates and extensive glaciation. Soon the first snows will arrive.
There are few places on the planet that have helped humans understand so well the origins of animals and the development of organs, tissues, and the precursor for a spinal cord. Located in the beautiful mountains of Yoho National Park, it was certainly an experience that I wanted to find time to do. Fast forward to the dog days of Summer 2025, and my path ran north from Seattle to British Columbia and Alberta for some exploration.
I opted for the Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds hike, which is a heady and hardy hike going from steep to steeper to steeperest. Guides are required to enter the area. Not only do they, and a system of sophisticated cameras, keep the fossils protected, but they also offer a great deal of geological and biological information to keep the hike interesting. Once you are at the top, it really is hard for the human mind to grasp the fact that this ancient shale bed was once at the bottom of a shallow ocean. Trilobites abound as do the appendages of the Cambrian predator Anomalocaris. Conditions had to be just right for a mud slide to bury these extraordinary creatures alive, and preserve their Dr Seuss bodies without oxygen or other harmful bacteria that would have otherwise deconstructed their cells. Millions of years of compaction and uplift unveil their fortuitous demise.
You’ll spend about an hour appreciating the significance of the place, as well as the beautiful views, before descending back down the steep trail that winds down a medial moraine.
Peyto Lake
The Burgess Shale experience kicked off several days of exploring a total of 5 national parks in BC and Alberta (Banff, Glacier, Kootenay, Revelstoke and Yoho), each of which were stunning in their own right.
The visit to Athabasca Glacier was the most humbling. Signs along the trail indicate where the glacier lay at intervals through the 1900s. To walk past the year 1992, when I was a junior in high school, and see just how far the glacier has retreated was alarming. Observing the giant 6-wheeled monster trucks carrying streams of tourists to its flanks (toe), and recognizing that I had arrived in my own diesel powered craft, didn’t assuage my outlook for the future. I know the Earth has experienced many cycles of heating and cooling, but it just sucks that this time it is human caused. Counting on clean technology to continue to advance.
Ever thought the Pasqueflower looks a lot like the Lorax trees? Me too…
The State of Washington continues to impress, especially when it comes to unraveling the complex geologic history from the Olympic Penninsula to the very top of the Cascades. Local geologist Nick Zentner sure does a great job of breaking down the past.
One can quite easily stand amid gabbro, breccia, basalt, sandstone, and glacial erratics. And with a little extra effort, you can combine these geologic formations with rock transformed by early humans.
You won’t be disappointed in the Point of the Arches, Ozette Triangle, or Alpine Lakes Wilderness, which are three places I’ve been recently.
Recently returned from an advance mission to India with colleagues from Greater Seattle Partners and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. We navigated the cities of Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai to plan for a future international leadership mission with executives and government leaders from the Seattle region.
In addition to notable meetings with entities such as Air India, Amazon, Boeing, Chambers of Commerce, Port of Mumbai, Tech Mahindra, U.S. Embassy in Delhi, U.S. Department of Commerce, and World Trade Center Mumbai, we also attended Aero India, which is India’s largest airshow and aviation exhibition. It was an action-packed trip!
Aero IndiaAir IndiaFICCHindustan Times featuring BoeingTech Mahindra
I was afforded a day to accompany an expert guide throughout Delhi, as well as some time to visit the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, in Mumbai. I also stayed at the famous/infamous The Taj Mahal Palace, which is directly across the road from the Gateway of India, and the inspiration for the movie Hotel Mumbai.
Some of these images include:
Jama Masjid of Delhi
Qutab Minar
Old Delhi Sikh Temple
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly named the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India)
Gateway to India
Port of Mumbai
Greater Seattle’s Country Connections with India
Greater Seattle shares deep cultural and economic ties with India that continue to flourish and expand today. The Emerald City has one of the highest Asian Indian populations in the U.S, and approximately 131,000 Indians now live in the region. Thanks in large part to Amazon, Boeing, and Microsoft, more than 40% of foreign-born IT workers in the Seattle area hail from India.
The momentum continues with Air India recently agreeing to purchase 220 Boeing jets valued at $34 billion. Announced in 2023, this historic deal will undoubtedly create many new opportunities between the world’s two largest democracies.
To further cross-border collaboration and mutual understanding, Seattle opened its first Indian consulate in November 2023, along with its first Indian Visa Application Center that opened in July 2024. In the same year, the Seattle University established the RoundGlass India Center, which is an interdisciplinary center focused on the study of contemporary India. It was founded by Gurpreet “Sunny” Singh, a healthcare entrepreneur and philanthropist whose work is transforming the lives of millions of people in India.
Greater Seattle is the place where champions make their mark, and we are very excited to add our first cricket team. The Seattle Orcas are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team based in the Seattle metropolitan area that competes in Major League Cricket. The franchise was announced in 2023 as one of six inaugural franchises to play in the league. One of its lead investors is Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella.
Other Indian cultural activities in Greater Seattle include:
The Urvasi Dance Company based in Seattle and Olympia is renowned for its dedication to the classical Indian dance form Odissi.
The Diwali: Lights of India festival in Seattle occurs each year to celebrate India’s arts and culture, including music, dance, martial arts, visual art, and cooking demonstrations.
Tasveer, a Seattle-based South Asian social justice arts non-profit aims to inspire social change through thought-provoking South Asian films, art, and storytelling, held its inaugural film festival and market in 2024.
I feel that I have just started to scratch the surface of India and how it has shaped the globe for more than 4,000 years. But I look forward to the journey. Namaste, for now.
