Mount Rainier  is a city in Prince George’s County, Maryland.  Bordering Washington, DC, Mount Rainier got its start as a streetcar suburb.According to local tradition, surveyors from the Pacific Northwest named the town, giving the streets names such as “Shasta” and “Cascade”.

Mount Rainier has attracted a significant gay and lesbian population. In 2000, same-sex couples accounted for 1.0 percent of households, almost double the national average. IN fact, in 2004, gay and lesbian families were showing up in greater numbers in the nation’s suburbs and rural areas. The trend is a product both of migration from the cities and of cultural changes that have encouraged same-sex couples to become more visible .

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, told a radio caller Thursday
he would sign a gay marriage bill – if he’s re-elected
 and the state legislature were to pass one.

Malley had previously only been in favor of civil unions.

These fabulous photos were sent to us from a reader.

Those crazy clouds are called “lenticular clouds”  They’re caused when the air flow is just right so when it flows over  Mt.   Rainier  , the air gets pushed upward where it cools and condenses into clouds. Depending on how smooth the flow is, you can get some amazing clouds formations as we’ve seen so far to day.  Here is more information on what causes them from an earlier blog entry.

It’s usually a sign of rain within 24 hours because typically the moist
flow that precedes a storm around here is the perfect set up for these clouds.
PRETTY AMAZING!