My grandparents were adventurous spirits. Their best times were spent in the high country of the Pacific Northwest.

Shown here, my grandmother Mary Pearson, stands in the majestic Cascades of Washington. At 20 years old, she was wise and passionate. She absorbed the stillness and cool mountain air, photographed by her newlywed husband (my grandfather) Eric Holger Pearson.

Thankfully, I have been able to spend the last 12 years as the acting archivist of this vast collection of Pacific Northwest history, and as an artist, it has been my primary source of working material. My grandparents made every trip they took to the backcountry memorable, documenting through photography, their love for wilderness. That love for nature continued in their efforts to conserve some of the Seattle area’s most cherished landscapes.

In fact, Mary E. Pearson was active in Seattle’s burgeoning ecological conservation culture. Prior to serving as First Vice Chairman of The Arboretum Foundation in 1958, my grandmother studied Pacific Northwest flora, both on the rugged slopes of the Cascade Mountains and in the arboretums and parks of Seattle. Botany and landscape design become her highest passion.

~shared by @vintage_alpine