Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park

Leaving Wine Country RV Park was a bit like leaving home again; one makes friends in six-months time. The Workampers all packed up and pulled out within days of each other--each rig headed in a different direction. Hopefully, our trails will cross again one day.

As for us, an unusual favorable weather forecast was enough incentive to point us toward Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park. The first day was clear and the mountain was beautiful! On the second day, we drove through thick clouds all the way up to Paradise Lodge one-third of the way up the mountain. Once there, the sky suddenly turned blue and the mountain appeared as if one had turned a page in a book. The window of opportunity closed quickly, and we hiked the trails in a murky haze of cloud that created a curious quiet and serenity.

The highlight of the day was spotting a mother bear with two cubs and then a fat marmot atop a big rock! We hiked up to peaks and down to waterfalls.

The comparison of photos, taken from a great distance early in the Spring when the mountain was still snow-covered, with the photos from our visit this Fall when we were much closer, is interesting. It is impossible to see the whole mountain from close range; it is just too big.

Al and Josh summited Mt. Rainier some years ago with their extreme sports friends Jim, Ben and John. I think it was fun for him to be at the mountain again and recall an unbelievable experience--a climb that many attempt but few accomplish.

It would be cool to come back and circumnavigate the mountain on The Wonderland Trail...thoughtfully located at an elevation where one can actually breathe!

Onward to Mt. St. Helens.