July 10, 2013: Mt. St. Helens to Mt. Rainier

Woke to heavy, overcast skies and chilly temps.  The clouds are the fog bank that rolls in off the Pacific and we are told it will clear later in the morning.  We spent the morning doing housekeeping/maintenance and updating the blog.

We left the campground a little before noon, stopped for lunch and bank on Interstate 5 to the exit for Mt. Rainier.  We caught occasional glimpses of both mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier from the Interstate.  We drove through a couple of small art communities, one of which was an outdoor metal and driftwood sculpture garden and we had to stop to enjoy.

We drove to the southwestern Nisqually entrance, stopping for a few photos of Mt. Rainier, the tallest mountain in the Cascades at over 14,000 feet.

We got a site at the campground in the park, deep in the forest.  A beautiful spot, but no electric or water.  We had a big salad for dinner, made a campfire and sat outside til dark, enjoying the clean, fresh scent of pine trees and the luxurious quiet.

A few hands of cards and asleep by 11 with only one window open because it was expected to go down in the 40's.