July 11, 2013: Mt. Rainier

Her babies were safely in the brush
by the side of the road

 On the drive from the campground up to the visitors' center at Paradise, we saw a ptarmigan with her babies.  She stood her ground in the middle of the road until the babies were safely across.  Then we saw a fox casually sauntering down the road.

At Paradise, we walked a couple of trails, but it was tough going in spots because of the snow and the elevation was about 4,000 feet.

The first trail led to a waterfall with the ever-present Mt. Rainier in the background.

 

We then walked across to another trailhead and Jack decided to take a rest while I hiked up to one of the many glaciers on Mt. Rainier.

The wildflowers were just beginning to bloom, so there were lots of white and yellow flowers, but the meadows covered in a profusion of wildflowers that we heard about were a few weeks away.

We drove south around the mountain to the east side of the park ad got a campsite in a National Park campground there at 5,000 feet.  Another relaxing spot in the woods made for a great night's sleep.