July 12, 2013: Mt. Rainier to The Olympic Peninsula

Up early to drive 1/2 hour from our campground to Sunrise Point,  Unfortunately, the clouds obscured most of the mountain and even when we could see it, the snow-capped mountain blended with the grayish sky, so no photos.

We did capture one great picture of a mountain in the distance (Mt. Hood?) with a telescopic lens as its top was highlighted with a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds.

We said goodbye to the majestic Mt. Rainer and drove southwest around Tacoma to the Olympic Peninsula to a small town called Hoquaim that is one of the entry towns to the northern Washington coast beach towns and Olympic National Park.  We have a nice site overlooking the Hoquaim River.

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.

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.