Mt. Rainier, How Many Pictures Can One Take?

Roger here... This post is definitely about our short time at Mount Rainier; however, I must point out that when I asked Dianne (after a Yakima Valley wine tasting excusion) if she wanted to do this post, she said, "You do the Route Manier Post."  Never again will I feel guilt when she insinuates that I might be slurring!  :-).

On to the post.   I have been seeing Mt. Rainier from a distance for a while:  once when  I was in Seattle with my parents, once when we landed in Portland during my nephew's HS graduation, several times recently from the Olympic Peninsula and Seattle.  Now.... We are there.

 We originally intended to spend four days in the Yakima Valley sampling wine.  When we discovered that taking a slightly different route would take us right next to Mount Rainier National Park, we opted to reduce a couple of wine days (we need no more wine) and stop by the national park.  Since arriving in Washington, we have seen iconic mountains floating above the clouds:  Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood (the perfect cone), Mt Olympus,  and Mt. Baker (the forgotten giant). 

We finally got to see Mt. St. Helens without clouds from Mt. Ranier

What a mistake it would have been to miss Mt. Rainier ---the MOUNTAIN. 

We found a local RV park in Packwood, WA, that was just a few miles from the National Park.   This was not a fancy place, but it had full hook-ups and lots of grassy room for the doggies to relax (and us).  The next morning we walked the dogs and drove a few miles to the national park entrance.

Our first stop took us to a point where a bridge and tunnel intersect.  The bridge spanned a narrow canyon with a raging stream below.

Love the white water.  We learned that glacial melt water is milky looking.

A short trail led to a view of the mountain and the glacier-scraped rock, covered with red lichen.

Returning to the bridge we were able to look straight down to the churning water.

Moving on, the views of Mt. Rainier became more spectacular.

The view from the reflecting lake was especially nice.

A close-up of the glaciers at the top hint at the bluish color of the ice.

When we arrived at the visitors' center, after exploring the exhibits it was time to go off our diets and have lunch --- wraps in front of The Mountain.  (I was good and had a veggie wrap -- D.)

The foreground of this picture was filled with flowers shown in the pictures below.

After lunch, we opted for a short -- but very steep -- hike uphill to a waterfall.  Our first views, as we got even closer to the mountain, were worth the effort.

A few painful steps later brought us to this even more amazing view.  Wow!

The easier trek downhill took us by the Mt. Rainier Lodge.  What a setting to spend the night.



Before ending, here is one more view of Mt. Rainier, this time with the zoom lens.  All of those black specks are climbers heading to the top of the mountain.  Oh, to be young enough to do this!

To answer the question posed in the title; How many pictures can one take of Mt. Rainier?   Certainly more than we were able to post in this blog.

The pet picture of the day shows Bandido relaxing in the shade.

Port Townsend, Washington and a Picnic

Roger here.... Check out the opening photo taken from the Port Townsend Marina with Mount Rainier in the background.  

I will start with some good news.  The night before we dropped our daughter, Amanda, off at the Seattle Airport, we finalized plans to keep our granddaughter, Kaia, with us for two extra days when she will be flying to Southern California.  Her dad's sister arranged the flight so that she could spend time with her and her kids (Kaia's cousins).  So, we planned the activities in this post with Kaia in mind.

We started at a local produce market where we bought picnic supplies.  They had deviled eggs and fresh strawberries!  We each picked out our own pre-made deli sandwiches, put them in the cooler, and headed to the mountains for our meal.

Since Kaia and Dianne missed the views from Hurricane Ridge when I went hiking with Amanda,  we went back to Olympic National Park, taking the twisty road to the top of the mountains.  We stopped along the way to enjoy the view of Vancouver Island across the strait.

We bypassed the Visitor Center and headed straight to the picnic grounds where we found a table under the trees.

A friend joined us --- just a few feet away from our table.

After eating, I wandered a short distance from the picnic table along a narrow path and found the vista below.

I hurried back to get Dianne and Kaia.  Kaia seemed to approve.

We promised Kaia that we would not be hiking, but we did walk a short way (very flat) along the Hurricane Hill Trail so that Dianne could get a taste of the hike that we plan to take later in the week.  

We then hopped in the car for a short ride to the Visitor Center, where we encountered yet another deer.    We bought Kaia a necklace and took more pictures before heading down the mountain.

After passing by our motor home in the RV park at Sequim, we drove another 20 miles to the scenic town of Port Townsend.  This Victorian place boasts many colorful and ornate buildings and a killer view.  The main street parallels the Puget Sound.  This picture was taken from one of the many walking piers.

Our other photo from the pier shows a line of vehicles driving onto the ferry bound to Whidbey Island.  (A new adventure that we will have in a few days).  After an ice cream stop at the Nifty Fifty Cafe, we walked to the marina at the end of the street.

Dianne noticed this guy up in the air, working on his sail boat.  It is interesting to note that the town is known for building and repairing wooden watercraft.  I wandered by one of the workshops, but did not have the camera at the time.  The aroma of pine shavings surrounded the workshop on the water.

Kaia enjoyed checking out the shops that lined the main street --- actually, we all did.  The quirky shop in the photo below was one of our favorites.  Dianne bought two yards of decorated oilcloth to protect the surface of our wooden outdoor Texas bar at our winter spot at Retama Village (south TX).  (Yes, Linda, I'm copying you yet again! -- D.)

The picture below captures the pleasant feeling that we all shared in this idyllic little town, and it is a good picture of Kaia :-).

The next morning we made our third two-and-a-half hour trip to the Seattle airport to put Kaia on a plane to Orange County, CA.  We were a little nervous sending her alone, but she has traveled alone before, and is a smart and savvy young lady.  We watched her until we were sure she made it through security before sadly heading back without her :-(.  We wish her the best in the fall as she begins her freshman year of high school in Ft. Myers, Florida.  Bye, Kaia.  (Mee-Maw shed some tears...)

After a full week with our three girls, Dianne and I are alone again.  Not really.  We have the dogs and the cat.   And, we still have many things on our to-do list during our last few days on the Olympic Peninsula.  We will be posting again soon.

The pet photo of the day shows Tequila in one of her favorite spots, sharing the recliner while Dianne tries to use her computer.  

Hoh Rain Forest with Amanda and Kaia

Roger here...  The day after the hike to Hurricane Ridge, we continued in the tourist mode for an all-day excursion to Forks and the Hoh Rain Forest.  This time all four of us went.  We assured Kaia that any hiking we might do would be on flat surfaces, and we bribed her with a promise to check out Forks --- Forks, Washington --- a small lumber town.  What would be so special about that for a 14-year-old?

Well.....  It was the setting for Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.  The books are about vampires, werewolves and teen angst.  The picture above was taken at the Forks, Washington Visitor Center, where we promised to take Kaia to see the Twilight sites.  Kaia is the healthy-looking one without the sinister look.

The drive to Forks was 70 miles or so.  We were hungry, of course, by the time we arrived.  So we ate a hearty breakfast at a local restaurant where we learned that the Forks Visitor Center was indeed the place to get a map showing the location of all the Twilight sites.  Bella's (the main human character, at least for a while) truck was parked outside the visitor center.  

 We were greeted by an enthusiastic lady who gave us our map.  She lamented that the movie version of the Twilight Series was filmed in Portland and the Oregon coast rather than in Forks.  (It's just not right!)  However, she proudly explained that the sites we were about to see were the basis of the novels.  So off we went on a meandering drive around town.  We stopped by Forks High School where Bella met Edward.

We visited the police station which had a display case full of Twilight memorabilia.

We parked at the Cullen house where Dr.  Cullen, Edward and the other vampires resided.   The Cullen house is currently an operational bed and breakfast; however, we were encouraged to climb the steps to the front porch to find a message from Esme, one of the friendly vampires.

Well, if the vampires are not home, we might as well move on.

The Olympic Peninsula is an amazing place.  It has spectacular mountains, abundant wildlife, tall pine forests, crystal clear lakes, driftwood covered beaches, a Native-American culture, Sasquatch, werewolves, vampires, and a rain forest.  Yes, a rain forest.

The Hoh (temperate) Rain Forest in Olympic National Park is the wettest place in the continental United States.  Rainfall there averages 240 inches per year.  

By comparison, Seattle and Chicago each only get 34 inches of precipitation per year.  And, I am pretty sure that Seattle is considered to be a rainy place.  It was sunny and dry the day of our visit.  Go figure.

We strolled through the most monochromatic place I have ever experienced on two miles of flat trails.

I was surprised to find maple trees here.  Look at the picture below to see one covered with moss.

Lush plants grow on plants that are growing on plants.  

Check out the moss and ferns that are growing on this maple tree.

Small trees are growing out of this rotting tree trunk.  This is a common occurrence here.  The rotting tree trunks are called "nurse" trees.

 As the roots of  those saplings reach the ground, the mature trees form a straight line where the original rotting log once existed.

Speaking of roots,  look at this intertwined and Tolkienesque tree.  I kept looking for hobbits, faeries, wizards and trolls.  Is that Gollum hiding in there?

Check out these ferns.  Back home in Indiana, we used to baby the ferns in our gardens, making sure they had enough water and the right amount of sunlight.  No problem here.

The flowing water in the small streams was crystal clear.  The pebbles in the photo below were at least a foot under water.

The Hoh River flows through the 
rain forest.

The turquoise blue river provided a little bit of contrast to the perpetual greeness.

We had intended to go to one of the Pacific beaches after the rain forest, but we needed to eat and get back to the dogs.  So, we started the trip back to our motor home.  (Dianne here:  We knew the day would be a long one, so we hired a dog walker at the RV park, but we still needed to get home to our buddies).

We drove many miles along the Crescent Lake area of the national park.  Pretty blue, huh?

Dianne took a nice picture of flowers in front of the lake.



We stopped in Port Angeles for dinner at an Italian Restaurant, Bella Italia.  It just so happens that this was the same restaurant where  Bella and Edward had their first date in the Twilight saga.  Kaia approved of the choice.  

After dinner, Dianne snapped a picture of the garden across from our parked car

and the house that went with it.  
















On the next day, we made the long drive back to the Seattle airport so Amanda could fly back to her home in Fort Myers.  Time to go back to work.  

Just a few more pictures of the joy she and Kaia brought us while we were all together.  We miss our three girls and look forward to our next time together.  I wonder where it will be?

The pet photo of the day shows Tequila pestering Kaia.  She wants to play!