Mt. Rainier

Our next stop was Mineral, WA, a tiny town on a pretty lake which is convieniently located near Mt. Rainier.

We headed up to Mt. Rainier National Park and had this lovely first look at the mountain. See it? Pretty great, huh?


At the Longmire museum, I was very impressed by this picture. This is the actual garb worn by the first woman to climb Mt. Rainier. Wow! Like the climb itself isn't hard enough without wearing a dress to do it!


We stopped to admire Christine Falls, obviously named after my younger daughter. Although the lower section of the falls was pretty with the stone bridge framing it . . .


I thought the upper part was more interesting.
(Yes, I know I promised no more waterfalls, but I believe I specified Oregon waterfalls.)

Then I noticed what my GPS was trying to tell me. Ah, if it was only that easy to find.


Here's Ron at one of the viewpoints patiently waiting for the mountain to appear.


But wait! How about another waterfall? This is Narada Falls - another beauty.


We finally reached the Paradise visitor center. At 5400ft, this is the highest point on the park road and the departure point for climbers to the 14122 ft. peak. Mt. Rainier is truly a sight from this point, but, alas, she was completely hidden in the clouds.

Looking for other entertainment, we spotted this park ranger cutting steps in the snow. Hum. I don't see those lasting too long.


And the other mountains in the area looked pretty cool.


But little did I realize, the best view I would get of Mt. Rainier would be on a walk around Mineral Lake from the campground where we stayed. However this was the next evening since it never did clear up that day.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Why didn't you wait until the next day to visit Mt. Rainier?" Well the answer is we were pressed for time and had something else already planned. Stay tuned.