Mount Rainier

Hello, again! Derek here. I'm back for another Seattle post!

I had to work the first morning of our vacation, so we decided to go to Mount Rainier that afternoon since it was a nice day and it was in the opposite direction of downtown Seattle. We left our hotel on base at around 3pm and drove towards the mountain. Due to the latitude, the sun rises around 5:30am and sets around 9:00pm at night, so we had plenty of time to explore once we got there.

We drove to the "Grove of the Patriarchs," which is an area on a little island in the middle of a river which had never been logged so there were trees that were up to 1,000 years old! I think I was much more excited than Sarah, but she began to appreciate the area when she saw trees like this one!

Sarah was testing the temperature of the little river that isolated these trees. The river is fed by melting snow and glaciers, so it was quite cold!

When we got to the end of the trail there was this little suspension bridge. Sarah was a little nervous, but she handled it like a champ!!

Good job, Sarah! You did it!!!

This was her reward...they call these two trees "the twins," which are each over 1,000 years old!

Sarah made it back across the suspension bridge and back to the trail!

Sarah in front of Mount Rainier's peak from a place on the mountain called "Paradise" due to the meadows of wild flowers that grow in the summer. Unfortunately, "summer" had not yet arrived in mid-July, so we got to see the snowpack that remains from last winter. Apparently, this is the snowiest place in the lower 48 states and gets more than 50 feet of snow each winter! In the background you can see kids walking among the treetops.

One of the many beautiful views of Mount Rainier. We were lucky to see the peak because most days it is obscured by the clouds.

One of the glacier rivers that runs down the mountain.

The Narada Falls, which is fed by one of the many rivers.

On the way out of the park I spotted this elk on the side of the road, so we turned around for a picture. Little did I know that we would pass probably 20 more elk on they way home. I guess they aren't a rare sight around here!

We had a great time at Mount Rainier National Park and then headed back to my hotel on base before driving to Seattle the next day! In case you missed it earlier this week, click HERE to see the recap of our time in downtown Seattle.

Thanks for checking in with us!