Lake Moses, WA –> Mount Rainier National Park –> Ashford, WA

We woke up and got breakfast and coffee at the truck stop across the street from our hotel, which came free with our stay. I got a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit and Billy got a breakfast bowl with potatoes, eggs, sausage, ham and gravy. We were both surprised with the variety of hot sauces and jalapenos available. We were on the road after breakfast, which for me came with my share of logistical work on the road over the phone while I had service. This was extremely limited due to the non-existent availability of secure wi-fi (let alone cell signal for a good chunk of the trip) and not being able to print, scan, or send the information while being in the car. Thankfully, my Dad was a lifesaver and was able to help me over the phone and with his computer. Let me just say that not having all of these things figured out before hitting the road was becoming way more of a headache than it should have. . .

We stopped at Wanapum Overlook and Lake somewhere along the road in Washington. The landscape was almost desert like, but not hot. Landscape changed from a lake, to farmland, to sandy desert, to farmland and rolling hills. We went through small towns that had farm fresh fruit and vegetables, especially advertising cherries in the area. It’s kinda crazy how the fruit and vegetables that are in season are so different due to the difference in climate- blueberries at the beginning of August, where at home in Jersey it is at the end of June! We passed through tunnels traveling along the mountains as we entered national forest after national forest, with the pine trees getting larger and larger, expanding up and down hills and mountainsides.
We stopped for a bathroom and stretch break at Clear Creek Falls in Wenatchee National Forest, which had a tall and skinny waterfall that cascades down the mountainside. There was Native American folklore on signs on how the natural features were created in the area rich of history. As we entered the thicker forests, mist and rain began to fall, clouding the pine trees in fog where the tree lines gradually faded away into gray nothing. You could not distinguish where the land ended and the sky began. We didn’t expect anything else from Washington. To be honest, I think I would have been disappointed if I didn’t see the pine forests with mist, fog, and rain in them. It was beautiful in its own way. A true stereotype of the area, I’m sure.
We made our way into Mount Rainier National Park, and went past the wooden post sign that stretches across the road. Expecting to see a sign on the side of the road like all the other parks we’ve seen so far, we missed our picture, having to turn around and come back out of the park. Our obligatory sign photo and selfie completed, we headed back into the park. It’s kinda become a must-do on this trip now, even though it felt kinda silly to drive out of the park to just drive in again . . .There were trees everywhere, everything was green and covered in a misty fog. Wildflowers lined the roads and fields were bursting with all different colors. Many waterfalls and streams lined the road and out in the distance, all runoff from the snow and glaciers on the top of Mount Rainier. At least that was what we had to assume, since Mount Rainier was not anywhere to be seen, we just had to assume it was up there somewhere!

Mount Rainier is the most glaciated mountain in the lower 48 states, and is almost 14,500 feet tall at its summit. Mount Rainier is considered an active volcano, and is part of the eastern rim of the Ring of Fire. It is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the large amounts of glacial ice, which if there was an eruption would cause massive mudflows (aka: lahars) and an eruption could affect the area from British Colombia to San Francisco, and could wipe out the homes of at least 150,000 people just from the mudflows.

Thankfully, as per the national park website, there are seismic monitors around the park that should give advance notice of a volcanic eruption. We learned that there is a geohazard siren alarm system in place that would alarm us to get above riverbeds to avoid debris flows. Although it is important to be prepared for anything, I think learning all of the information put me a little on edge. Its amazing to see all of these places, but there is a certain element of really experiencing nature that gets a little scary! Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, bears, mountain lions, scalding hot mud pots and fumaroles, OH MY! We’re not on the East Coast anymore! The good thing is that I’ve found that when you are seeing these amazing things in person you get lost in the sights and forget about the crazy danger things. However, there is something to be said about knowing the danger and not doing anything stupid, because so far on this trip we have seen some tourists that are clueless, or maybe just stupid. Their disregard for not respecting the power of nature we both found amazing.

We stopped at the Grove of the Patriarchs Trail, which was super crowded we had to park a few hundred feet down the road from the start of the trail. The trail went through an old growth forest of Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar trees. It’s unbelievable to walk among these trees that are hundreds of years old and bigger than what you could wrap your arms around. Even though I know we will see many big trees on our adventures, and ones significantly larger (in the Redwoods in a few days) it doesn’t take away from the feeling of looking up to the tops of these trees and not being able to distinguish where the top even is. We weren’t able to finish the trail due to unforeseen circumstances (I wasn’t feeling the greatest, maybe due to truck stop breakfasts. . .), so we continued on our way toward the visitor center.

We made our way to Paradise, (where Greenday’s “Welcome to Paradise” was constantly playing in my head), where there is a seasonal visitor center. We hoped to go on a wildflower walking trail, but the rain started to get much heavier and steadier, and the temperature continued to drop with the higher elevation. Getting out of the car in Paradise, it was only 49 degrees! (At an elevation of 5,400 feet). It warranted extra layers and digging out pants from the car. We explored around the visitor center, got our stamp and postcard and took in some of the visitor center exhibits while warming up. We decided against the wildflower walk after speaking with the park ranger who said we wouldn’t be able to see much. Mount Rainier proved to be hiding for the day, visibility was so low we couldn’t even tell where it was supposed to be.
After warming up, we continued on our way through the park, and stopped at an overlook looking out to the Nisqually River and Van Trump Creek. It looked a lot like chocolate milk. From that point, we should have been able to see a glacier. There was a sign posted that said the family that lived there first noticed that the glacier was receding because they would walk up to get ice for ice chest and would have to walk further up the hill each year. That’s one way to pick up on global warming!

We stopped at Longmire Village and walked along the Trail of Shadows. The trails here have epic names! The trail was located where the forest and meadow meet, with geothermal springs that Longmire family opened as a natural spa. There was bubbling water in wells with a slight rusty orange color to them, and spots where bubbles were coming up from what looked like puddles from the ground. The sights reminded us of Yellowstone (at a much smaller scale, but cool none-the-less). It is kinda crazy (and a little scary) to think that all these features are due to volcanic activity. There were Redwood trees in the forest that were so big and tall, there is no water that gets to the forest floor that we didn’t even get wet in the rain. The views created almost like a cathedral scene when looking up at the natural architecture of the forest. The bright reds of forest floor and tree trunks contrast drastically with the intense greens of ferns, leaves, and moss. The light shines through in some spots, but it is mostly dark due to the cover of the trees. We continued our walk along the trail when we spotted a tree that had very clearly been chewed at by a beaver. Apparently there was a beaver dam nearby, but we couldn’t spot it from where we were.

We continued on our drive out of the park and made it to our lodge before 8 (that might be a first of this trip!) The Gateway Inn at Mount Rainier was literally a few hundred feet from the park entrance sign into Mount Rainier, which saved us a crazy drive without cell service in the dark for once! We actually made it to check in before the front desk closed, and we took a look inside their supply store, craving something warm to eat. We settled with just a tall-boy beer of the appropriately named “Rainier” to share with dinner. Billy made a cup-a-soup that was doctored with chipotle and curry powder (which he accidently burned his fingers getting out of the microwave), and I had a can of tuna. The lodge was a nice log cabin room, very spacious, but smelled strongly of something strange, maybe moth balls. We settled in, warmed up with nice hot shower, and went to bed early.