Mt. Rainier!

I wonder if I'll ever get so accustomed to seeing Mt. Rainier in the distance that I won't even give it a second glance when it comes into view. It's usually hidden behind mountains and trees and buildings and fog but occasionally when we're driving around or climbing a mountain or at a great spot on the lake (like Seward Park) suddenly there it is in all it's volcanic snow-capped glory and someone inevitably shouts, "Mt. Rainier!"

Last weekend was National Park fee-free weekend, so we decided to drive to Mt. Rainier's Nisqually Entrance and see the mountain up close.

We quickly realized that fee-free weekends during peak-season aren't the best times to visit a National Park. It was packed! Next time we'll pay the $15 entrance fee (it's for a good cause anyway) and enjoy the parking spots and vacant port-a-potties. Nevertheless, we managed to see some sights and go on hikes.

The kids kept asking if they could go to the the top and play in the snow. It looks easy enough, since it's right there, but as you meander around the woodsy green part you realize how far away the snow is, how severe the terrain is, and how long it would take to get there, especially since the roads stop where the glaciers start. We were content with exploring the wilderness around it.

They're vast in their own right. Our first hike was around the Trail of the Shadows across from the Longmire Museum; a nice easy loop through the woods with a real live beaver-gnawed tree:

For real! Check it out:

The next time we're there it'll probably be toppled, so we captured some pictures for posterity's sake. Way to go beavers! I wish we could have seen them at work.

But we walked on, got back in the car, and drove to see Christine Falls.

Poor Christine, she should be more careful! Haha. That's a real joke Sage and I came up with when we saw the sign. Sleepy McKenna missed these falls. She also missed Narada Falls:

 

and got a bad case of carseat hair...

Erik carried her all the way down this path and back.

Next, we drove to the area of the park known as Paradise and checked out the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center.

Then explored some trails.

We were lucky to be there during the short window of time these wildflowers are in bloom. For the majority of the year these fields are either green or covered in snow. Here's a view of Paradise Inn.

and other surrounding mountain ranges.

And then it was time to go home. Here are some views we saw on the way out...

 

 

Then we ate a late dinner at Jack-in-the-Box and since there isn't anything majestic or beautiful or wholesomely natural about that, we left the camera in the car.