Stone Creek Lodge Ashford

Thursday we took a day trip to Mount Rainier. We started on the eastern side at the Sunrise lookout point and then at the Sunrise Visitor Center. The views are spectacular of course, but I really had no idea how impressive it ...

... near Tacoma, all of a sudden, the mountain loomed large in the background. It wasn’t a clear enough day to see the summit but I was amazed at how large it appeared that far away and how much of it was covered by glaciers. So as we headed for the park, I was anxious to get a really good glimpse of it again. As is typical here in the Pacific Northwest, the day we got to our campsite at the Ohanapecosh Campground was partly cloudy with no good views of ...

... longer because of all the road construction leading up to the mountain. As I get closer I must pass at least 25-30 owned and operated fruit stands. Fresh peaches, apples, cherries are plentiful and you can get a good deal. The problem is none of them ship so its up to the individual to run the treasure to the local UPS, with the exception of blueberries (too fragile).

Arrive at the south entrance ...

... up with skis for a far more rapid descent. It is certainly a beautiful spot, reached by winding up the side of the mountain on an extremely well maintained road with precipitous drops of hundreds of metres to the right. The peak rises to one side, covered in a characteristic cloud skull cap at the time we were there, while a saw-toothed ridge stretches along the other side of the valley.

The snow was deep ...

... photos, we began the long journey back down. We hit Camp Muir between noon and one and finally got back to the parking lot at Paradise Visitors Center around three. One day, 4,400 feet up, 9,000 feet down, fourteen hours. Whew! I finished the day off with two hamburgers and two bags of chips. I would later found out that big day climbs like this can burn up to as much as 10,000 calories. Mount Rainier - check.

... like it had been a thousand years since I got off when in reality it was few weeks. I found all of my gear except for my djembe. I had owned that for about 5 years and it felt like a part of me was in it. Someone riding the bus had stolen a lot of stuff besides that. I miss it still and hear it calling for me some nights. Maybe someday I'll find it- a small mountain rythym pine djembe with easy tuning toggles wrapped ...

We went to the animal fair, and everyone else was there, to get out of the car, we had to park far, and walk a mile back to the gate! Yes, it was a busy Saturday at Pt Defiance Zoo, and we wound up parking on the side of the road in a wooded area far away. "Okay," I admonished the kids, "you have to tell me 15 minutes before you get tired ...

... so big, but now devoid of flight. "They'll get away," said Sam. "No, they can't fly," I said, "they're hurt, but here they're safe. "Oh, he said "they're safe." A longing look. Into the car, buckle this and that. I get behind the wheel. From the back seat I hear "Let's come back here again." Music to a grandma's ears! Riding home, he holds his souvenirs, clutched them through his nap. Telling Dad about the day. The moose ate off the tree. The raccoon was ...

... to see everybody again and hang out. The next couple days were spent hanging out at MO's, visiting people at Nike and doing a couple errands. Wednesday evening Eric drove us up to Seattle and dropped me off at Sissy's before he and MO were off to Europe. My sister and the nephew were already asleep when I arrived. I discovered it's a bit hard to get a good night's rest at my sister's house with Cort waking up crying during the night, a dog jumping on me really ...

... can go there. So, we will park first in the short term airport parking and check in. Then, we will drive both cars to the employee lot, Sophie will drive me back to the airport, then take the car back to the lot, and then take a bus back to the airport. Also, Wamaitha apparently owes her former landlord some money, and he is not giving up. He does not know she is in Florida. He somehow knows that she was planning to leave on this ...