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Mount Rainier National Park
Entry 23 of 40 | show all | print this entry |
Up to this point we had been very blessed with good weather for most of this trip. Today the tide turned. We actually spent the entire day in and around Mt. Rainier National Park without ever seeing the majestic mountain! We were able to enjoy a hike at the lower elevation Longmire Visitor Center and view some towering waterfalls without getting rained on.
When we reached the famous Paradise Visitor Center at high elevation, the clouds and fog were unbelievably thick. We could barely see the building, let alone Mt. Rainier itself. The trail we had planned to hike to view Nisqually glacier was still covered with 6 feet of snow. We had to settle for looking at postcards and calendar pages in the bookstore to appreciate the beauty of this magnificent mountain. It could have been worse---last November the area had 18 inches of rain in 2 days, resulting in massive flooding and severe damage to roads, bridges, and campgrounds. Many of the park roads will remain closed through the summer.
The Paradise Visitor Center and the Paradise Inn are both scheduled to be demolished next summer, with new more energy-efficient buildings and much larger parking areas already being constructed. A shuttle bus system is to be established, so things will really be different in the future. It was so cloudy and rainy for the next several days that we decided that it should be pronounced "Rain-i-er," as it never showed its face.
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