Mount Rainier
After spending a few days at Olympic National Park, we made our way to Mount Rainier. The gorgeous weather came with us for this day. We entered on one side of the park, but stayed on the other side. We stopped at Paradise for the day; you can see why this area is called that. The first trail we hiked was called Nisqually Vista Nature Trail. This trail made me feel like I was walking through a scene in The Sound of Music and should have been singing the hills are alive.
We headed up to the upper portion where we checked out the visitors center before completing the short hike to Myrtle Falls. The starting point on this trail is neat because it starts off with a quote from John Muir, highlighted on the stairs that lead up to the trail with Mount Rainier in the background. The ending point was just as cool because the falls hit just the right spot in from of the mountain.
Before leaving the park for the day, we headed to Narada Falls. This is a short (but steep hike back up). We decided not to hike down, as my legs were pretty tired. We also stopped at some additional viewpoints on our way to the hotel.
It was about an hour drive to the town (Packwood) where we were staying. There weren't a lot of options to choose from for dinner so we ate at Cruisers. The pizza was very good! Afterwards, we weren't ready to call it a night so we went just a few feet down the road to a local brewery called Packwood Brewing Company. We enjoyed the nice weather and got some chips and queso. Later on, Jason saw some elk standing out back behind our room. Of course, I was fascinated!
Unfortunately, the weather was not great the next day. The fog was extremely heavy and thick, which made it hard to see anything. In fact, the first day was the only day we saw the mountain. But that didn't stop us from hiking that day. We did the High Lakes Loop Trail, which starts at Reflection Lake. On the right day, Mount Rainier reflects in the lake. Even though it wasn't the most beautiful day, we really enjoyed the hike. It takes you off the beaten path, through fields and woods. We saw lots of deer up close, which was pretty cool. After we finished the hike, we weren't very motivated to hang around at the park because of the weather.
For lunch, neither of us wanted a big meal so we stopped at the local bakery in town. The weather was a bit nicer in town so we sat outside as we enjoyed our hot drinks and baked goods. I had a delicious lavender almond biscotti and blueberry cream cheese turnover.
For dinner, we headed back to the brewery. I still wasn't very hungry so Jason ordered a quesadilla, which I ended up eating a few pieces of and we also split chips and guacamole. I saw some people with ice-cream and I figured since Jason got to drink I deserved a treat too. I found my way to a little mobile ice-cream place and got some strawberry ice-cream.
When we got back to the hotel, we saw no less than 20 elk. We had seen closer to 10 when we left. Obviously I was still fascinated by them so we stood outside and watched them for quite some time.
The weather still wasn't any better at Mount Rainier the following morning and we wanted to see Mount Saint Helen's, so we headed out. Turns out this was a good decision because Mt Saint Helen's was pretty cool and the weather was beautiful. the GPS wanted to take us on some crazy back road that didn't actually lead to the park so we ended up taking the scenic drive before we finally were headed in the correct direction. We went to the Johnson Observatory Overlook, which is one of, if not the best, viewpoint. Even though the clouds covered most of the top, we could still see part of the ridge and the change from where it had erupted in the 80s.
After spending some time there, we made our way back to Seattle where we ate dinner at Sharp's Roasthouse which makes homemade sourdough pasta. They also brought us the most delicious cornbread with a maple bourbon glaze. I just got a (really good) salad and ate some of Jason's mac and cheese, which was divine.
