Day 43 to 45: Mt. Rainier National Park

We say good-bye to Dan after breakfast, as he goes to work. His wife was already gone when we woke up. Then Red studies while JS prepares for the day, which seems to be a new routine setting up. We leave later in the morning.

Driving south, we make an attempt to stop at a REI store in the downtown area. Big mistake. Of course, the area is totally congested. In addition, there is no place to park a motorhome, especially with all those construction signs. We have a hard time getting back on the interstate, but we finally make it. Leaving slowly the Seattle suburbs, we stop for groceries at our favorite Northwest store, Fred Meyer.

And then, very rapidly, we are out of civilization again. We are being careful about filling our gas tank, which we do in the last town before wilderness, and we head in the direction of Mt. Rainier National Park. We can rapidly see the snowpeak, but it’s really hazy, due to some forest fires happening in the east of the state. Mt. Rainier being the highest point in the state of Washington, with its 14,411 feet, it is a very steep drive from sea level. We were planning to stay at the Ohanapecosh campground, but we end up at White River campground, as it is right on the drive to Sunrise, the road with the highest elevation in the park, and one of the best viewpoints.

Once settled down, we walk around the campground and to the river. From the river, we have a stunning view of Mt. Rainier, still surrounded by some haze. Red studies for the rest of the day while Yellow cooks. Some Coho salmon from Vancouver Island along with some black beans casserole and some salsa: it is going to be fish taco night! And it is delicious.

We go to bed pretty early that night, around 9pm. First, because we are recovering from our time in Seattle, and second, because the best views of Mt. Rainier are in the morning, especially as we find ourselves on the east side of the mountain. And it’s pretty cold too, as we are above 4,000 feet elevation.

Around midnight, Yellow is shocked by the thick fish smell that comes out of the garbage. We are in bear country, and even in a motorhome, this can probably be dangerous. As he doesn’t want to deal with any bear during the night, he puts the garbage bag in a container, which will hopefully contain the smell for the rest of the night. And back to sleep.

 

 The next morning, we wake up right after 6am, and we leave our campsite to start driving up to Sunrise, as the sun is rising. It is steep and windy, but the sky is pretty clear and the surroundings are beautiful. Once arrived at Sunrise, we admire the breathtaking vista, and we go eat our breakfast in the motorhome.

Then we hike 6-7 miles round trip to Mt. Fremont Tower, a viewpoint from an old watchtower, used to spot the forest fires in the past. The hike is magnificent, with Mt. Rainier almost always in sight, and the Cascade Range all around.

 

Going down from Sunrise, we drive up again to Cayuse Pass and Chinook Pass, before stopping at Tipsoo Lake for lunch. Then, very slowly, we start to descent again to get a campsite at Ohanapecosh campground, still in Mt. Rainier National Park. Once installed, Red goes back to her books while Yellow cleans and does some planning. Bertha, the motorhome, gets a deserved rest following a rough morning. After another delicious salmon taco dinner, we go to bed even earlier than the day before.

We wake up around 6am again the next morning. The road to Paradise is closed, but we drive up to Backbone Ridge for another beautiful sunrise on Mt. Rainier. The vista is very colorful, and the warm breeze is very enjoyable. As is the breakfast following this show.

 

We then go back to the campground to dump our waste waters and replenish with clean water. We leave Mt. Rainier National Park and go get some gas in Randle, WA. The cashier at the gas station happens to have Yellow’s family name. Great place indeed! Our next stop is at Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station, to get some information about our future plans. We stop at the public library to take advantage of the free Wifi, and end up at Maple Grove KM Resort for the night.

It is not even lunch and we are already settled at our campsite. The resort is very well maintained, and it is a gorgeous summer day, which we filled with studying and planning, along with one or two cocktails.