Well we were up early on Thursday, trying to decide if we were going to head north to Glacier. A quick look and the morning news actually made the decision easy. Cars on fire and abandoned, roads closed and campers being evacuated. We don't need to see fire. So we decided to head to Mt. Rainer in Washington. Sadly, I doubt if I'll ever make it to Glacier now. But that's the way it goes sometimes.
We were about an hour from the Idaho boarder, and headed out. Now I do enjoy driving as many of you may know, except for a couple of things---bridges and mountains (even high hills actually). And although Idaho is probably 60 miles across in the panhandle, it is pretty much the Bitter Root Mountains that you are dealing with. I know the roads are much better than they used to be, but I still get a little nervous with the back and forth up in the altitudes. The scenery was beautiful (when I took a second to look), and we drove into Washington without incident. Later in the day I would wish I was only dealing with the Bitter Roots.
Western Washington was pretty uneventful. We weren't interested in stopping in any of the cities or towns along the way, just heading for Mt. Rainer. Until we decided to stop and stretch at a roadside overlook. Which just happened to overlook the Columbia River. Just gorgeous. Washington needs to do a better job with their signage!!!
Soon enough, we were in the Yakima valley, and could see our destination in the distance. And it was time to get off the interstate and onto the state highways, and the beginning of white knuckle time for me. Now I don't mind the uphill so much, but I'm not wild about the 6% decline with the blind turns waiting at the bottom. Oh yeah, and the local guy right on my tail because he knows where he is going. Once again though, beautiful scenery....
We finally arrived at Mt. Rainer National Park about 2:30 local time. We arrived from the east, and the first place we wanted to stop (old growth forest) was so packed we figured we'd catch it on the way out. Didn't know we wouldn't go back that way. We stopped at a few places along the drive, and the beauty made everything we'd seen all day pale in comparison. We came around one corner, and there was Mt. Rainer, and a parking area to boot. So I stopped for a quick photo, and was soon joined by quite a few other people, enjoying a glorious sight. Which I soon learned is not really all that common. I guess that the top of the Mountain is more often than not in the clouds, so it is a real treat to see the top. Never knew....
Well, we finally reached the visitor center, which is 5400 or 5500 feet up. People are all wearing coats and hiking gear, I get out of the car wringing wet, just all sweated up. Don't think I have ever been that scared driving in my life. Twists and turns, no guard rails, zero room for error. And Mt. Rainer is just beautiful. Trees and flowers, even the rock and snow look amazing. The place is just crawling with people, and I'm willing to gear up for a hike, but the Misses nixes it. Says she doesn't want to go, but I think she knows if we go it will probably be dark when we head down the Mountain, and the going down is worse than the going up.....
Except it wasn't. We left through the east side of the park, where the trees grow, so I couldn't see where I'd end up if I went over the edge. And the have a new road...piece of cake. But what a beautiful place to see and visit......
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