Monday, July 28, 2014, Mt. Rainier

It is yet another sunny morning and 20C as we set off at 9:00 for Mt Rainier, starting at 950 ft.elevation.
Mount Rainier is a towering, ice-clad volcano, rising to 14,410 ft, is a striking Pacific northwest landmark.Although mere remnants of their former size, Rainier's 35 square miles of glaciers constitute the largest single-peak glacial system in the contiguous US: 25 glaciers extend down the mountainside.

We turned on to National Forest Rd 52 and started climbing on a winding, switchback road through old growth forest.
At 10:00, we turned on to SR 706 at an elevation of 1800 ft.
At 10:06, we entered Mount Rainier National Park, 2200 ft.





This was a picturesque stop along the road

There was a 10 minute stop for construction among a stand of fir trees as we looked at the traffic piling up behind us.










Christine Falls was at 3700 ft.










Next, we experienced a great view of Rainier.

At 4590 ft, we arrived at Niranda Falls. The waterfall drops 188 feet (57 m) in two tiers of 168 feet (51 m) and 20 feet (6.1 m). The upper tier is a horsetail that falls in several strands down a nearly sheer cliff, into a canyon that is perpendicular to it. The lower tier is a much smaller plunge.

We reached the Paradise Visitor Centre (5368 ft) and unfortunately the power was out, therefore the many displays and videos were not available. We did go for a hike further up the mountain.
 What a gorgeous day! There were beautiful wildflowers all around in the meadow grass.







We also saw a lot of snow still hanging around, which was surprising, considering the temperature!












On returning to the truck to have our picnic lunch, we noticed the weird trees. Apparently, the branches do not grow on the side that the wind blows. We saw many trees like this.












Next, we were heading down the mountain. There were several hairpin turns.........












After leaving the National Park, we stopped at  Ohanapecosh Visitor Center, which was closed. However, we went on the Nature trail to see the Hot Springs. At the start of the trail was the cross-section of a huge redwood that was cut down in the 1960s. There were labels depicting events that occurred since it started growing!






Early tourists flocked to Ohanapecosh not because it was so spectacularly pretty, but because of the water. More specifically, because of the hot water burbling out of the ground. Today, the lounging pools along the river are gone, but hot water still seeps out of the rocks before merging into the icy-cold waters of the Ohanapecosh River.





After a fuel stop, we returned to the RV Park.