This chapter of our Pacific Northwest story is probably my favorite! We were all really looking forward to spending a day at Mt. Rainier National Park, and the majesty of creation that we experienced on this day far exceeded all our expectations. Yosemite has always been my favorite National Park because I kind of feel like it's "mine" and I know it the best, but after a day at Mt. Rainier, I don't know! This place was incredible! One thing we loved most was being here on a beautiful, summer day and seeing very few other people! Unheard of at Yosemite.
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Even Kaya and McKenna couldn't possibly miss out on these great views!
The over 14,000 ft. tall snow-capped mountain stands at center stage of this National Park, but there were many, many other glorious things to see too-- rivers with rushing rapids, other mountain ranges, waterfalls and deep canyons.
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The night before, Ella lost a big front tooth, so she was testing our her new smile ("thmile" she called it!) on Mt. Rainier day.
Another remarkable thing about Mt. Rainier is all the wildflowers! Every bit of green around the mountain was dotted with color from all the different growing plants. I never learned officially why wildflowers are in such abundance, but I think it must have something to do with all the precipitation.
Check out the blue of that sky! In our park map it said something like, "If you are here on a clear, sunny day, you are lucky! You get to see the mountain in its entirety with an unsurpassed view. If you are here on a gray, overcast day, you are lucky! You get to see the mountain as it naturally appears for the majority of the year." Over and over we just thanked God for giving us such an amazing day (a whole week, actually!) of weather to experience Mt. Rainier at its best.
We found some picnic tables among snow piles, so after lunch yet another July snowball fight broke out. This time Grandpa was the victim of Delia's point blank attack!
We spent the day in Paradise-- literally! The park is huge and the section we chose to explore was named "Paradise." Here, Dave and I attempted a little half-mile hike, straight uphill to the Alta Vista point. A snow-covered trail stopped us though, as did my complete poop-out from trying to climb so high so quickly. Dave rocked it, though, and ventured even further than I did.
I know that even my words and these pretty good pictures can't do the beauty of Mt. Rainier justice. You probably just have to see it for yourself to appreciate it, so if you're ever in the Pacific Northwest, a stop at this National Park is a MUST!!
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