It’s just right there!!!!
As we’ve been driving around Seattle, we have had a couple of magnificent views of Mount Rainier – from a distance of course and have been very excited about seeing it up close. After checking the weather which, by the way, has been absolutely beautiful since we’ve been here, we decided that Saturday would be the day to drive to Mount Rainier National Park.
So, after grabbing some breakfast, snacks and knitting, we headed to the park about an hour or so away. It sprinkled a bit on us on the way up there but when we got to the Stevens Canyon Entrance the rain seemed to have stopped. We went on a fantastic hike through the Grove of the Patriarchs, an old growth forest with trees over 1,000 years old and up to 300 feet tall set on an island in the middle of the Ohanapecosh River. To get to the island, you cross a suspension bridge that allows only one person to cross at a time. The forest was filled with Douglas Firs, Western Hemlocks, and Western Red Cedars and are AMAZING! The TALLEST trees I’ve ever seen in my life! The air was cool and the walk shady from all the trees. It has been one of my favorite places to visit in Washington so far! (Ed. Note – The way the trunks twist as they grow for internal strength is absolutely fascinating!!!) (If you zoom in on the picture below with the two trunks, you can see the twisting of the trunk on the right – it was fascinating!)
Yes, I swear, just right there!!!!
After leaving the trail, we decided to continue our drive around the rest of park and go back through Tacoma. The road winds around the mountains with the road on the very edge – very similar to Going to the Sun Road in Glacier but this time the hubs was driving and we were driving in the clouds! I mean, literally, in the clouds… there was mist all along, lightly sprinkling on the windshield – looking as if we were driving through fog…on the edge of a mountain! It was a bit terrifying and I was glad when we started going back down in the forest. (Ed. Note – The trees were so dense that they woulda caught you if you went over the edge!!!) (NOT the point!)
As we did, it cleared up enough to see the wonderful green of the firs and the undergrowth – so lovely, and I finally saw the pacific northwest weather I’d heard about all my life.
Those trees are magnificent. Great pictures.