Drive Around Mt. Rainier

My dear friend Greg came to visit me for a week. We had many adventures, although most of them weren't photo documented. For instance we went to go on a hike, but I got lost getting there. It was Memorial Day weekend and the traffic was horrible going back, so we kept on goin. We ended up in Quincy, WA (Greg's nickname is Quincy) where "Opportunites Unlimted" is their slogan.

So we started out on an inocuous trip to Mt. Rainier. And.. well, I got lost. We ended up going the north route to the east side of the mountain which I've never taken. Unfortunately, the road to Paradise was closed from the east side, so we continued all the way around the mountain before we finally reached the road to Paradise. What should have taken 3 hours took more than 5. But it sure was fun!

	This river is the only river I've seen on Mt. Rainier that isn't grey or white from glacier run off. It was a gorgeous little pull off right before the closed road to Paradise.
The one thing going the wrong way gave us an opportunity to do was The Walk of the Patriarchs. It's a short walk that takes you into a grove of ancient trees. It was incredible to see these humungous trees. Here's Greg posing in front of one.
	By the time we made it to the road to Paradise it was very late in the day. The deer were out in force, making the drive a little more harrowing. This guy was munching plants near Longmire. They were very tame.
Finally! Paradise! Everything was far too snowed in to do any hiking. The peak was covered with clouds when we arrived, but as we watched it cleared. As always, it was amazing.
	I believe these are the goat rock peaks. Whatever it is, these peaks were gorgeous. The setting sun made the snow and clouds turn pink and the air was crystal clear. Well worth the extended drive to get here!

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All photos copyright Anne Sullivan