Mt. Rainier..........

Mount Rainier National Park was the 5th national park,established in 1899, and was designed by engineers to give the visitor a great experience, and not designed because it was the quickest, easiest or cheapest to build. Everything in the park was well thought out, and for that reason, part of it is in the National Register of Historic Places. The Longmire section has the museum and buildings from back in the day. Even the roads were built keeping in mind the experience of the visitor. They were not just built because it was cheaper or easier to go one way or another. Going around a bend and seeing a great view is no accident. Very nice planning!

This park is huge, so we decided to focus on one area of the park to explore. Paradise, the most visited area in the park, is world-famous for its views and wildflower meadows. We were incredibly lucky in that the day we traveled here, the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining all day. This is unusual, since the average snowfall is 680 inches, and the average rainfall is 126 inches per year, so the odds are that it will be cloudy or precipitating on any given day. We were able to clearly see the top of Rainier, an active volcano with about 25 glaciers. Not only that, but the wildflowers were in BLOOM! If you are anywhere near Rainier, Go.There.Now! You won't be disappointed!!  We are not sure when the season is for wildflowers (mid July?), but apparently they bloomed early this year. For more information on the park, click here.

The drive through the park is beautiful; old growth forests and mountain scenery for most of the drive from the entrance to the subalpine meadow area. Just beautiful! (Remember, this is a very well planned park)! We were there early in the morning to avoid the crowds as much as possible. As one fellow visitor told us, the park is not far from Seattle or Tacoma, and on a clear day when the meadows are in bloom.....people head on over in droves for this amazing treat from nature! Glad we got a parking space ;)

Along the way to the Paradise Section of the park, we stopped at several pullouts to enjoy the view or the waterfall. The land is pristine here, even with the large amount of visitors!

lovely waterfall

heading to Paradise

close up .... love the blue ice

beautiful views....but pay attention!

top of the falls from the parking lot (if you don't go down the path to the bottom, this is all you see)

top of the falls

feeding the falls

just beautiful-view from the bottom of the path

catch the rainbow

gorgeous

you have to walk down there for the exquisite view of the falls-so worth it!

Heading up to Paradise, Mt. Rainier was getting larger and larger! I was able to zoom in on some of the glacial features on the mountaintop. WOW! What forces of nature here. The volcanoes form the mountains, and the glaciers take them away. There were many streams with glacial silt in them...looked a lot like scenes in Alaska or the Canadian Rockies. Just magnificent.

heading on up

the glacier is getting bigger and bigger

and it is melting

lots of thick blue ice

not sure how thick it is

Once we got to Paradise, we knew how it got its name. Wow oh wow! We were so lucky to be here when the wildflowers were blooming. The fragrant air, the incredible views and the hiking paths were top notch. Awe-inspiring!

I give you......Mt. Rainier

and the meadows full of wildflowers

'nuff said

After checking in with the ranger, we got a hiking map and tips for some "easy" trails with good views. Frankly, I don't think there are any bad views in the area! Anyway, we took a few hours and really enjoyed hiking and gawking at the flowers, the views and the special place that is Mt. Rainier. As one ranger we met earlier in the year said, "they aren't national parks for nothin' ". WOW!

all of the trails are connected so its hard to get lost here (i think)

a look back at the Visitor Center

already a view that is amazing

can you smell that?

view across to some waterfalls

so many waterfalls

the trails go up and down, and most of the trails we were on were paved

look at that view!

the glacial melt

such simple pleasures

enjoying the walk

a park resident

another resident enjoying a snack

wow...so many flowers!

can't stop photographing them!

we see you Mr. Marmot!

ah!

speechless

is this amazing or what???

splendid

i think i can walk here forever...

yup....Paradise!

exquisite

we want to head to the waterfall

is this amazing or what?

wild!

all so interesting

simple pleasure! 

the beauty of nature (though don't let that volcanic mountain fool you)!

heading to the waterfall

there is the top of it...a few feet away

oh sweet!

lots of busy bees here

such a variety....and they all get along together nicely....we humans should take note!

love this

the Myrtlefalls.....money shot view!

wish you could hear the rushing water and smell those gorgeous wildflowers

a pretty steep climb from viewing the waterfall (45% grade????)

Once we completed the Myrtlefalls section of the hiking loop, we tried a connecting trail to get to the loop for the Nisqually Glacier view. All of the trails intersect at some point with another trail, so if you have a map, its hard to get totally lost. We were focused on the easy hikes with a great view, but the area was so astoundingly beautiful, I think we could have hiked there for a long long time. Lots of hills and altitude though...so best to take it slow and "smell the roses wildflowers". We did just that!

the hills are alive....with the sound of music!

beautiful views everywhere you look

sweet and fragrant

nice variety

red white and blue....America the beautiful!

going up and up!

just look at that glacier

cool

another great view

this place is amazing!

connecting trail to the glacier trail

trail through and around the meadows

technicolor....not adjusted at all with photoshop 

here's a volcanic rock now

this is outstanding...pinch me

yeah....this is totally amazing and we are so very lucky!

the beauty of nature

so many hillsides of flowers

incredible day we are having here

Can you believe this? It really is Paradise! 

a less traveled trail

more views

stunning

such clear water

another new to us species

so pretty

looks like a pinwheel

The connecting trail was magnificent too...so many great views and the flowers! WOW! We weren't sure if we were going the right way though, because we didn't see too many people on this trail. Seems the waterfall trail is the most popular, and the easiest too! Easy for being in the mountains, that is!

the scenery makes the hills a little easier

heading over to the glacier foot

just so beautiful here

heading to Nisqually Glacier

the glacier is melting

We found the trailhead and knew we were on the right track now. Haha. This part of the trail was a bit steeper, and going down was so easy. We knew the return would not be as easy, but it sure was delightful anyway. The flowers were just everywhere, and the views incredible. The entire time we were in the park!

so special, no matter where you look

Keep out Tom! We have a glacier to visit!

fields and fields of flowers

what a gift from nature

ah...nice shade here

don't look down Susie

outstanding views all around

just beautiful

Reaching the viewpoint for Nisqually Glacier, we stood and gawked at examined the glacier a little further. The waterfalls and rivers from the glacial melt are numerous, and are a major force shaping the area. 

Nisqually Glacier..see the melt in the middle?

amazing view

hey...what are you eating Tom?

waterfalls from the glacial melt

stunning

so loud too

Walking back up the trail, we I concentrated on the surroundings to make the trek a little easier. It really was so beautiful. I'm not 100% certain, but I think the wildflowers bloomed early this year at the park. I will say it again....we were so lucky!

moss grows here too

so pretty

just a little more "up"....hahahaha

the view of the stunning wildflowers never gets old (for us)

sweet

what an amazing day

its just so beautiful here

another view driving back 

glacial river

old growth forest...on the drive out of the park

Being that is was late in the afternoon, and we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us, we left the park (after viewing the movie at the Visitor Center!) and did not explore any of the other areas of the park. Maybe someday we will return for another spectacular visit. This place was beautiful!