Playtime!: Mt. Rainier: Paradise

This morning we drove about 100 miles from Castle Rock to Mt. Rainier NP. This morning was my “last chance” internet since I was fully expecting not to have coverage here – and we don’t.

The drive was uneventful, we stopped at a grocery store in Morton to pick up a few “must haves” then came into the park.

It was very crowded at the entrance station – long lines of cars trying to get in! Luckily we have National Park Passes and were able to go in the express lane. We drove up the park road to Cougar Rock campground – lots of cars and traffic on the road!

At the campground things got a little tense as my Dad was trying to get his MH into the campsite! This campground has a strict 35 ft limit – and they mean 35 ft, not an inch over! My parents MH is 36 ft! It was a bit harrowing driving it through the windy tree filled campground road and then backing it into the pull through! He got it in with no permanent damage to the trees or the motorhome!

I was quite excited because my site was also a pull through and I was able to pull right up and park! No stress! :-) And, I’m perfectly level!

We got some lunch and then took advantage of the weekend shuttle to Paradise. Paradise is where there is a lodge, a visitor center, restaurants, and many trail heads. There are also views of Mt. Rainier (when it’s clear!) and the Tatoosh Range. Needless to say this a very popular area and the parking lot quickly fills up on weekends, especially sunny weekends! The shuttle only runs on Friday, Saturday & Sunday so today was the only day we could use it!

One the way up we had the bus to ourselves! The bus driver works in the transportation office of a local school district and like Acadia many of the shuttle bus drivers are school bus drivers making some extra summer money!

Paradise was crowded with people! And snow. Much of the famed wildflower meadow is buried under snow!

We checked out the visitor center, the gift shop, and the movie! It was a good introduction to the park & the mountain!

We rode back on the bus with a few other folks who had hiked up from Longmire! That sounds like a good plan to me – it’s all up, then mom can come get us!

After dinner we went to the Ranger program here in the campground. It was actually pretty good – the Ranger told about her grandmother’s journey to the park in 1914 and the adventures she had!

One thing about Mt. Rainier that I hadn’t focused on is that it is an active volcano. There was a display in the visitor center today showing what types of damage would be done to different areas should the volcano erupt – we are solidly in the “everything gets swept away or buried under mud” zone. Tonight at the Ranger program, the ranger told us how to evacuate the campground should we hear the sound of a train – the rumble would be followed by a siren – we are supposed to go up the ridge – here’s hoping there’s not lava and stuff gushing down the ridge! I assume that the NPS has scientists watching the mountain carefully – especially since a major eruption would be catastrophic to the Tacoma/Olympia area! Probably shouldn’t have visited Mt. St. Helens 1st!