Monday October 14 (Mt Rainier)

Monday
It was a chilling out morning and Jim came home early afternoon to ask if we would like to go to Mt Rainier. 

So it was rush round to grab what was needed although I did leave a couple of things behind in the rush, lol! 

The morning had been cloudy but it cleared away for a glorious afternoon if a wee bit cool especially on the mountain.

We were heading for Tipsoo Lake alongside Mt Rainier. 

We crossed the straits passing the Tacoma Dome and continued on through the coutryside. 

We saw the mountain many times from different perspectives on the long drive in. We also saw some lovely and varied fall colours along the way.

On the way we stopped at  a waterfall that was almost empty due to lack of rain. We then noticed some trees off the side of the road that were very colourful. 

The scenery was beautiful and there was some patchy snow in a few places. We eventually reached the lake and there was still some snow cover. 

There were also some quite friendly birds and I took a video (at the end)! They ar Canada Jays.

We then headed to Paradise, a small settlement on the other side of the mountain. 

We had hoped to see the sunset over Mt Rainier but were just a wee bit too late. 

However, we stopped short at a reflection lake, it was so beautiful, so we stopped to take photos! 

There was a small reflection in a slightly marshy area but we walked further round and where the lake was clear the reflection was abulous!

There was a car with an Asian lady near it and I tried to explain about the best place to see the reflection but she had no English! 

Her son was in the car and he spoke English, phew, he also used a wheelchair but I told him he would be ok. he thanked me and we went on our way.


As it was getting late and the petrol tank was going down, we headed back. I had seen Mt St Helens briefly on the way up and we saw it again but it was getting dark. 

We headed for I5 and we finally ended up at an Applebee’s at about 9.15 pm for some food. I had the riblets and asked for onion rings instead of fries, I ended up with both, lol. I also had a White Peach Sangria to drink. We were still some way from home, and arrived back about 12.20 am!!

What a wonderful day out!!