The day’s possibilities was our first thoughts as we awakened today. We explored Alder Lake Park a bit then made arrangements to extend our stay by one day and visit Mount Rainier on this gloriously beautiful day. Back when we visited in 2008 we entered the park from the east and headed up to Paradise. This time we came in through the west entrance and stopped at Longmire where we paused for a bit on the porch of the National Park Inn and just gazed at the majestic peak.
In this historic area it’s fun to wonder what it was like to be a national park visitor a hundred years ago. The legislation establishing Mount Rainier as the fifth national park was signed by President McKinley in 1899. The ranger at the museum suggested a couple of possible hikes and clued us in as far as parking possibilities up at Paradise. We headed there and explored the visitors center that opened just days after our last visit, had a light lunch in the cafe, hiked to Myrtle Falls then back to where we’d parked the truck, all the while glorying in the deliciously beautiful weather, the fabulous views of Rainier and its glaciers, the blue of the glacial ice, the wildflowers, and the scent of the evergreens!
Back at Alder Lake and after a bit of a siesta, we baked up a supper cornbread topped with sliced pork smothered in bbq sauce and cheddar cheese topped with black olives. We talked about celebrating Gene Wilder by watching Willie Wonka but instead watched a couple of documentaries on the volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest.
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