Tasha got married on September 3rd, and it was a glorious affair. We spent most of the summer preparing for it, and poor Howie only got out of the driveway once, over the fourth of July. We had prayed and prayed for good weather for Tasha’s wedding, and were rewarded with almost a month of sunshine.
So, after all of our friends left, we just had to get into Howie and take off. Judy usually likes to go to Mt. Rainier in August, but we were busy then and there was too much snow on the trails anyway. But this glorious September weather was just made for a trip to the mountains and the ocean, and that’s where we headed.
One of 2 caching sites we stopped at but didn't find
Thursday morning we headed out. We stopped for gas and a quick fix to the passenger seat…it wouldn’t latch in place and stay that way! Harris rigged something that would work until we return home. He’s so good at that! We headed south into the sunshine and up to the mountain. We originally wanted to go to Sunrise for a day, then head down to Paradise, but the road in between them is closed for some work. Fortunately we knew that before we left, so we just went to Paradise, and camped at Cougar Rock. It wasn’t too full on Thursday, but Friday night was a different story!
A great wood carving at cache site
We brought our bikes on this trip, and biked around the various loops in the campground to get the kinks out, picking out good campsites for future visits. Then Harris cooked a great steak dinner with rolls and green beans from Marilyn’s garden. Perfect. After dinner we strolled around some, then when it got dark returned to Howie for the night. We wanted to take showers, and for a while it seemed we weren’t going to be able to, because we couldn’t get the gas heater going. Harris fussed around a bit, looked at the book, went back and forth inside and out, then finally figured out he had to reset it because it had previously been run by electricity when we plugged in. Eureka! Hot water and showers! Then he trounced Judy at cards, yet again, while listening to the Mariners beat the KC Royals. He was a happy camper tonight!
Our campsite at Mt. Rainier
It was a glorious night. We had to take another stroll before bed. The moon was shining so brightly that we watched our shadows move before us on the road. The trees were silver tipped with the light. There are no streetlights here, and the only sound is the Nisqually River In the distance, roaring away. Such peace! That’s why we love it here.
Lupines
On Friday we went up to Paradise to see the new visitor center and hike a bit. We went up to Myrtle Falls and a ways further along the Skyline Trail, probably about 3 miles in all. It was hot! The wildflowers were beautiful and abundant, particularly the lupines, which filled the meadows with a sweet, almost grape-like smell. We hiked until we found a small patch of snow, then turned around to head back for some lunch. We made sandwiches and ate them on a bench which faced Mt. Rainier. Could you ask for a better view? Don’t think so!
Steak, toasted rolls, Olson's beans
After we lingered there for a while we came back to camp and sat outside to enjoy the peace and quiet. Perhaps it was too quiet…Judy started to nod off, and Harris said, “We have to do something!” So we went for another short bike ride, and discovered that the bottom 2 loops of the campground had been opened up for the weekend. Hmmmm…..maybe there’s a better site than ours! We thought we found one, and Harris went back to get Howie. Alas, when he came back, we discovered the beautiful site was quite uneven, and not really worth the move. So, back to loop B again, which really was fine to begin with. Harris thought we should be getting hungry, it must be time for dinner, but it was only 4:30!What to do? I know, let’s walk down to Longmire and the lodge there, just to go somewhere.
Our lunchtime view from the new lodge
It’s a mile and a half from the campground to the lodge if you take the trail through the woods. The trail parallels the Nisqually River and the road, and is a great walk….almost all downhill. We were not looking forward to the return trip! We got to the lodge, looked around, and debated the merits of hitch hiking a ride back up the hill to the campground. Would anyone stop if we stuck out our thumbs? We didn’t want to chance it, but did decide to walk along the road, even though it added a half mile to the return trip. It was a steady uphill climb, but gentler than the trail. So up and up we plodded along, not daring to stop because a pesky fly was just waiting for us every time we did.
A snow boarder in Mid-September!
Harris made a great dinner tonight. He pounded some chicken breasts with the hatchet, dipped them in egg and breadcrumbs, then grilled them along with some beans. Who cooks like this on a camping trip? (Besides Marilyn!) Good thing we walked so much today!
Howie posing...
Total miles driven these 2 days= 160
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