Summer at 5,400 Feet

We went expecting wildflowers and hikes in the sun; we found the coldest July and latest melt-out in the history of Mt. Rainier National Park.

But, if I do say so myself, we managed to do all right anyway! Good weather for waterfalls, that's for sure.

Christine Falls:




And perfect weather for enjoying the historic charm of the Paradise Inn:


Fortunately, things a little lower on the mountain were dry and (mostly) warm. Did a bit of hiking around the Nisqually River:


Maybe you recall the recent (pure coincidence!) New York Times story about the river? Sure, some of their photos are better, but did they cross this exciting bridge?


Emily got some great photos that day, like this one:

(Click any photo to open in Flickr, where you can do things like see larger versions or download.)



We made it to Carter Falls! Huzzah!

Couldn't really find an angle to get the falls in the shot, but the sign proves something, right?

Next day, surprise of surprises, we actually saw the top of the mountain!


Was out for, oh, maybe 20 minutes. But hey, better than nothing :)


Had the best hiking luck in the Ohanapecosh area.

Saw some great old trees in the Grove of the Patriarchs:


Hiked up to Silver Falls from above. Very cool.


Not very easy to photograph, but a highly recommended hike.


Pretty impressed with some of the photos my mom took with her new camera. Paradise Inn exterior:


Back inside the Inn:


May not look like summer, even on the supposedly dry, Sunrise side of the mountain, but it seemed like a great time to me.