October 1, 2015 Mt Rainier, Washington

We are camped at a free horse campground right outside the park. We had to buy a Washington parks pass for $35, but we can stay here for no charge each night. Plus we already used the park pass yesterday at Seaquest.  We looked at the campground in the park, it would have been a tight fit for the coach, and it is at 3000+ feet and supposed to be really cold up there (only around 1000 feet at the horse camp), and it was $10 a night. Neither place has hookups, but at the horse park we are parked in the sun and can try out our new solar.

Mt Rainier on the way in. It is a lovely, huge mountain. Today is sunny and 61 at Paradise lodge, 70’s where we are camped. It is supposed to rain the next couple days, so we wanted to see the views before it clouded in. This is the old administration building at Longmire area. It is built in the ‘rustic’ style that the national park system adopted. Rainier was the 5th National park in 1899.

The lower Christine falls under a CCC stone bridge. We are going to hike the upper soon.  John and I at a scenic turn out.

 

Narada falls were beautiful in the sunlight with a rainbow. Paradise is where the main visitors center, guide services lodge  and Inn are. It is at tree line.

 

A model of Rainier in the visitors center. It is 14,000 feet and much, much higher than the surrounding area. This John Muir quote ‘…the most luxuriant and most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings’ is on the steps leading to many trails in the area. In the summer this whole area is a huge field of flowers. Sorry we missed it. 

No fields of flowers but the shrubbery is in it’s fall colors. Myrna falls.

Paradise Inn opened in 1917. John at the head of the table in Paradise lodge.

Me at the other head. The inside of the lodge has these big timbers and huge fireplaces.

Evening light down canyon from Paradise. A reflection of Mt Rainier in Reflection lake.

  

Sunset colors on surrounding mountains. Fall colors and a stellar jay watching us as we had a beverage on the deck of Paradise lodge in the last light.