Day 39 Washington

We started the day by cooking the bear neat from the Kia salesman with scrambled eggs for breakfast. It was OK, but not something I will go out of my way to eat again.

We left Fort Stevens and drove through Astoria and into Washington State on the way to Mount Rainier National Park. Parts of the drive were on Interstate 5, which appears to be the west coast version of I-95 in the east, as it stretches from the bottom of California up past Seattle. On other parts of the trip we passed large logging centers, where pine trees from the area are cut into commercial pine lumber.

When we approached the western entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, we could see the snowcapped mountain rising above the heavily treed forest. In the middle of the park, just south of the mountain, is an area called Paradise, with a lodge, the Ranger Station, and the Henry Jackson Memorial Visitor Center. From there, the view of the mountain was stupendous. We took a short walk up the heavy snow trail towards the mountain and took many pictures of the mountain from the base at Paradise and then turned and took more photos of the scenery looking over the Visitor Center. Some people were also skiing down the area we started walking up.

The Visitor Center was very interesting, as it explained information about the mountain and the wildlife in the park. The mountain is a prominent stratovolcano located in the Cascade Range; it is the tallest mountain in the state and the fifth highest and most glaciated peak in the lower 48 states, with 26 major glaciers. It has not erupted for at least the last 150 years. The animals have remarkable ways to survive. For example, the Snowshoe Rabbit has large pads that function like snowshoes, allowing it to run quickly on the snow and escape the larger predators that sink in the snow. It also changes colors from brown in the summer to white in the winter so that it also hides from the predators. We took the dogs on a very short walk by the parking lot and came within 10 yards of a marmot.

We then drove to the eastern entrance of the park to exit, with the total drive from west to east exceeding 45 miles. This was another winding road, but it offered many scenic views, including the best views of Mount Rainier behind us. Another hour-long drive took us to our campsite at the Windy Point Campground along the Teton River in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. This was the smallest campsite I have been at yet, with maybe a dozen sites. It offered no amenities, but was right next to the river, with a nice mountain on the other side of the river.