Sometimes, not all that glitters is gold. During the week Steph and I talked about heading out to Mt Rainier on Saturday if the weather cooperated. Friday night was wonderfully clear and we awoke on Saturday morning to clear blue skies. We promptly packed up and headed out on our journey with Nate and Zach. As we were driving south we heard there might be showers in the cascades…well, it didn’t take long…it started raining in Auburn (only about 20 minutes from our house). So much for the clear blue skies.
The total drive up to Paradise took about 2.5 hours (we didn’t stop heading up). The boys were very good the whole way. Once at Paradise we checked out the inn and the visitors center. We couldn’t do much hiking on account there was still 13 feet of snow on the ground…yes, thirteen feet. Plus it was raining off and on. We could see about halfway up Rainier – the remainder was stuck in the clouds. We had lunch at the visitors center and took in the views between rain showers.
The plan on the way down was to stop several times so I could photos. There are several scenic viewpoints along the way of waterfalls, glaciers, rivers, and forest. There is one longish turnout with dramatic views of the Nisqually River – while there we decided to change Nate’s diaper. He had been fussy since we left Paradise. He had some poops, but otherwise no big deal. Then Steph changed Zach…OH MY GOD! He had shit down in his socks and almost up too his neck – I kid you NOT. Every piece of clothing he had on had crap on it. Not only that, we got globs of poop smeared in the back of the van. Change of clothes for Zach? Nope, we didn’t bring any – didn’t really think he would need them. So Zach rode the rest of the back in his diaper and baseball cap…and yes, a few blankets.
Bag of poop and clothes – yes, we tossed the clothes.
Post poop nap.
Zach and Nate fell asleep for a bit but not long enough. For the last 90 minutes of our drive, Nate cried. The whole time! We’d give him toys, he would throw them. We gave him his binky – he would throw it. We gave him a water bottle to play with – yep, he threw it. We gave him a bottle of formula – he drank it then threw it. He just wasn’t going to be happy (at least until he got out of the car seat, ie, home). Zach was good except he kept bugging Steph every few minutes – ‘Momma, momma, momma, I want another movie.’ ‘Momma, momma, momma, I’m hungry.’ ‘Momma, momma, momma, I want a book.’ Steph was going looney. I found this all pretty comical (which is odd for me – I usually get stressed out).
Anyway, we are back from our little day trip…here are some more photos.
A stream.
Grove of trees in the middle of glacier runoff.
Nisqually River as seen from Poop Point!
Tiny waterfall.
Jagged peaks across from Mt Rainier.
Near the entrance of the park.
Yeah, I know, no pictures of Mt Rainier…that’s what happens when it rains.
