OUR NATIONAL PARK CHALLENGE: TO VISIT ALL 51 NATIONAL PARKS LOCATED IN THE LOWER 48 STATES
COMPLETED
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STILL TO GO
46
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TUESDAY - It took a bit of driving to get here, but we finally made it into our 46th National Park in the Lower 48 States today.
While we were only 55-miles from the mountain, it took us over 100-miles of driving to get inside of the park. We first had to drive west to get to a north/south highway, then drove south for 50-miles before driving back east into the park to reach our campsite for the next week.
TRAVEL DAY PHOTOS
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Some of the best photos of Mount Rainier are taken from 50-miles away, like this one.
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This is the glacier fed turquoise water of Alder Lake on the Nisqually River.
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Sadly, this is the main entrance sign of Mount Rainier National Park.
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Once inside of the park we still had 8.5-miles to drive before we reached the campground. Along the way we were able to catch glimpses of the mountain.
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Oddly, the closer you get to the mountain, the harder it is to photograph.
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Our campsite has adequate sun and sky for our solar and satellite.
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The campsite has all the usual amenities, except for water and electric hookups.
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It does also have quite an obstructed view of the mountain.
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Once we go higher into the park we'll get over the tree line and the photos will improve.
WEDNESDAY - Not much exciting going on today. I spent all morning in the town of Eatonville, almost an hour away, getting new brake pads on ROVER's rear and a new ball joint on the upper right hand side.
I mention this not because I think you might be interested, but as a place to take notes for when I need to remember the last time we made these repairs to the truck.
ROVER has over 152,000 miles now and these kind of repairs will probably become more frequent during our travels. We still have a little time (until OCT) and mileage (up to 160K) until our FORD Continued Service Plan expires, which covers all internally lubricated parts of the engine, transmission and 4-wheel drive.
I've been looking for an extended warranty program that would take us up to the 200,000 mile mark, but the ones I've found don't seem financially beneficial. Does anyone know of a program I should be taking a look at?
FRIDAY - We got a 9:00AM start to our first real sightseeing day here in Mount Rainier National Park.
We're going to keep it simple today with a long scenic drive, including several stops at some of the less popular roadside pullouts, then throw in a pair of very short hikes (less than .5-mile each) and we're going to call it a day.
We should even be back at THE POD in time for a late lunch.
Tomorrow we'll get an earlier start and go see the prime location in the park known as Paradise at 5400' of elevation, that's nearly half way up the side of the mountain.
FRIDAY - JULY 17TH - SIGHTSEEING
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We didn't have to drive far to visit our first sightseeing stop of the day. Just 2-miles up Paradise Valley Road from the campground is the Christine Falls Bridge.
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Christine Falls begins high up above the bridge on the left side of the road...
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...before it passes under the bridge and continues on its way down Van Trump Creek.
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Far down below we could see the Nisqually River Basin.
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From Ricksecker Drive, a one-way scenic loop drive, we had views of Mount Rainier.
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It's only 9:30AM and the lower clouds are still hanging around.
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That didn't stop us from seeing the "toe" of this glacier up on the mountain.
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These shallow river rapids are the beginning of our favorite waterfall of the day.
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It's hard to believe this little bit of water could create what you're about to see.
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This is the upper waterfall and the pool area above the lower falls.
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The Upper Falls, Pool Area and the brink, or crest, of the Lower Falls.
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Let us introduce you to Narada Falls.
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We had to hike a quarter mile down below the falls to get this view.
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Back up near the parking lot at Naranda Falls we saw these colorful wildflowers. Thanks to all the mist from the waterfall below they stay well hydrated.
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Red Plume Thistle
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Indian Paintbrush
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It's 10:15AM now and the clouds are burning off, leaving a clearer view of Mount Rainier.
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Tricia zoomed in her cellphone camera to the max to shot these photos.
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This is what a 10X zoom cell phone camera can do.
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This is the last of the cellphone shots before Tricia retreived her "big" camera.
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I don't know, I think the cellphone shots were better.
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What do you all think?
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This and the next two photos are also shot using her "big" Nikon Coolpix P1000.
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For the next 20-miles we just enjoyed the drive over to the eastern park entrance.
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Every spring water, rocks and mud slides down the slopes and blocks the roads. This is always the last section of road to reopen each summer season.
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Here is a closeup of one of those chutes that deposit debris on the roadway.
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On the far side of the valley Tricia spotted what I believe is Martha Falls.
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This is Stevens Canyon on the eastern side of the park.
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This is the first of two tunnels on the Stevens Canyon Road.
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Neither tunnel is very long, but are critical for access to this side of the park.
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This tunnel at least looks like the actually finished the tunnel.
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There are some large chunks of rock missing from those overhangs.
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This tunnel looks a little more rough and unfinished.
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Now I'm sure they're not done with this one.
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This is Fall Creek, just inside the eastern entrance gate of Mount Rainier National Park.
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We are headed back west towards the campground now with several planned stops.
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That shorter peak off to the right is Little Tahoma Peak (11,138')
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Mount Rainier's most widely recognized Indigenous name is Tahoma (or Tacoma). It is pronounced as "ta-QUO-ma" and translates to "mother of all waters".
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Here I am standing on the road bridge over Box Canyon, ready to start the .5-mile hike.
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There is a paved walkway down to a small pedestrian bridge over the 180' deep canyon.
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The narrow canyon didn't photograph well, but the mountain always does.
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I pulled off the road on a very narrow and unapproved gravel shoulder for this photo. It will serve as our Facebook Group Cover photo for a while.
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That boulder filled wall of rock is what's left after an ancient glacier melts away.
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Upper Sunbeam Falls can be found right along the edge of the road.
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This little alpine pond is located right next door to the much larger Reflection Lakes.
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It's a little too breezy at the moment to see any clear reflections in the lake.
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One of the more strenuous hikes in the park is to the top of Eagle Peak (5958').
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That "crease" in the mountain turns the melt from the Nisqually Glacier into the 81-mile long Nisqually River that empties into the southern end of Puget Sound.
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The beginning of the 81-mile long Nisqually River in Mount Rainier National Park.
SATURDAY - We woke early at 6:30AM and by 7:00AM we were headed 10-miles up the road to the Paradise parking lots.
Boy, did we underestimate the number of people who head to the same location on a beautifully cool, 50°F summer weekend morning. When we arrived we found the hundreds of parking spots already full and saw people walking up the road from more than a mile away just to get to the trailheads.
We turned around and left and will have to get a much earlier start (5AM) tomorrow morning, our last day here.
Before beginning our hikes from Paradise, we had planned to enjoy the $32 All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Buffet at the Paradise Inn, so the first thing we did when returning to THE POD was warm up a few bagels and break out the cream cheese.
Shortly after lunch we once again set out to explore the park, this time at the less crowded sights we had planned to save for tomorrow.
All of the sights we are seeing today are located along the 8.5-miles of Paradise Valley Road between the National Park's Entrance Gate and the Cougar Rock Campground where we are staying.
SATURDAY - JULY 18TH - SIGHTSEEING
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Our first stop is at the .7-mile Twin Firs Trail. The namesake twin firs are long gone, but as you can see there are plenty of other large fir trees along the trail.
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Here you can see our lovely co-host, Tricia, demonstrate just how large this tree actually is!
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This short trail is listed as "moderate" thanks to the up and down nature of its route.
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At least there's no climbing over any of the downed trees along the trail.
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There were several "sketchy" bridges over the small creeks running through the forest.
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So far all we've seen is the "up" portion of the trail.
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OK, now we are starting to head back down to the trailhead below.
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This bridge looks a little more solid than that last one we encountered.
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Here Tricia shows that this tree is wider than she is tall (all 5'1" of her).
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Here the trail crosses over a huge stump of an old long gone tree.
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The next stop for today was at the Kautz Creek Overlook just inside of the park.
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Here you'll find a short boardwalk that guides you down to Kautz Creek...
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...and a decent first chance overlook of Mount Rainier.
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Anyway, let's head back to the bathrooms in the parking lot and then on to our next stop.
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This is the beginning of the .7-mile Trail of the Shadows self-guided trail.
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This is one of the fresh water springs of the defunct Longmire Springs Resort.
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As you can see the spring is still bubbling, but you're warned not to drink from it.
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The Longmire Family used to import beavers to live in this pond.
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The trail circumnavigates the pond with it's massive Douglas Firs and Western Red Cedars.
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This small cabin is the only structure left standing along the trail.
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It appears it was only ever meant for single occupancy.
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This Rusty Spring was located right next to the small cabin, maybe for the caretaker.
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This bridge makes crossing another spring fed creek much easier.
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There are several creeks that all empty into the pond in the middle of the meadow.
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This rickety boardwalk crosses a marshy area on the property.
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Another example of the lengths a tree will go to in order to survive.
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There always seems to be a new tree sprouting out of the stump of the older dead trees.
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Another example of new sprouting from the root ball of a fallen tree.
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This water is bubbling up from the bottom on the pond.
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This side of the property had much more water around than the other side.
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All that water means this side is much greener.
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This area was dominated by "Common Horsetail" which has been around for millions of years.
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Behind the Common Horsetail you can see the broadleafed Devil's Club plants.
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Before we head off to our final stop for the day we have a more thing to do here...
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...which is to stop in at the General Store across the street for ice cream sandwiches.
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Our final stop is just across the street from the entrance to our campground.
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Here you can access the boulder field that lines both sides of the Nisqually River.
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Believe it or not, Mount Rainier is hiding in those clouds on the left.
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Hey look Tricia there's this great bridge we can use to cross over the river.
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Come on, it's safe, what's the worst that could happen if you fell off the bridge.
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OK, maybe that wouldn't be a good thing if you fell off.
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All this water is glacial melt from the Nisqually Glacier up on Mount Rainier.
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Hold on tight Tricia, I knew you could do it!
SUNDAY - Don't be dissappointed with us!
We both went to bed early last night (9PM) and set our alarm clock for 4:30AM, so we could be on the road by 5:00AM, a full 2-hours earlier than yesterday. All this so we could arrive at the Paradise parking lots before they filled up with the weekend crowds.
I woke up at 2:45AM for a bathroom visit and usually fall back asleep within minutes. Not this time! I lay awake for 45-minutes thinking about our upcoming activities. I realized I was less than excited about what we had planned, not really dreading it, but not looking forward to it either.
At 4:15AM I was still awake and finally woke up Tricia just 15-minutes before the alarm was going to ring. We talked about it and decided not to head out this morning.
The idea of sharing the two hikes we had planned with hundreds of other people just didn't sound appealing. Technically, we could try again on tomorrow, Monday morning, because we don't have to leave until noon, but I doubt we'll decide to do that either.
In retrospect, I feel we made a poor decision when we chose rest up and not to do the Paradise hikes on Thursday (before the weekend) when we had the chance. We have five more National Parks to visit between now and the middle of October, all in the peak visitation season, so we'll have to make some better decisions when we get the chance.
So again, please don't be dissappointed with us!
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
Some of the best photos of Mount Rainier are taken from 50-miles away, like this one.
This is the glacier fed turquoise water of Alder Lake on the Nisqually River.
Sadly, this is the main entrance sign of Mount Rainier National Park.
Once inside of the park we still had 8.5-miles to drive before we reached the campground.
Oddly, the closer you get to the mountain, the harder it is to photograph.
Our campsite has adequate sun and sky for our solar and satellite.
The campsite has all the usual amenities, except for water and electric hookups.
It does also have quite an obstructed view of the mountain.
Once we go higher into the park we'll get over the tree line and the photos will improve.
We didn't have to drive far to visit our first sightseeing stop of the day.
Far down below we could see the Nisqually River Basin.
From Ricksecker Drive, a one-way scenic loop drive, we had views of Mount Rainier.
It's only 9:30AM and the lower clouds are still hanging around.
That didn't stop us from seeing the "toe" of this glacier up on the mountain.
These shallow river rapids are the beginning of our favorite waterfall of the day.
This is the upper waterfall and the pool area above the lower falls.
We had to hike a quarter mile down below the falls to get this view.
Back up near the parking lot at Naranda Falls we saw these colorful wildflowers.
Red Plume Thistle
Indian Paintbrush
It's 10:15AM now and the clouds are burning off, leaving a clearer view of Mount Rainier.
Tricia zoomed in her cellphone camera to the max to shot these photos.
This is what a 10X zoom cell phone camera can do.
This is the last of the cellphone shots before Tricia retreived her "big" camera.
I don't know, I think the cellphone shots were better.
What do you all think?
This and the next two photos are also shot using her "big" Nikon Coolpix P1000.
For the next 20-miles we just enjoyed the drive over to the eastern park entrance.
Every spring water, rocks and mud slides down the slopes and blocks the roads.
Here is a closeup of one of those chutes that deposit debris on the roadway.
On the far side of the valley Tricia spotted what I believe is Martha Falls.
This is Stevens Canyon on the eastern side of the park.
This is the first of two tunnels on the Stevens Canyon Road.
Neither tunnel is very long, but are critical for access to this side of the park.
This tunnel at least looks like the actually finished the tunnel.
There are some large chunks of rock missing from those overhangs.
This tunnel looks a little more rough and unfinished.
Now I'm sure they're not done with this one.
We are headed back west towards the campground now with several planned stops.
That shorter peak off to the right is Little Tahoma Peak (11,138')
Mount Rainier's most widely recognized Indigenous name is Tahoma (or Tacoma).
Here I am standing on the road bridge over Box Canyon, ready to start the .5-mile hike.
There is a paved walkway down to a small pedestrian bridge over the 180' deep canyon.
The narrow canyon didn't photograph well, but the mountain always does.
I pulled off the road on a very narrow and unapproved gravel shoulder for this photo.
That boulder filled wall of rock is what's left after an ancient glacier melts away.
This little alpine pond is located right next door to the much larger Reflection Lakes.
It's a little too breezy at the moment to see any clear reflections in the lake.
One of the more strenuous hikes in the park is to the top of Eagle Peak (5958').
That "crease" in the mountain turns the melt from the Nisqually Glacier into the
The beginning of the 81-mile long Nisqually River in Mount Rainier National Park.
Our first stop is at the .7-mile Twin Firs Trail. The namesake twin firs are long gone,
Here you can see our lovely co-host, Tricia, demonstrate just how large this tree actually is!
This short trail is listed as "moderate" thanks to the up and down nature of its route.
At least there's no climbing over any of the downed trees along the trail.
There were several "sketchy" bridges over the small creeks running through the forest.
So far all we've seen is the "up" portion of the trail.
OK, now we are starting to head back down to the trailhead below.
This bridge looks a little more solid than that last one we encountered.
Here Tricia shows that this tree is wider than she is tall (all 5'1" of her).
Here the trail crosses over a huge stump of an old long gone tree.
The next stop for today was at the Kautz Creek Overlook just inside of the park.
Here you'll find a short boardwalk that guides you down to Kautz Creek...
...and a decent first chance overlook of Mount Rainier.
Anyway, let's head back to the bathrooms in the parking lot and then on to our next stop.
This is the beginning of the .7-mile Trail of the Shadows self-guided trail.
This is one of the fresh water springs of the defunct Longmire Springs Resort.
The Longmire Family used to import beavers to live in this pond.
The trail circumnavigates the pond with it's massive Douglas Firs and Western Red Cedars.
This small cabin is the only structure left standing along the trail.
It appears it was only ever meant for single occupancy.
This Rusty Spring was located right next to the small cabin, maybe for the caretaker.
This bridge makes crossing another spring fed creek much easier.
There are several creeks that all empty into the pond in the middle of the meadow.
This rickety boardwalk crosses a marshy area on the property.
Another example of the lengths a tree will go to in order to survive.
There always seems to be a new tree sprouting out of the stump of the older dead trees.
Another example of new sprouting from the root ball of a fallen tree.
This side of the property had much more water around than the other side.
All that water means this side is much greener.
This area was dominated by "Common Horsetail" which has been around for millions of years.
Behind the Common Horsetail you can see the broadleafed Devil's Club plants.
Before we head off to our final stop for the day we have a more thing to do here...
...which is to stop in at the General Store across the street for ice cream sandwiches.
Our final stop is just across the street from the entrance to our campground.
Here you can access the boulder field that lines both sides of the Nisqually River.
Believe it or not, Mount Rainier is hiding in those clouds on the left.
Hey look Tricia there's this great bridge we can use to cross over the river.
Hold on tight Tricia, I knew you could do it!
