The view from the other side of the mountain

Pam's Mount Rainier picures

While David and I were at Paradise, Pam and Hal were over on the other side of the mountain.

From Lake Tipsoo

From the Naches Peak trail

From the Crystal Mountain gondola

More Mount Rainier

David's Mount Rainier pictures

These were taken July 17, looking out over the Tatoosh Range, as a storm rolls in.

These were taken August 3 on the Nisqually Vista trail

 

This shows the famous "crop circle" on top of Mount Rainier.

Visit to Mount Rainier

There was a long line at the entrance (Paradise side), but with our National Park senior pass, we got to go right in.  Parking, on the other hand, was ghastly.  One hundred years ago last weekend there were only 800 visitors to Mt. Rainier, and 147 cars.  This year it was more like a million.  Well, a lot, anyway.

We took the Nisqually Vista Trail, a short loop out to look at Nisqually Glacier.  It has certainly changed in the forty years since the first time I saw it.  

The meadows are in full bloom, and it's wonderful to see how they've grown back over the years.  Here are some of what's in bloom, with what I hope are correct identifications.

Magenta paintbrush

Sitka valerian

Broadleaf arnica

Heather

I never get tired of taking pictures of the mountain.

 

And we finished off with a really good lunch at Longmire.

September 15: last hike of summer

Actually, also the first hike, and actually not really a hike.  More just sort of a wandering up from the lodge.  But it was beautiful!

First we had a hearty breakfast (eggs, ham and hashbrowns) at Longmire.  Then we drove up to Paradise for a very pleasant walk.  Click on the pictures to see them huge!

Mount Rainier looks like the moon!

Tatoosh from Paradise

Pearlies 

Paradise Inn

Meadow flowers nearly gone

The mountainside had a wonderful glow which the picture almost captures

Last monkeys of the year

Winter walking in the Pacific Northwest

Click on the pictures and make them big.  You'll feel like you're actually there.

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge


Yesterday David and I walked all the way to the end of the boardwalk at the Nisqually nature reserve, all except for the last 700 feet, which is closed due to hunting season.  Here are some of my pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Tacoma waterfront

 

We've also had several good walks along Tacoma's waterfront the last couple of weeks.  Here are a couple of David's pictures of Mount Rainier seen from the waterfront:

 

 

 

 

No sewing today

Instead we went for a walk in the snow, followed by a yummy President's Day buffet at the National Park Inn at Longmire.  I do love living here.

Little girl lost

This last week we lost Mali, our little girl tiger at Point Defiance Zoo.  I'm so sad, both for her loss and for how sad her keepers must feel.

But today we had another lovely day at the zoo with Pam and Hal.  We saw the Arctic foxes (Maggie and Scout).  This is a picture of one of them, but I don't know which.

And the polar bears had been given big bones to chew on.

And Mount Rainier was out!  At least partly.

And after a lovely picnic, we watched the show with Herald the dog!  If you get a chance, you really should see it.

Snowball's chance in Paradise

A snowball's chance in Paradise was extremely good yesterday, it's the wildflowers that are having a hard time.  Just look at this picture of Mount Rainier David took at noon yesterday.

Mount Rainier at the end of July

Can't see a mountain?  You can't see wildflowers either.  This was taken from the parking lot at Paradise, and these are the meadows that are usually full of wildflowers by this time.  And it wasn't even 50 degrees!  There were a few flowers, of course, confined to the narrow margins between snow and parking lot.  We saw sapphire lupine, bistort, a few heathers, pearly everlasting that was just beginning to flower, and one lonely ragged avalanche lily.

This year's wildflower "meadows"

I am, of course, exaggerating for effect.  There's this meadow, for instance.

At least we had a good breakfast at Longmire. Mmmm! I do love their breakfasts.