Road Trip 2014 {Mount Rainier National Park}

On June 11th we visited Mount Rainier National Park.  We had stayed in Yakima, Washington and from there we took Hwy 12 into the park.  The views were stunning entering the park from the East.  We couldn't have asked for a better day to view Mount Rainier.  Mark and I visited the park in 2004, and we didn't see the mountain like we did on this last visit.  It was breathtaking.

This view was from a stop just before we entered the National Park.

This is the entrance near SR 123.

We took the short Grove of the Patriarchs trail to view the old growth forest.  We saw enormous fir and cedar trees. 

Can you see Will and Ben?

So big!  It looks like they are trying to hold up the tree.

We had to cross this bridge over the Ohanapecosh River.

At the Paradise Visitor Center the boys had their National Park Passports stamped.  This is the first year that Will has really gotten into collecting the stamps for his passport.  He and his aunt (who loves National Parks too) compare their stamps.  We started collecting the stamps back in 2010. 

The view of from the Paradise Visitor Center.

Will and Ben could have played for a long time in the snow.  They loved it!  

It looks like it'd be really cold.  Our light jackets were helpful, but it was sunny so you can see that Mark isn't wearing a jacket in the photo above, and he wasn't too cold.  

Getting ready to take the short hike to Narada Falls.

This is really cute!

Looking for woodland creatures living in the tree.

Narada Falls behind our family.

Will was going to see how cold the water felt in the stream.  It's really cold!

More scenes from the park.

We couldn't believe how much snow was on the ground in parts of the park.

View of Rainier from Reflection Lake

More amazing views

I'm thankful for the opportunity to see this park and share it with my family.  

It really was an amazing day.

If you missed my first Road Trip 2014 post, it's here.

Don't forget to check out my road trip secrets at Unexpected Elegance.