America the Beautiful!

Two days – one AMAZING place!

Mount Rainier! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Our campground is about an hour from Mt. Rainier National Park, and the area is beautiful! The campground is on a lake and we are out in the woods amongst nature again while we enjoy our trailer!

After a few hours of driving, setting up camp, and relaxing for the rest of the day, we went to bed, excited about seeing Mount Rainier the next day!  We had two days of exploring ahead of us!

Mount Rainier is the center of the nation’s fifth national park.  At 14,410 feet, the mountain is the tallest volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range and the most glaciated peak in the United States.  Glaciers flow down the rocky slopes, and on the summit steam escapes from deep within the mountain – it is still an active volcano!

In the spring the snow melts and flowers bloom and ferns come alive! Summer may only last two months and in July and August there are areas that are carpeted with wildflower displays!  Roads and buildings were designed nearly 100 years ago!  There are massive logs and huge river boulders almost everywhere you look!  We spent the two days enjoying ALL of this beauty!

I’m going to let the photos and videos do most of the talking in this post!  It’s so hard to describe and you just need to see it!

Our first stop after entering the national park was a rocky area with a small river running through it.   Here it is:

We then headed on up the mountain to the Paradise Area of the park (SO perfectly named!)  We hiked several trails and had a picnic lunch!

 

But the best part of the day was a surprise for us – there was a ceremony to swear in ELEVEN new American citizens!!!  We were so excited to be there for it, and felt blessed to see it!  Especially with the mountain as the backdrop to the ceremony!  There were several countries represented, including Japan, India, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, China and South Korea!  It was a proud moment for all of us as Americans, and the joy and tears from the new citizens was amazing!

After such a wonderful day, we ended it with a campfire and a re-cap of the awesome day we had!

Our second day in the park took us to another area with more hikes, waterfalls, forests, a picnic lunch and of course, the mountain!

This day’s hike was through a forest, with lots and lots of trees and a bubbling spring, an old cabin and just the most amazing scenery!! The smell of the fresh, cool air was so refreshing, and we all talked about it as we walked!  Enjoy!

HERE’S A LITTLE GUY OUT FOR A STROLL ALSO!

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After hiking a bit, we headed off to see Reflection Lake, which is SUPPOSED to have a reflection of Mount Rainier in it – however…as the morning wore on, the clouds approached…so we did NOT get to see the reflection of the mountain, BUT the lake is still beautiful and we are glad we stopped!

 

After a nice picnic lunch, we headed back down towards home, and as we drove down the mountain road, we saw a bridge over a waterfall, and decided to pull over to check it out – AND ARE WE GLAD WE DID!!!

I don’t even think it had a name, but it turned out to be one of the best ones we have seen!  Every one of us was amazed by it!  Enjoy this too!

ENJOY THIS AMAZING  SOUND WITH US!

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I hope you have enjoyed this collection of photos and videos – and I hope it all captures the beauty and majesty of Mount Rainier and our country!    It really IS  America the beautiful!

UNTIL NEXT TIME…