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Washington National Parks

Mount Rainier National Park

9/5/1986 Drive to and through Mount Rainier National Park. Picnic lunch in park.

A view on the way in

A feathered friend

The visitor center

A nice view across the lake

Why they call it Reflection Lake

Close-up of the glacier

8/29/2004 Weather at this point was almost all overcast, but with occasional spots of blue, and rumors of a decent afternoon, so decided to head for Mt. Rainier [NP and NHL]. Picked up some Starbucks and snacks, then hit the back roads to the park. By the time we hit the park, the skies had cleared to a crisp blue, with warm temps – a gorgeous day. Stopped at a number of vistas to enjoy the stunning mountain and glaciers. At the visitor center had a burger lunch then took a 1.2 mile hike (minus Dad) down to a beautiful closer view of the Nisqually Glacier. The weather could in no way be better. Back in the center, shopped and saw a very good film. Back in the car a little ways to Reflection Lake. A little cloud that formed just on Rainier for a while and wind on the lake prevented the classic photos, but we did have fun feeding some birds, including one that landed on my thumb and ate out of my hand. From there back in the car for the long scenic drive back.

The park entrance sign

Me, Mom and Ken

A spectacular view on a great day

The family (minus photographer Ken)

Nisqually Glacier

My friend at Reflection Lake

North Cascades National Park

9/12/1986 Drive to and part way through North Cascades National Park [and Ross Lake NRA] to Washington Pass. Picnic "lunch" - white bread! Snack at Hidden Inn, Diablo Lake.

A pretty waterfall

Diablo Lake

Rugged peaks

5/29/2010 … then drove north about 45 minutes to Chelan. Boarded a ferry (the faster of the two available) at 8 for an 8:30 departure. Packed full with holiday people and camping equipment, especially after the first stop to add more. Spent about 2 ½ hours cruising up Lake Chelan on a beautiful day – clouds and blue sky. The views uplake to the Cascades were fantastic. Early on there were houses, (WA) apple orchards and civilization, but that soon died away – there are no roads to Stehekin, our destination. Hung out at the open rear upper deck, enjoying the day. At Stehekin (in Lake Chelan NRA)[and also North Cascades NP], disembarked for a short stay, unfortunately. Check out the LC Visitors Center, where a number of folks were getting camping/hiking instructions. Picked up a salad lunch at the restaurant, and walked the Lakeshore Trail just a bit. Had to re-board a little after noon, but this time there were very few people. In fact, after two stops, there were only three total, with me all alone on the upper deck! Really enjoyed the long cruise back, looking at the mountains near to both sides of the deep channel lake (3rd deepest in North America). Near Chelan, lots of PWC guys came out and were trailing the ferry, jumping the wakes.

The view of our destination

The park sign

My ride

Me on the way back

Quite a view

Olympic National Park

5/23/1998 Picked up Subway sandwiches, then west to the Storm King area of Olympic NP. After eating lunch, took a 1-½ mile hike to Marymere falls. The walk was through incredibly lush forests with huge trees and moss-like hairy stuff hanging all over. Many trees grow out of the fallen logs and stumps of dead ones. The air smelled like pine incense. Weather was overcast and cool. The last bit of the hike was steep uphill but ended at very pretty falls. A really enjoyable hike. Back to Port Angeles, and drove about 20 miles up to Hurricane Ridge. Some rain clouds as we drove up, not expecting to see anything - wrong! At the top, surrounded by snow were incredible views of the surrounding Olympic mountains. Took a walk around the alpine meadows, saw deer close up - really great. Part way back down took another hike up Kanahhane Ridge, beautiful here too.

The park sign

Me strolling through the rain forest

Lush undergrowth

Marymere Falls

Hurricane Ridge

Some new friends