Mount Rainier National Park

From the moment I arrived in Puyallup, I've wanted to go to Mount Rainier National Park. Today I got that chance! It's only 43 miles from my door to the entrance to the park, and the drive is beautiful. I knew that Puyallup is on the edge of the Seattle metropolitan area, but it really is only 5-10 miles south of me that there's farmland. Well, at least hobby farms with big yards that have horses. The fall colors along the drive were wonderful.

I knew that it was supposed to rain today, but when I was getting ready this morning, there was a little sun peaking through, so I thought I might be lucky. Well, as I was driving, the sky got really gray and the rains started. I contemplated turning around, but quickly decided that I'd keep going, because there's always stuff to see and I'm not about to let a little rain stop me! The closer I got to the park, the more fog was around and I knew I wouldn't get to see any of the mountain.

At the Longmire Visitor's Center I heard it was snowing along the route to the bigger Visitor's Center at Paradise. A few people were turning around, but I'm from Minnesota and I wanted to test out my new 4-wheel drive! It turned out to be snowing quite a bit (some pictures didn't turn out because of all the snowflakes in the way!) but was warm enough to just have slush on the road, not ice.

Even with all the fog and snow, it really was an incredible day. Very beautiful all in its own right. I didn't get to see the stuff I imagined (like the mountain!) when I thought about going to the park, but I'm so glad I got to see what I did. Now I'm just waiting for a clear day to go back again! I purchased that National Park Pass so now I can get into any National Park without paying any more for one year, along with anyone else that's in a car with me. So, let me know when you want to tag along!

An update for this weekend is that I'm going to head to the Women's Retreat for the LB's Pacific Northwest district! I'll work Thursday night, then sleep for a little on Friday. Then, the retreat is Friday through Sunday at a camp on the western peninsula, so I'll just head out on my trip from there! This will be a GREAT way to spend some time with friends, and I'll still get to see what I wanted to! Thanks for all the fun tips on stuff to see. I'm still not exactly sure just what I'll do, but I'll be sure to post pictures and let you know what I decided!