Oct 5 - Mt. Rainier

We left Olympia, Washington, heading to Mt. Rainier, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states. Although we left rather early, it took longer than we expected because we went through several miles of “city” streets with stop lights. It was lunch time before we entered the park. We were headed to “Paradise Point” which has a wonderful view of the summit. There were several signs giving directions to Paradise Point before we entered the park. Then before we entered the park we saw a sign on a small country church that read – “The only way to paradise is by GRACE!” AMEN! On our way up, we stopped at Narada waterfall. There was a ¼ mile walk down to the bottom which was NO problem. Coming back up was more of a challenge but it was really worth it. Then we stopped to view what we thought was a river bed. In fact it was a glacier bed. The Nisqually Glacier flows from the summit of Mount Rainier. That rock bed is actually a debris-strewn path that comes from the glacier. Mt. Rainier has 26 NAMED glaciers! As we got to Paradise Point it was evident that the summit of Mt. Rainier was in the clouds. We had been told that you rarely see the summit. Even so, it was a magnificent view. As we started down the other side, we saw this extremely deep valley and just had to stop and make a picture. Looking back at the mountain, we realized the clouds had moved and summit was exposed. BEAUTIFUL! As we left the park we spotted a small herd of Lamas – we can’t figure why anyone would raise lamas. Then we drove by this tree and flower farm. The flowers were in full bloom – do you think this is where Wal-Mart gets their flowers? Of course we ended the day with another sunset. This one was in Kelso, WA. Our God is a wonderful artist, painting the mountains, valleys, and the sky for our enjoyment! Another great day.