Monday, July 1 I have mentioned that we were camping among trees that were 1,000 years old. Today we took a hike on the Grove of the Patriarchs trail to view trees even 500 years older! At first we did not think the trees were bigger than in the campground – but the more we walked the bigger they grew. The trail was rough and stony in some places and smooth and easy in others. The trees reached 300 feet above and little sunlight came through the old forest canopy made up of Douglas Firs, Western Redcedars and Western hemlocks We reached a high swinging bridge over a river which cautioned one person at a time. There was a backlog plus a line-up on the other side. Some people risked crossing four at a time . . . speeding up the process! Across the river the trail leveled out and began a boardwalk loop trail. Here the trees were colossal and there were lots of stopping points for pictures as we followed the loop around. Finishing the hike, we drove back to pick up the pups and then headed for the Northeast area of the park and Sunrise Day Lodge – for totally different views of the Mountain from yesterday. Along the way, Tom couldn't resist adding a little White River glacial run-off to his water collection. It wasn't a very easy place to access! The water sample had a lot of silt, and was a murky grey color. The final 10 miles of the 30-mile drive took us up, up, up – another one of those cliff-side roadways that has you holding your breath. Just before the lodge there was a large viewpoint of Sunrise Ridge – 360 degrees of views. Down in the valley there was a beautiful lake. Two miles past that was Sunrise Lodge and Visitor’s Center. The surprise was the lovely alpine meadows that showcased the two Sunrise facilities . . . lush green meadows and wild flowers. Trails zigzagged through the meadows and we could see hikers far above. Flanking this vista .was a very massive Mt. Rainer . . . whose top was covered by clouds! We ate at the “snack shop” in the visitor’s center; the total for two cheeseburgers and chips and drinks was $30! We would have ordered one of the big cookies for dessert, but were afraid that would take the bill over $50! We looked over the exhibits in the visitor's center and focused in on this explanation of how fire and ice work to shape the mountain. Earlier in our drive up to Sunset we had stopped to get a picture of one of these unique rock formations. The National Park is very specific about where dogs are allowed, and we used a maintenance road to give them a little walk and break. When we saw people gathering and pointing, we put the dogs back in the car and joined them to watch a grazing bear and cub. Everything we read says she was probably a black bear . . . with a brownish color. We measured the distance back down to our campground by miles, altitude, and degrees in temperature, and we were back by 3:30! Rest-time, then back into town for a phone and wifi fix! For dinner Tom cooked hotdogs on our little Bio-Lite grill, and I made macarroni and cheese to go with!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |