Vacation Slides Woohoo (Part 2)

On Monday morning, we were up early to make the trek to Mount Rainier. The 14,000 foot peak towers 8,000 feet above the surrounding terrain, so it is visible clearly from Seattle, as well as much of the state of Washington. We drove to the southwest entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, which is called the Nisqualy Entrance. We stopped at the National Park Inn, which was built in 1920 as people started to flock to the new Park. The 25 room rustic inn has a beautiful view of the mountain and a nice dining room where we ate lunch before starting up the steep road to Paradise. The road features countless pullouts and overlooks as well as trails to explore.

Around 6 p.m., we arrived at the splendid Paradise Lodge in the Paradise area of the National Park. At 5,400 feet, there was still several feet of snow on the ground and al of the trails were snow covered. In fact, one person had died on a snow covered trail the week before. We visited the Paradise Visitors Center to learn about the history of the Park and Lodge. The 70s era Visitors Center is being replaced by a more traditional and energy efficient building that will open next year. Played until 7:30 and showed up in time for a great dinner in the dining room, which looks much as it did when the Lodge was built in 1916. Temperatures were in the 30s that night and an open window provided natural air conditioning and a great night’s sleep.

Tuesday morning dawned foggy and cold with visibilities less than 50 feet. We waited for the fog to lift and enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the dining room. We started down the mountain around 9:30 a.m., bound for Mount St. Helens.

Stopped back at the National Park Inn, we hiked the interpretive meadow and old growth forest Trail of the shadows, seeing lots of wildlife, including several deer. From there, we left the National Park and turned south to connect to the highway to the Mount St. Helens volcano, which erupted violently on May 18, 1980.

I knew a little about the eruption, but was amazed to learn about just how big it was, how it affected the region and people. There was quite a bit of advance warning, but scientists did not expect the ferocious explosion, massive landslide and catastrophic mudflows and floods from melted glacial ice. A massive 200 foot tsunami was generated on Spirit Lake when the landslide plunged into the lake. A 30-60 foot wall of mud, rock and timber rushed down the Touttle River. Many people way downstream were caught unaware by the early morning floods. Fifty seven people were killed.

We spent time at the Johnston Ridge Visitor Center, named for the NPS scientist who was monitoring the volcano that fateful warning. His last words were broadcast by radio as he realized what was happening, “Vancouver, Vancouver, this is the big one!”

We traveled back down the mountain and along the gorgeous Columbia River as we headed toward Astoria, the oldest settlement west of the Mississippi River. We crossed into Oregon on a neat ferry and had dinner on the water front. Astoria is a neat city that harkens back to its roots as an important port and canning center. The Maritime Museum there is one of the best museums I have ever visited. After checking out the beautiful Victorian homes from the city’s heyday in the 1920s, it was off to explore the gorgeous Oregon Coast.

View the photos with captions here…

Or check them out on Flickr.

Category: Pre-November 2010 Posts