Mt. Rainier: A Scenic Detour

With Ruth at Girl’s Camp, I got to spend some time with Magnus. And since we had to go pick Ruth up at camp, so I could go to work the next day, we decided to take the scenic route. So, Elina, Magnus and I went to Mt. Rainier NP.

 

 

Since we didn’t have the whole day we only made a few stops. We spent the most time at Paradise. There was still a lot of snow, enough that it was difficult to find a picnic table that wasn’t buried. We also visited the new visitor center at Paradise. Magnus really liked the animal displays.

We decided to hike to Myrtle Falls, even though the trail was covered in several feet of snow.

When we got to the falls, you couldn’t even see the creek. Only the waterfall was not covered, so it looked like it just came out of the snow.

We also got to see some marmots:

Here we are with the mountain.

A glacier (I love the color of glaciers and ice):

And Myrtle Falls:

Next we stopped by Reflection Lake and another view point:

The last stop was Grove of the Patriarchs. Magnus wanted to walk the whole suspension bridge.

By some of the big trees:

We then made it to Girl’s Camp and found Ruth.

Good times…

A Seattle-y Anniversary

Our 6 year anniversary was July 8th so we celebrated a day early by going to Seattle.

Our first stop was at the Klondike Historic Site in the historic district of Seattle. It had displays and stories about people who came through Seattle before going up to find gold in the Klondike. Magnus had fun running around and standing on the scale to discover his weight in gold. (If you look close on the screen above Magnus’s head, you can find out what he’s worth).

Next we made our habitual stop at the Salmon Cooker and had some smoked salmon. It was very busy but we still found a table.

On the pier next door they have installed a Ferris wheel. The line was very long (and the ride expensive) so we didn’t go up, but we liked standing next to it and enjoying the view. It was very clear and you could see the Olympic range across the water.

Magnus also enjoyed this fountain and had to tell us all about it.

After lunch we all made the “hike to Pike.” Again, it was very crowded (more so than we have ever seen it) but we all had a good time.

They painted the Space Needle orange for its 50th anniversary. Apparently this is the original color. Go figure.

Then we made a stop at Larsen’s Bakery and met our friends, Jordan, Caroline, and Noah. We ate some tasty pasties and Magnus picked out a cookie for himself.

We took our friends up to a park on Queen Anne hill and enjoyed the view. We also got to play in a park just down the hill.

 

After dinner (and a difficult drive through construction and traffic – Sorry, Hulets!) we made it back to their house and Magnus got into pajamas. Magnus also got a chance to play with Buster, who played nicely with him.

Thanks for the fun times!