Washington State - Day 2 - Mount Rainier National Park

 Today we did a day tour to Mt. Rainier National Park.  Tours are not usually our thing, but I felt it would be the most efficient way to see the best of the park in one day.  I am so thankful we did.  Our tour guide, Joel, was wonderful. He is actually the general manager for the company so I feel we hit the tour guide jackpot.  He usually does tours to Olympic National Park, so an added bonus was that I could get some good info for exploring Olympic the next few days.

Our first stop was Longmire Visitor Center.  We bought a few stickers and the girls picked up junior ranger booklets.  We weren't planning on trying for badges at this park, but they were able to complete the booklets while on the bus and receive their badges at our last stop of the day.  I think this makes 15 badges!

Next, we stopped at Christine Falls located right off the mail road.  Joel told us to walk across the road and look straight down over the bridge and we would get a great surprise.  

We then stopped at Reflection Lake lake for a few photo ops with the mountain reflecting in the lake.  This lady was so cute.  She wanted pictures of the scenery but didn't want to be in them by herself, so she would grab one of the girls to pose with her.

Reflecting by Reflection Lake

Next we stopped at the Paradise Visitor Center.  We had about two hours here and Joel suggested several hikes we could do during this time.  The girls agreed that we should try the most challenging hike with the best views: The Skyline Trail to Panoramic Point.  This hike was short but steep!  We gained over 1100 feet in elevation in just 1.5 miles.  Our quads and gluts were on fire.  One hiker we passed said, "heart and lungs on the way up and knees on the way down."  I think I should make a t-shirt that says this.  

The wild flowers did not disappoint!

The scenery was magical.  I felt like a gnome or hobbit were going to join us at any moment.

We did not make it all the way to Panoramic Point as were worried we would not have enough time to get back to the tour bus at the scheduled time (one of the downfalls of a guided tour).  We made it to a look out with stunning views all around.  We could hear the glacier cracking and rumbling at one point.  Pure awe!

We could see Mt. Saint Helens!

I love my hiking people!  Lily takes a quick stretch and comments how great it feels so everyone tries it!

Mt. Rainier beer in front of Mt. Rainier!

Next we stopped at Narada Falls.  Thankfully this was a short .3 mile hike to get a spectacular view of the falls.

Lily looked below the falls and matter of factly said, "that is where the mermaids live."

Our final stop was a short .5 mile loop, Twin Firs Loop Trail, through an old growth forest.  I love a forest floor - so soft and spongy.  Joel was so knowledgeable about the forest life and vegetation.  The girls tried every kind of berry along the way.  

SE reminded us (about every 5 minutes) that hikes are harder for her because she is smaller.  I guess her little body was pretty tired. 

Once back at our hotel, with the help of Yelp, we picked the cutest little diner to try for dinner, the Champagne Diner.  We ubered to the Queen Anne district and ate fabulous burgers right next to a railroad.   The best part - they played old school rap.  LL Cool J and Queen Latifah.

We made it back to the hotel, took showers and passed out.  

Today I logged 17,562 steps, 8.2 miles and 100 flights climbed!