Mt. Rainier National Park, WA

Ahhhhhh, the farm life. I was up with the roster and chickens! These farmers were on the job early, as farmers are. I made it to Mount Rainier National Park, in about an hour, and proceeded to locate camping.

It's a Monday, and when I inquired about camping at White River Campground, they told me they had over 90 spaces available! Yay, another sweet score! I'm inside the park, right next to the White River, listening to the rapids flow, and can view the snow capped foothills of Mt. Rainier from the Sylver Gypsy.

I took the 10 mile ascent towards the Sunrise Visitor's Center. The road was actually a pretty easy drive, not as many switch backs, and not quite as steep as I was expecting it to be. The elevation is 6400' at this location. It was 49°. After a quick visit to the visitor center, I stopped here and there with walks to try to capture the peak of Mount Rainier, when the clouds were minimal. I got some great views, and was very lucky that the sun was out today, so I could see the summit! As I write this, the clouds are starting to roll back in. I was at this park 19 years ago, but not at this particular location. I hope to make it through the southern portion of the park tomorrow.

I decided to find a comfortable spot along the White River and took the time to so admire this gorgeous view. I drew a pen sketch in my sketchbook, the first one of these travels. It helps me to really find, and observe the glorious details of this breathtaking landscape!







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