I have a shameful confession to make. I’ve lived here 29 years and I’ve never visited Mt Rainier NP! Bob and I went through on one of our bike trips, but we were on the bike, and we didn’t stop.

Well, I finally fixed that. I drove up to Packwood in the rain Thursday, and Friday morning dawned clear and perfect. I was solo so I decided to hit a bunch of little trails instead of one big one.

The hot springs at Ohanapecosh, Silver Falls,

Grove of the Patriarchs,

Box Canyon,

Myrtle Falls. I hiked my poor tootsies off before I was done.

I entered the park at Steven’s Canyon and inched my way to Paradise, stopping liberally at each pull out and viewpoint. Every time I thought it couldn’t get better it did. Around every bend was some jaw dropping wonder to gawk at.

The fall color was just arriving at Paradise and the slopes of the mountain were vivid red and orange and gold. A fresh blanket of snow capped the mountain from a storm last week.

I will definitely not wait another 29 years to return!