Saturday, May 31, 2008 Well. Today I found out why The Mountain is called Mount Rainier. That's because it was much rainier there than it was in Seattle. What a shame. This week we learned that Stevens Canyon road had opened for the season so we could hardly wait to drive through Mount Rainier National Park and see the sights. It rained intermittently. Fog drifted in and out. The clouds were low and hid much of The Mountain and there were no views in Reflection Lake because there was no lake - it was buried under mounds of snow. Still, it was nice to be out and about again.

We took a break at Skookum Falls and noted that ominous clouds were rolling in.   Here's good old Falls Creek waterfall, where I lost my wedding ring a few years ago.   A brave cyclist is dwarfed by one of the massive snowbanks beside the narrow road.   The horizontal line 2/3 of the way down the picture is the road we had just driven along.   Alas, this is all we could see of Mt Rainier. The clouds hid it very well indeed.   We decided to stop at the Visitors Center. It will soon be replaced by a more eco-friendly one.   Here's our lunch view today, at least when the fog lifted and the rain let up.   The view from the Observation Deck is usually spectacular. Today, not so much.   Another view through the Observation Deck windows.   Several rooms along the ramp to the Observation Deck contained exhibits.   There were examples of the wildlife in the area, like the black bear.   The roads on the lower slopes were covered with masses of Trilliums.   I always think of Ontario when I see them in bloom.   These three cuties were wandering down the road, oblivious to the traffic.   Soon we caught up with the three of them as they continued snacking.   I was able to get surprisingly close to them before they moved away.   Eventually they meandered off down the road, stopping traffic as they went along. Off we meandered too, home to Seattle.

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