Mount Rainier National Park, Part 2

We left Alder Lake Park this morning and now we are home once again.  Our initial visit to this park was a success and we walked around the park this morning before we left in order to identify sites that we would prefer to reserve.

Yesterday’s blog about about our day trip to Mount Rainier National Park got too long, so I am continuing that post today.   Paradise Inn was the next place that we visited.  It had the rustic charm that we have come to expect from national park lodges.  The Inn is located across the parking lot from the visitor’s center.

After finishing our sightseeing in the Paradise area of the park, we had our choice of going to Ohanapecosh Visitor’s Center or back the way we had come to visit Longmire Visitor’s Center.  We chose to see new scenery and headed towards Ohanapecosh.  We will visit the Longmire historical area on another trip.  As we drove down the mountain from Paradise, we saw lots of snowbanks that hadn’t melted yet.

Below is a view of Mount Rainier with snow in the foreground.

One more view of Mount Rainier, including clouds.

During the drive down the mountain, we came upon this scenic view.  At Box Canyon, we went for a walk along the trail.

 

A natural tunnel.   At Box Canyon we were surprised by an unexpected view of  Mount Saint Helens.

Our final visit in the national park was to Ohanapecosh Visitor’s Center, which was smaller than we remembered, but had some nice displays.  We returned to Alder Lake Park via Highway 12.

This trip to Mount Rainier National Park makes nine national parks that we have visited so far this year.  And, yes, they are America’s treasure!