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!

Wind Turbines Near Ellensburg

Dave left bright and early this morning at 7 am to attend his football officials camp at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.  A friend picked him up, so I had the car all day.  I discovered that there was a wind turbine visitor’s center nearby.  I am fascinated by the giant wind turbines.  The Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility is located about 16 miles east of Ellensburg, along the Old Vantage Highway.  This museum is run by the Puget Sound Renewable Energy Center.  PSE’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility is the largest privately owned wind energy facility in the Northwest.  PSE’s Hopkins Ridge in Dayton, WA, is the second largest.  Together, the Wild Horse and Hopkins Ridge Facilities generate enough energy to serve approximately 100,000 homes.  Set on a ridge above the Kittitas Valley, PSE’s Renewable Energy Center offers up-close views of the wind turbines and solar arrays, as well as the Cascade mountain range.  I saw Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and a tiny bit of Mount Hood.  Below is a picture looking towards the west at Mount Rainier. Located at 3,500 feet of elevation on Whiskey Dick Mountain, Wild Horse is a place of extreme weather.  Temperatures range from 0 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with maximum recorded wind gusts exceeding 90 miles per hour. This turbine blade looks small in the picture, but up close it’s huge!

The visitor’s center doesn’t charge admission fees and is open to the public from April through November.  It offers Wild Horse visitors a first-hand look at how energy can be made from the wind and the sun, as well as Central Washington’s natural and cultural history. 
An early windmill contrasted with today’s version. Solar panels at the visitor’s center.