It's a Wash

After a night in Astoria, Oregon we went to Fort Clatsop - part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Site. We arrived early, in time for the re-enactors dressed in buckskins to raise the fifteen star and stripe flag. One mentioned that they needed a bugle for the event and I told him that I had one sitting in the car. I ended up playing Star Spangled Banner while they raised the flag.



After enjoying the fort (Lisa wants to build one at the orchard) we went through the museum and headed into Washington for an all-American lunch in Longview. We got pie to go!

Our next stop was at the Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center. We could barely see the mountain through the clouds, but bought admission to the museum. Watching the movie inside, we were awed by the instant change that occurred during the mountain's eruption and the resulting mudslides. We ate our pie in the parking lot; it’s important to be prepared.

We headed to Mount Rainier National Park and were lucky to get one of the last campsites available for the evening at the Cougar Rock Campground. Our evening was leisurely as we built a fire and made peach cobbler over it.



Waking up early the next morning, we headed to Paradise (that’s actually the name of the area in the park). We got some excellent views of the mountain while we hiked to see Myrtle Falls. We were lucky to get a clear morning at Mount Rainier because some visitors don’t get to see the peak!



We hiked to Nisqually Glacier for a view of one of the many glaciers coming down from the snow-pack on the peak. It was amazing to see the boulders held within and the river cutting through a crevice below the ice.



We’re Seattle-bound for the afternoon, hoping to spend this evening in North Cascades National Park.