Picked up the car at enterprise, drove to Mt. Rainier.I didn't realize it's just such a long way. we left around 9:30am, only arrived there around 1pm. The whole driving is about 300 miles.
the national park is beautiful as i expected, love those tall and straight pines. there are so many nice spots to stop and take pictures, only that we didn't have enough time, still got some snapshot of some rivers, falls on the road. As driving along the winding road, we always got chance to see the Mt. Rainier, friend said that's the super model, the whole park is mainly about her, all wer were doing was just take picture of her from all different angle. hehe.
finally we arrived at Paradise(5400 ft). it's nice to see the different color of those trees. we had a short hike to get a closer look of Mt. Rainier. it says the plants are fragile, people are suggested to say on the trail. Though it's chilly, still saw a group of people wear shorts and shirts running down the trail. on our way we saw a mom deer and her baby enjoying their day at the meadow.
before we enter the park, we asked if Sunrise was still open, since it's usually closed during winter time. Lucky the answer was Yes. next stop is Sunrise(6400 ft). Bypassed lots of lookout, scenic point, we arrived at Sunrise at sunset. the information office was closed and raven flying around. not many cars there, we saw the sunset brush the mountains with her golden shine, everything was so peaceful. so cold out there. wish the hike finished soon so can go back to the warm car, but the same time wish this moment stop, frozen as the ice on the ground.
There were so many trails, friend took me to the one which is said to have a good view of a lake. but after couple of minutes' walking, friend realized it's a wrong trail, so we had to gave up, but got to see Rainier even closer. there was always clouds around Rainier like a wig. we waited hoping it went away so we can get a good shot of Rainier but failed. we ended up with Rainier with wig.
before went to WA, googled about Mt. Rainier Nation Park, there are four loops in the park, had planed a route to finish all routes, but only then realized how impossible it was. eventually we finished only one loop, the loop #1(147 miles).
driving back home was kind of scary, it's dark, it's so long. when got back to friends' place, could not believe i made it. this is definitely some experience don't get on hawaii island: driving for around 300 miles for about 9 hours.
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