Mt. Ranier

August 17, 2012    Mt. Ranier

This was a very long day full of beautiful and inspiring vistas!  Mt. Ranier National Park is very well laid out and very interesting.

The trail at Ohanapecosh

We started our visit by stopping at the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center in the southeast corner of the park.  As always, the center was very helpful in planning our trip through the park.  We also took a hike there which took us through old-growth forest and past some hot mineral springs coming from the volcano.

Hot springs at Ohanapecosh. 

Barb and a 1,000 year old log.

Hiking the Grove of the Patriarchs

A little further down the road we hiked through the Grove of the Partriarchs--a very memorable hike.  Towering Douglas firs and Western red cedars, some more than 25 feet in circumference and over 1,000 years old create an outdoor wonderland.  A young boy of 9 or 10 years old that  we met there said to Gary, "Have you felt the power of the trees?"  And indeed we did feel it.   What a neat thing for a kid to say!

Looking up

Old burled wood 

Good advice.  

Suspension bridge in the Grove

 We continued on the spectacular drive through the park, stopping for the jaw-dropping views at Backbone Ridge and Box Canyon, which is only 13 feet wide but is 180 feet deep!

Box Canyon

Box Canyon

Avalanche area

Paradise Visitor Center was very crowded, but the meadow which surrounds it was gorgeous with hundreds of wildflowers everywhere.  The area received its name from an early visitor who, when she first saw it exclaimed, "This must be what Paradise is like!"


Our next stop was at Narada Falls which drop 168 feet over a wall of basalt.  During the winter the falls freeze and become 150 feet of icicles!

Narada Falls

The Side Track Restaurant

We exited the park on the southwestern side and drove to the tiny town of Elbe to take a ride on the "Mt. Ranier Scenic Railroad.   Before boarding the train, we ate a late lunch/early dinner at  The Side Track, a diner built out of old railroad cars.

Our steam engine.  

The open car

The conductor arrives

The train was pulled by a steam engine with a very loud and entertaining whistle.  We went from Elbe to Mineral and back through the foothills of Mt. Ranier with a stop at Mineral Lake.  There was an open train car right behind the engine, two old passenger cars, and a "dining car" that sold snacks and drinks.  The open car was fun, but you got covered in ashes from the engine!

Barb and Gary on the train

Our engineer

Bucket list!

At Mineral Lake you could actually get into the engine with the engineer, but it was so hot there you didn't want to stay very long.

It was a long drive back to the RVs, but it was a great day.  We were all tired, but it was worth it.