Mt. Rainier

One of my first sights when flying into Washington in March was Mt. Rainier.  And one of the things that sold us on our new house was the view of Mt. Rainier.  And the thing that seems to loom on the horizon on every clear day is Mt. Rainier.  So what more appropriate place should we go on our first family adventure in Washington but Mt. Rainier!

Yes, we piled in the van on Saturday morning under cloudy skies and started the drive to the National Park.  It's technically only 50 miles from our hotel, but the only way to get there is on two lane roads so it took 1 1/2 hours.  But that was ok since the drive there is just as beautiful.

Welcome to Mt. Rainier National Park!

Once inside the park, the skies cleared and we drove to the first pull off for a look at the panoramic shot of the mountain and our first family photo. 

But this was not where we were going to go for a hike so we headed on down the road a little more to the Longmire area.

After a little picnic, we headed off to find the Rampart Ridge trail, which was described as being a 4.5 mile, moderately strenuous hike.  I think my kids might disagree with that description as the first part of the hike was 2 miles of up hill climbing, serious uphill climbing!  It took us almost 1 1/2 hours to hike that 2 miles, but it was beautiful!!!

On the flat at the beginning of the trail

Going up...

When we reached the top we had a couple of amazing views of the other mountains around, including Rainier. Very awe-inspiring.

Mt. Rainier

The next part of the trail was along the ridge line, which was great, except the kids were scared that a bear was going to attack.  And in all fairness, it was very bear-friendly looking land.  The thing that really freaked them out was when Stevie pointed out a tree that looked like it had been freshly clawed up by a bear.  And then he told Emmy and London to get in the middle of our hiking line so the littlest one couldn't get picked off from the rear!!!

After only a short mile of easy hiking, we were ready to start our descent through trees so big around we couldn't wrap around them as a family if we all held hands.  Amazing.

Back at the bottom, it was like being in an episode of Man vs. Wild when Bear Grilles finally finds civilization.  We ran to the road, hands raised high, yelling "We made it!"  No, seriously, I think we all enjoyed the hike, but I know we all will be very sore tomorrow!

On our drive home, we stopped for dinner at a local establishment along the road that was advertising elk burgers and wild board burgers.  That just seemed like something we needed to try, especially after our grueling hike.  I can say that elk burgers are really good, and so are deep fried green beans and pickles, another house specialty.

After filling our tummies, we returned to the hotel exhausted but happy about a great family day at Mt. Rainier.