Mount Rainier: Alpine

We spent two nights at Mount Rainier with Grandpa.  The weather was glorious, the scenery awe-inspiring, the lodgings comfortable, the wildflowers in bloom.  Really nice trip.

We stayed at the Paradise Inn, up in the alpine part of the park.

Right outside the inn is an amazing bounty of wildflower meadows.  It's hard to show in a photo, but there were dozens of different shapes and colors.  They're not really supposed to be blooming in September - it's been a cool, late summer - but so much the better for us.

 Inside the inn, large painted ceiling lamps honor the native flora.

Outside again, you hike through the meadows on wide paved paths.  (Don't be a meadow-stomper!)  The mountain is an amazing presence.  We had perfect clear sunny weather every day.

There are waterfalls all over the area.  This is Myrtle Falls.

Our group spans a 67-year age range so we take the easy hikes.  One of the days, though, Dale and Jordan took off on their own for a more ambitious hike up the Skyline trail.  They went way, way up:  Jordan was very energetic, and for a bit there Dale wondered if he would be able to keep up with him.  Major pride at the top, and Dale thinks it may have been the best alpine hike he's ever taken.  They saw lots of marmots.