10/03/10: Day 10: Seattle to Vancouver, WA on a Rainier Day
I made a silly decision this morning. I thought it might be nice to go see Mt. Rainier, just outside Seattle. The forecast said, Mostly Cloudy. I'm a flatlander! How was I supposed to know? I expected to see a mountain under the clouds.
But we drove 9 hours completing almost a full circle around Mount Rainier National Park, including a drive up the mountain to the visitor's center. Even on the mountain, it was invisible.
One of the scenic overlooks in Mount Rainier National Park. I think they had the mountain down for cleaning.
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Here's the new Mount Rainier Visitor's Center, as seen from the closest handicapped parking spots.
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Ms. Jackson inside the Jackson Center. Just proving that it isn't the camera, but the view.
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We walked blindly over to find the old lodge in hopes of lunch.
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THe lodge itself is quite nice. And closing for the season tomorrow. We seem to be cutting it close all this trip!
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We also made it just under the wire before the dining hall closed after lunch.
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After lunch, we drove back down. This is the bridge to nowhere. It's actually over a nice glacier-fed river. I could hear it fairly well. But it only appeared faintly and occasionally down below.
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You may also note from the captions that this was not a completely successful venture. I was sad and dejected by the time we passed the Mount Saint Helens visitor's center (just after it closed) and headed on south to Vancouver, WA to stop for the night.