Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Great Memories of Mt. St. Helens & Mt. Rainier

We are at home and safe and sound after our 14 day trip.  Mr. Airstream figured out the mileage for the trip and we drove 5323 miles and used 490 gallons of gas!  Priceless!I did want to share some of the memories we had at Mt. St. Helens.  As for most of our trip, it was raining for our visit to Mt. St. Helen's and had snow at the visitor center.  We were determined, though to learn many facts about the volcano and check everything out.  Fortunately, they had a wonderful movie that ended with a view of the volcano from behind the screen.  Even though we couldn't see the very top, the view was fantastic.  While there, the older kids completed the Jr. Ranger Program and got a wonderful folder, postcard, and badge.  The Junior Ranger activities were a little difficult, as they had changed the exhibits, but not the questions, so some of the answers, the kids had to scramble to complete.We spent another rainy day at Mt. Rainier.  We thought for sure that we had seen snow on Mt. St. Helen's but weren't able to get to the top of the mountain because of all the snow.The Junior Ranger program at Mt. Rainier was much more fun and doable for the kids this time.  All of the kids were able to complete the program with some help from Mom & Dad.  One of the activities that we had to do was a hike.  Because of the rain, we only jumped out of the car and ran down to Christine Falls to take a photo and then jumped back in the car to warm up!At the Paradise Visitor Center, we were able to experience over 10 feet of snow and a beautiful facility.  There were skiers and hikers who had been trying to get to the summit all week, but to no avail yet.  They only made it to 10,000 feet of the 14,000 total feet.  Not my idea of a great time, but hey, we were amazed with their ability to try and stay overnight at on the mountain in such lousy weather.Later in the week, we did get a glimpse of the top of the Mt. Rainier.  We snapped a photo quick while it was clear.  Stayed tuned for more updates of our trip.

4 comments:

  1. 10.86 miles to the gallon... that is better than my old truck got.

    In the summer of 1990 I hike all the way around Mt Rainier on the Wonderland Trail. It took us 11 days and we went as high as 12,000 on the mountain. It rained four days straight and nothing was dry by the second day. We saw a few bear, countless marmots, and a few naked hippies communing with nature. It was the experience of the life time.

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  2. Uncle Bill and Aunt MaryJune 2, 2010 at 4:41 PM

    The last time I saw Mt. Rainier was from the air on my way from SeaTac to Chicago. I think I have a picture of it somewhere, but one of my cameras was stolen and I'm not positive I took the picture, except in my mind. That's unforgettable! All I could see was the peak above the clouds. Probably the prettiest mountain I've ever seen.

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  3. I'm glad that you enjoyed our beautiful state. Have you read all of my blog posts about the 9,000 mile trip that we took in August and September? We visited 17 states, with our camping trailer, and our kids did the Jr. Ranger program at 9 National Parks and Monuments. It was wonderful!

    Laurel

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