Day 64 (July 19) - Paradise

We got up a little bit earlier that yesterday.  Had pancakes with banana/strawberry topping and veggie sausage.  Jim made “cowboy coffee.”  Yummy.  Then we packed everything up to head to Paradise.  This is a different section of the park and was on our way out.  Brad and I left first because we needed to actually drive out of the park and gas up to make it all the way.  We met the Arnetts at noon.  On the way we all stopped at Reflection Lake (where I commented – before knowing the name – “It’s like a mirror!”).  It is one of the most photographed places in the park.  The lake was particularly still today and Mt. Rainier was perfectly reflected in the water.  Spectacular beauty!

We went on to Paradise and ate a picnic lunch.  The kids looked in the gift shop, explored the little museum and got their Jr. Ranger badges.  Then we took off on a hike.  This was a trail where Jim used to lead snowshoe hikes when he worked here 10 years ago.  I jokingly asked if we would need snowshoes.  He said no, but I’m thinking it wouldn’t have hurt!  We slipped a little climbing up and over the mounds of snow along the path.  The kids loved it!  Danna and I just tried not to fall.  Hiking in snow in July.  Who knew?  Back at the Visitor Center we watched the park film, which was great.  The kids wanted to play in the snow one last time before we said goodbye.  I’m not sure how the past three days have gone by so fast.  I can’t believe we are already going our separate ways.  We have enjoyed every second with our friends!  I think it would be fun and hard (lonely) to be a full time RV-er.  We have met several of them.  I love Brad, but it would be hard on me to not have a community.  (girlfriends!)  J  Maybe 6 months on/6 months off.  We’ll see.

Our plan was to leave Mt. Rainier and find a campground somewhere between there and Tacoma.  Wow – for several reasons.  First, we are so incredibly dependent on technology (i.e. iPhone).  We could not get a cell signal for MILES!  Boo AT&T!  So we were not really sure which direction to go.  When we finally did get signal, we discovered our options were quite limited.  We found a little place north of Puyallup that had one spot left.  They are a combo mobile home park and RV park.  The mobile home part was very nice and the RV part wasn’t bad.  The reviews were accurate about it being right next to a mulch business.  Mmmm.  And no picnic tables.  You know … I’m getting less picky and more flexible!  Showers and laundry and location and site were fine.  That’s the important part.  We met our nice neighbors from San Francisco.  They were up for a family reunion and had a beautiful (and silent) Siberian Husky/Lab mix dog with them.  All is well.
Paradise