Wayward Rambler

I Rate This Number Three

I am fascinated by waterfalls and have seen some of the world's best including Niagara and the Trummelbach Falls near Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland. Well the return journey from Paradise took us past the Narada Falls which were really impressive because we could get up close, hear a mass of water thunder by, become wet from rising spray, and admire some gorgeous scenery.

At the top of the falls we could the surrounding snow-capped mountains.

Melt-water rushes down to the top of the falls, and plunges over the lip of a gorge.

Spray arises from the foaming water, with Dot and Ella looking on.

Some other dudes admiring the scenery.

AS

Paradise Gained

So our party eventually arrived in Paradise, a tourist destination in the Cascade Range of Washington State. It was a nice spot, apart from a huge number of people and traffic jams! However, we had a picnic lunch out of doors and in hot and brilliantly sunny weather. No wonder the snow appeared to be melting fast. And the grand-kids had a lovely time throwing snowballs and building a snowman, while other parties took off up the snowy slopes to view the mountain from higher altitudes.

Rescue facilities

No room in the parking lot - cars were parked in various shades of legality way down the hill.

Mt. Rainier and the Paradise visitor centre.

Having lunch with a great backdrop.

Let's fight!

Recreation on the lower snow-bound slopes.

An awesome view of the Cascades.

The Road to Paradise

Yes, it's possible to reach Paradise on earth and, moreover, the journey matches the description. In short, the road to Paradise is very beautiful and exciting as it winds up from the Grove of the Patriarchs to the snow line beneath the towering mass of Mt Rainier.

Early in the journey we followed Stevens Canyon and you can see here a deep trench created by the Stevens Creek as melt-water tumbles down from the distant volcano amidst dense vegetation.

As we climbed upwards from Stevens Canyon, we had tantalising views of not just our target destination, Paradise itself, but also of a host of other snow-capped peaks.

Plunging slopes were festooned with dense vegetation of tall trees, but also bare patches where mud- or rock-slides had swept the vegetation away. This is a young landscape subject to immense volcanoc forces.

There are also many cascading waterfalls, though not as deep and fast-flowing as Stevens Creek.

And as we came closer to paradise several lakes came into view like these shown here. Louise Lake, not to be confused with its namesake in the Canadian Rockies was the first - and you can readily make out the bare rock face of the kind mentioned above.

And here's Reflection Lake which, in full summer reflects Mt Rainier beautifully. Alas, not today. The surface was caked with ice splitting up - hardly surprising with temperatures in the hight 20s (centigrade).

Dot and I pose for a photo with someone, or is it a robot, most readers will know!?

And shortly afterwards we reached Paradise, which lies close to the juncture between snow and forest just above my head in the last image. Isn't it wonderful how Mt. Rainier dominates this landscape. And Paradise is only 1647 m high (5400 feet), yet the top of the volcano is over 14,400 feet high, 9000 above Paradise itself. So that white cap is an immense piece of rock!

AS

Grove of Patriarchs

This post documents our first foray out of Packwood and into the mountains. Shortly after entering the Mt Rainier National Park and turning into the Stevens Creek Canyon, we stopped to take the Grove of the Patriarchs trail into the woodlands alongside Ohanapecosh Creek and towards stands of massive trees. It was billed as an easy trail and we thought it would be suitable for Ella and Flynn.

Well the walk was lovely, but had a sting in the tail. The bridge across the river to the Patriarchs was closed for repair and we had to make do with the trail up to that point ... perhaps two-thirds of the total. Still, it was a lovely walk as you can see below.