We moved to a campground near Seattle. Time for chores and a little sightseeing before our Alaska cruise.

Beautiful campground but more chores for the guys.

We took time to visit Snoqualmie Falls (in light rain) and to Chateau Ste. Michelle winery.

Peonies!

Then back to camp to fix more things!  Cindy and I are so thankful for these guys who are so handy and can fix just about anything.  It helps that we have the same trailers and any problem one of us has, the other has probably dealt with.  And we can share extra parts that we carry.

We are off!

We spent the last few days in Mineral, Wa with John’s cousin, Bruce, his wife, Diane, and Aunt Delores. We had a great time. Free rv parking with 30 amp power and a peek-a-boo view of the lake from their yard.

Bruce even rolled out a huge amount of cable so we could have satellite tv. What a host!

John got to fulfill his dream of using a ride on lawnmower.  He doesn’t ask for much.

Hanging out on the front porch with Bruce’s wife, Diane.

The lake with Mt. Rainier in the background.

They took us to dinner at the tavern in town.  Even their dog, Wally, is welcome.

They went fishing on a pontoon boat. Came back with a nice stringer of fish.

Dinner in our trailer.

Thanks for your gracious hospitality.  And for letting me do laundry!

Then a short trip to stay in a casino parking lot (free!) with our Alaska traveling buddies.  When Mike and John get together, this is what they do.  Take things apart, fix things, and then try to put them back together.

We spent the last few days in Mt. Rainier National Park. As with North Cascades National Park, we didn’t get to do some of the things on my list because of snow. Maybe now we have an excuse to come back!

A view of MR (Mt. Rainier) on the drive there.

Trail of the Shadows walk with MR in the background.  Too short and easy to call it a hike.

That’s Skunk Cabbage on the side of the trail.  You can guess why.

I think this is Christine Falls.

Getting closer!

Narada Falls. The trail to a viewing area was not passable.  Too much snow.

B

More snow.

This is Reflection Lake.  It’s beautiful but in the summer you can see the reflection of MR in it.

It was such a blessing to coordinate our schedule to camp with friends from home!

They were here with a hiking group they belong to.  They hike way more long and gnarly hikes than we do.  But they invited us to join them on a hike that was long but flat.  The drive to the trailhead was beautiful, the hike was fun, and the company was the best!

Carol is one of my walking buddies at home so it was extra special to go on this hike together.

Trail ended (for us) at Packwood Lake.

Lunch time.

And then, just for fun. So much of what we do is so different from life at home. But this is just like home. Fixing dinner while watching Tucker when we have decent cell service.

This National Park is amazing!  Sorry for the number of pictures in this post but it was so hard to choose. ALL these pictures were in the National Park!

We had a camp site right along the beach. With our senior national park pass it was $7.50/night. No hookups but with that view, who cares?

There we are on the far right.

For the grandkids. Papa caught fish from the ocean.

Sunset from the trailer.

The next morning.

A dead gray whale on the beach. Thankfully, our campsite was upwind. It was huge!

Hike at July Creek in the Quinault Rainforest. These were giant trees that had fallen down. 80% of the trees fall down in high winds.

Hike on Maple Glade Trail in Quinault Rainforest.

It may be difficult to see, but many of these plants were growing totally submerged under water.  We’ve never seen anything like it.

Bunch Falls.

Lunch spot along the Quinault River.

Merriman Falls.  It was breath taking!

Drive on a gravel road.

Can’t remember the name of this trail but it was beautiful. That is a tree that has wrapped it’s roots around a fallen tree.  The fallen tree is called a nurse.

Words and pictures cannot tell how beautiful this National Park is. If you have the chance, come see it for yourself.

Maybe this is my favorite national park!  We took a hike to Hurricane Ridge. We heard that the views can be spectacular but it was pretty overcast. But it was still beautiful.

Narrow part of the trail. Yikes!

Walking through snow on the trail.

The view was still beautiful!

Hike through a rain forest to Marymere Falls.

Lake Crescent.

And another hike through a rain forest to Sol Duk Falls.  This was one of the most spectacular falls we’ve ever been to. There were three falls next to each other that converted into a narrow gorge covered with green moss and plants. Pictures don’t really do it justice.

And one more hike. We went through another rainforest to Madison Falls.  It wasn’t as spectacular as Sol Duc Falls but still impressive.

More adventures in Olympic National Park to come.  It’s hard to imagine that we will see any more beautiful sites than what we’ve seen these last two days.