What you don't get

At the Paradise Inn Lodge in Mount Rainer National Park there is a lot you don't get with your room. Quite a ways before you arrive up near the top of the volcano you lose any cell phone reception. It goes without saying there is no wifi. Can you even imagine an entire day during which you see absolutely NOT ONE PERSON talking on a cell? No checking email or Facebook for ANYBODY! When you look around, this is all you see and it literally takes your breath away (you don't get much oxygen at this elevation anyway).


The peak of Mount Rainer is over 14,000 feet. It is one of the five tallest peaks in the contiguous US. Yes, it is a volcano and it is not especially dormant. It is simply awe inducing. Magical and mystical and fierce too. The least amount of snow ever recorded in a winter here was 26 feet. I think 96 feet is about average. Hard to imagine. They say this lodge we stayed in is almost completely buried in snow each winter, just the tip of the roof showing. Right now the weather is spectacular. Sunny and cool. I think that might be a Bigfoot sighting down there at the bottom of the photo.



Well, back to what you don't get. Our room is in "the annex" which was built in 1920 or so. The sink in the bathroom is the old school stand alone type with the "cold" spigot on one side and then the " hot" about a foot away on the other. This makes getting pleasingly warm water an impossibility. It goes without saying there is no air conditioning. Instead you get the wonderful wooden windows you raise and hope you don't fall out gaping at the view. Conveniently they have supplied screens you can try to fit in there to hold the window up and keep things from flying in. I am truly loving the rustic nature of it all. It is a great experience. Also there is no elevator and a ton of stairs so pack light peoples!



There are no kids here, except for the random toddler and their intrepid parents. It is pretty much the over 60 set and the young hikers and campers in their 20s. Maybe a few French folks scattered in for good measure.
There are no beer parties here since one bud light cost $5. Entertainment is of the make your own type. They do have a guy who plays piano in the main lodge in the evenings. They have board games for check out. We played scrabble up on the mezzanine level of the lodge.






We found that at high altitudes spelling is very challenging and there were no dictionaries so there was a lot of arguing. I still say that as soon as I get cell service I can prove beyond a doubt that "hew" is a word. To make it even more taxing on our oxygen starved brains, Margaret is of the opinion you should keep score with sticks and hash marks.
We did some hiking around and were treated to gorgeous wildflowers, gushing waterfalls, and splendid views. These pictures really can't do Mount Rainier justice. It is simply a delightful place.

One of several glaciers on the mountain.




Where the glacier has passed there are streams of milky water containing powdered rock. You can't really see the stream in this photo but it is easy to see where the glacier passed!




Lots more later.

Location:Mount Rainer Washington