Thursday, May 31, 2012

I arrived at Mt. Rainier on 5/29 and reserved a very nice campsite just outside the southwest entrance of the park.  Only problem:  I was the only camper.  I had the whole campgrounds to myself and it got a little lonely.  The caretakers were a very nice elderly couple but kept to themselves.  I had no one to chat with and met no fun people. 


The park was an interesting combination of dramatic boulder filled river basins and snow capped mountains.  My first day there I drove Paradise Rd. to the lodge which is just about at 5300 ft. alt.  Not very high considering how much snow I encountered.  But the panoramic views were impressive.







I learned from a park ranger that it was still early in the season for this park which is why the park was relatively uncrowded.  The ranger said it was even still too early in the season to spot bears in the park.  I did notice that there were no "bear boxes" at my campgrounds.  It gave me a little pause for concern since I knew there were black bears in the vicinity.  It meant I had to store my food and scented items in my car and take a chance bears would try to get into my car.  Oh well better my car than my tent.

At the Paradise Lodge I stopped by the visitor center and gift shop.  There I spotted the not so elusive "chocolate" banana slug.  I longed to see the real creature roaming the park.  Perhaps tomorrow.