[mobike008]

Day trip to Mt, Rainier National Park, Washington(September 14th 2024)

We had just returned last week from a hectic trip to Whistler, Canada. Photoblog here :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5846213 (Tesla Model 3 Performance & Toyota Highlander go to Whistler, Canada for the weekend!)

And, this weekend the plan was to show my classmate around who was visiting us from Singapore. Yeah, he works for MSFT and came for a meeting to Dallas and flew down to Seattle for the first time on a personal trip to meet me and another classmate.

Stayed with us for the long weekend and as a host, it was my duty to show him around and we hit quite a few places.

I hosted dinner at my place and invited another classmate (he too works for MSFT) over and in return he invited us home the next day. Whew! Too much of partying.

The Saturday was planned to show him the pride of our state- Mt. Rainier National Park. I asked BHPian Crackhead who immediately said yes and joined us in his beautiful yellow Porsche Boxter along with his little kiddo.

My neighbour and pal who too is a auto enthusiast (same fella who keeps buying cars in bulk…lol) said he will drive with us till the gate and drive back as he had other commitments for the day. Imagine the craziness, just drive 200 miles and turn back. Well, I like folks who are crazy. Normal folks really don’t gel well with me. LOL!!

The plan was to leave home at 9:00am and return by 6:00pm as I was hosting dinner at my place in the evening and expecting my other classmates and other guests.

We enjoyed the beautiful drive and my visiting friend being a photographing enthusiast was blown by the beauty of Washington and took tons of pictures (well, he was coming from Dallas and he said that place does not even resembles US anymore). Being an outdoor lover, he was sinking in the sights.

After a 2 hour drive, We reached Paradise which is the main place in Mt. Rainier . I was surprised to see the views as we are so used to seeing Mt. Rainier always covered with lots of snow and I can’t believe my eyes that we were here in June 2024 and within 3-months this place resembles something else.

This time around the views were of beautiful oncoming of Fall so the colors of the trees were slowly changing. In another month, this place would be bursting with colors as all trees would be lush red, orange and yellow.

We decided to do a 3 miles (roundtrip) hike to a waterfall and something happened that never happened in my so many visits to Rainier.

We spotted a family of Bears (4-5 of them along with cubs) climbing up the mountain. They were at a distance but, we could see them clearly and unfortunately, not capturable via. Phone camera.

While hiking back, we also spotted a couple of fearless deers right by the trail enjoying their lunch even though there was so much human traffic on the trail.

Crackhead decided to head out early as he too had commitments. Me and my friend spent an hour more enjoying the sights and walking more and visiting nearby sight seeing spots.

We left Paradise around 4:00pm and took the slightly longer route as it cuts through mountains and thick forests where I wanted to enjoy the BMW to the hilt.

Enroute, we stopped for a quick burger lunch before reaching home by 6:30pm.

My classmate enjoyed the day and still pings me saying that day was the highlight of his US trip.

Cheers to Classmates and Outdoors. Enjoy the Pics of our day trip !!

Our Day trip route.





Elbe, Washington. Just before entering Mt. Rainier National Park. Our Tesla friend made a U-Turn from here due to other commitments. Crazy. eh?



3 Musketeers.





My classmate from Singapore.



Entering the park.



Mandatory stop here for a picture.





Parking lot. It's so strange to see the mountains without snow. That's how it will be 10/12 months of the year. So I guess, a nice change.





Our Hike begins here....







Deers enjoying lunch right by the trail. Fearless...huh?















Hiked till this point- A beautiful waterfall..

[mobike008]

Totally enjoyed the time time spent at Mt. Rainier National Park. Air was crisp, sun was out and was pleasant at around 10C.

The trail was beautiful with trees changing color and plenty of wild berries along the way adding to the overall color.

Colorful trees lined along the trail. These disappear during winters as they will be fully covered by snow and we walk on them. Unbelievable, isn't it?







There are tons of hikes here. Starting from 3 miles to 20+ miles. People are going up and I assume they are doing one of the longer ones.



Reflection Lake







A few close ups from the iPhone 15 Promax.

[mobike008]

A few pictures of the absolutely fabulous route back from Mt. Rainier which is a 20 miles additional detour but, I always like to take this route back due to this route.

This route lasts for about 30 miles and then comes the thick forest for about 50 miles which is also an absolute pleasure and a place where the B58 comes alive.

Parking lot is always full whenever you come. And, the cars are sometimes parked almost 1-mile away.









Love this pic- Sun falling on the car was the highlight.



My favorite route back which is a loop and slightly longer but, some great tarmac for a speedy driving.





























Selfie with the bikers. At the pitstop we stopped for a late lunch.



Mom & Pop Shops on highways make fantastic burgers. Yummy!!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[bhugs]

Originally Posted by mobike008

A few pictures of the absolutely fabulous route back from Mt. Rainier which is a 20 miles additional detour but, I always like to take this route back due to this route.

This route lasts for about 30 miles and then comes the thick forest for about 50 miles which is also an absolute pleasure and a place where the B58 comes alive.

Parking lot is always full whenever you come. And, the cars are sometimes parked almost 1-mile away.

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Love this pic- Sun falling on the car was the highlight.

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My favorite route back which is a loop and slightly longer but, some great tarmac for a speedy driving.

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Selfie with the bikers. At the pitstop we stopped for a late lunch.

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Mom & Pop Shops on highways make fantastic burgers. Yummy!!

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Thanks for sharing the experience and lovely pics. I too just returned back after visiting friends in US and travelling with them is a different experience altogether so cheers to friendship