Washington Day 9: Saying goodbye to the mountain

We had a nice, slow morning today—

Eating a late breakfast and sipping coffee on our porch

Before starting our drive back to Seattle.

But we couldn’t just drive back—

You know Mom.

We needed a hike.

With Tipsoo Lake on the way,

Seemed like the perfect stop.

Do you see this CLEAR day?

And can you see what is peaking over that hill?

Whoa.

Hello, Mt. Rainier!

Turns out Lake Tipsoo has an amazing view of the mountain!

Although at 14,000 feet,

The mountain is pretty hard to miss from anywhere on a clear day!

We had hoped for a hike…

But guess what?

It’s totally snowed in.

Again.

That didn’t stop Beck!

Around the lake they went,

For another good view

And a snowman build

He’s only about a foot tall—

It is about 65 degrees!

Hurray for one last hike!

Then we did a little coffee and ice cream shop hopping…

And found this CRAZY sign:

It’s wild to think Rainier is an active volcano!

You know what is wilder?

We could see Mt. Rainier our entire drive to Seattle.

It’s crazy to think it was hiding in the clouds most of the week.

2 national parks,

13 hikes,

20 miles,

And too many meals, drinks, jokes, laughs and stories to count.

Another epic Team Kreed adventure is in the books!

 

Washington Day 8: Peek-a-boo mountains

Since we didn’t bring snow hiking gear 

(who knew that was a thing?),

Chip and Dad found a trail outside of Rainier NP

That we were hopeful would give us great views

Without the treachery of slipping off the terrain.  

It was a lovely trail

Which made the 1300 foot ascension in 1.5 miles

A little bit easier

Even with the cool black-and-white effect,

You can still tell it was still foggy

On a clear day,

You can see Mt. St. Helen’s, Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier…

But today is not a clear day.

The clouds hovered just at the mountain tops

It was a nice spot for lunch and a rest all the same.

We discovered chipmunks love twizzlers!

We waited for nearly an hour,

But the clouds won’t budge.

So we took our Kreed selfie

And headed down the hill

It was thinking about clearing…

Rainier is trying to peak out!

Our friends got a sad phone call as we descended the mountain—

Their dog was really sick and headed to the ICU.

We wanted to give them some space.

We grabbed some drinks, headed to the park,

And found…

THE MOUNTAIN!

We couldn’t believe how HUGE it was!

And hidden right there all this time!

How different Reflection Lakes looks today!

We needed a family picture!

We enjoyed our Rainier beers and Gatorades

And watched the mountain play in the clouds

WHOA!

Maybe one more picture

I mean, wow.

Probably need a park sign picture too

Back at home,

We lived up the house for our last night—

Hot tubbing,

Frolfing,

And a magnificent fire from Beckett and Kylie

We needed some family fire pictures

While we played our best game of Wavelength yet

(Along with My Buddy and Marshmellow)

We learned that Chip is OBSESSED with the stars…

So we headed to the river to take a peek away from the lights.

And look what we saw:

That picture is NOT edited!

They were AMAZING!

The night, the trip, was too perfect to end.

Mom and Beck dozed in the hammock

Before finally calling it a night

Washington, you have been amazing!

 

Washington Day 7: Doing what we want

We did something a little different today.

Some people wanted to chill at home

And some wanted to hike.

So everyone got to choose their own adventure today.

Mom, Dad and Jackson headed back to Rainier NP

To check out Silver Falls.

But first, they stumbled upon the Ohanapecosh hot springs.

They were rather unassuming

But they were definitely steaming hot!

The hike was peaceful

And scenic

And the falls,

For as easy a hike as it was,

We’re pretty awesome

You could hike right up to the shore

Original Reed 3 selfie

Then they spotted an elk herd on the way home

The rest of us decided to hang out a the house

And play games and chill.

Beck was pretty excited for the rest of the fam to return—

Turns out, he doesn’t sit well either.

Off to the river we go!

They paddled back and forth 

as far it was deep enough on the little river

More things we want to do?

Enjoy happy hour on our host

Beer for the adults

And ice cream for the kids

We decided we needed our Rainier Junior Ranger badges—

Books done.

And then we decided it was about time

We ALL went Frolfing…

The boys were faster

But probably didn’t have as much fun as the girls

We needed more fire pit time

And a spontaneous dance party

Choose your own adventure day was a hit!