Mount Rainier

Before I start this post let me say that I know most of you have probably been to Mount Rainier at least once, however, that doesn't mean that there are people who haven't yet seen it.

It took me almost a year and half after I have moved to Washington to visit Mount Rainer, and I regretted not going there earlier, especially during the winter season. My brother and sister were visiting during the summer and we took them there, so our timing might not have been the best -check their website to see when is the park open and which areas you should go to, we went to Paradise-, but still we've enjoyed our short trip, which was mostly spent on the road.

To be honest we weren't really sure where to go, and we decided to just drive and stop whenever we felt like it. During our ride up the mountain different amazing sceneries have compelled us to stop and admire the breathtaking nature. However, my daughter, who was then only 7 months old, didn't really enjoy the amount of time we spent in the car, nor the short breaks we kept taking for photos. The poor thing, whenever she thought that we were finally there, we put her back into her car seat, and started driving. Her objections were loud and clear! So maybe if you are planning to go their with an infant, you should be a little more considerate than we were and try and get your little one to flat land as soon as possible, or wait till they're a little older and get to really enjoy the trip.

When we arrived at the top there was some snow, which made my little bother really happy since he'd never seen snow before (remember, we are from Saudi Arabia, where it snows ALL THE TIME!). So he went up the snowy hill and we lost him for an hour as he enjoyed bringing out his inner child. There was a hotel/lodge where you can stay for the night, which seems really fun to do during the ski season. When we arrived there, we were famished but the hotel's restaurant didn't open for dinner till 5:00 pm and it was still 3:00 pm, so we decided to hit the cafeteria where they sell some sandwiches,  pizza, salads and of course drinks! The food there wasn't the greatest but we managed to silence our hunger for the time being.




I don't think we've spent more than an hour at the top before heading down the mountain again. On our way down we stopped by a creek with running water that was really cold, with a tree that was tumbled over it to serve as a bridge. On a sad note, a Saudi kid fill into that same water a couple of months later and drowned, so parents should be really careful, that is why my daughter stayed in the car with my sister instead of coming with us. As you look around you, you'll notice some manmade rock assortments, which looked like sculptures, if I didn't have my daughter waiting in the car I might've spent some time working on my own sculpture!







We are planning on going there during the ski season because I think it is something we shouldn't miss, and I cannot wait to see my daughter's reaction when she touches the snow for the first time! Maybe I'll post something about it then.