2015 Western Trip – Days 34 & 35 - The Coast and Rainier

Since the weather indicated we may only have two clear days, we decided to head for the coast our first day in Kamilche.  It was about an hour and half drive over to Ocean Shores, WA where we drove down on the beach then had lunch in town.  After seeing the Pacific in CA, we were surprised at the flat beach and the docile ocean in the area but it was perfect for a little horse ride.

We ate lunch at Mike’s Seafood because they had razor clams on the menu and I wanted to try them.  They were pan fried with so much other stuff, I still don’t think I know what a razor clam tastes like.  I would say all of the meals were okay but un-remarkable – tourist food. 

The next day was supposed to be the last dry day for a while and we decided we should head up to Mt. Rainier Nat. Park and it turned out to be the clearest day we’ve seen since we left Nebraska. 

We didn’t get any decent long distance shots of the mountain so this first one is from the Longmire Area- I suppose they conducted driving tours at some point in the past.

From there we drove up to the Paradise Area and paid a visit to the Paradise Inn.

From the inn, the glaciers don’t seem to far away but the mountaintop is about 9000’ above Paradise.

Notice the trees with all branches on one side – downwind from the prevailing direction - just like Dolly Sods in WV.

From there it was down the southeast side where we got a couple more shots.

We went prepared with a picnic which we enjoyed in the deep woods at the bottom of the mountain.

There didn’t seem to be as much to do in this park as some others we’ve visited and I suppose that is due to that giant rock taking up such a large part of it but it was still an enjoyable day seeing the mountain and the sites in between - we took different routes each way.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/26 & 8/27/15 event date