In the
shadow of Mt. Rainier
The Ike
Kinesaw State RV park
Mossyrock,
WA.
August 10th, 1998
Having traveled across most of
Northwestern United States, we found ourselves in what was to
become one of our favorite states. This is the place where
mountains meet the sea and oceans and sounds abound. We had
driven up out of Oregon, looking for adventure. It was time for
big trees, camp fires, and a get back to nature
experience. We had stopped
at the Ike
Kinesaw state park outside of Mossyrock.
Our site was just off Mayfield lake, which was created out of the
Cowlitz river. The east end of this waterway has got to be one of
the most scenic and serene points of the trip. This is a place to
have a canoe. Imagine slipping down between the evergreens as the
deer and black bears stop by the river's edge for a drink. We
never got a chance to do it, but we would often stop at this
point and sit for a few moments just watching the water and
dreaming of such a trip. The scene is quite captivating at any
time of day. The deer and bear are real. Both walked right out in front of the car on that
very road. The doe, which appeared to be a young mother, stopped
in the middle of the road and faced us, then turned toward the
woods and started to cross then stopped again. We slowed as we
approached and finally were forced to stop, for she was in no
rush to leave our view. Then off to the left came the fawn, still
on shaky legs and oblivious to us as it scampered stiff legged up
to the mother who led it off into the woods. This would be the first of many
encounters with deer in Washington. The next day we were off in
search of Mt.
Rainier. We drove around the long way stopping at a
point with a particularly nice view. Behind me was a stand of
Alder trees. A trail led right through the middle of them. The
place looked so inviting we walked for a while to see what was
down there. This was our first introduction to the forest of this
state. I picked up a stick along the way and would later carve it
into "stick courageous" as my wife would come to call
it. I now rarely enter the woods without it. We continued our
trip along US 12. Each time there was a turn we would find Mt. Rainier
looming up in front of us.
Slowly it grew closer. Mount Rainier National Park is
the 5th oldest national park in the nation. It receives about 2
million visitors a year. It is open 24 hour a day, but has
limited access during the winter months. This
mountain, like the other great peaks in Washington, was the
result of volcanic action. Near by, is Mt. St. Helen which is
famous for its eruptions in the 1980s. There are several
observation areas in the National Park with winding trails and
other adventures.
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