The Mountains

Here’s [what in my head is the long-awaited] part two post on our Seattle trip…

We had amazing weather for the entire time we were in Seattle. Every local person we talked to commented on how clear and warm it was. It was enough to make you doubt the rain-all-the-time stereotype!

Anyway, we spent a couple of days at a family member’s cabin on Mt. Rainier. Everything was beautiful… and disconnected. It was kind of nice to be away from TV, internet and cell service for a bit and actually unplug (as opposed to saying you’re going to unplug but then not really doing it).

On our first full day in the mountains, we headed up to Crystal Mountain ski resort. Even though the temps were in the 60s and 70s during the day, the ski resort was buzzing with spring skiers. Not being a skier myself, it was interesting to watch. There were people skiing and snowboarding in shorts. It was also interesting to be standing on natural snow and be able to wear short sleeves.

We rode the new gondola up to Summit House to have a delicious lunch and possibly the most amazing view. Pictures honestly can’t capture what it was like up there, but we tried! Standing at the highest point at Crystal Mountain, we could clearly see Mt. Rainier. The clear views aren’t that common so we really had a treat.

Even though I’m calling it a mountain, it’s important to remember that it’s really a volcano… as is Mt. Saint Helen, which we could also see. We had a nice view of the Olympic Mountains and could see Mt. Hood (part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in Oregon) in the distance. It’s nice to have seasoned tour guides who can point those things out, otherwise we wouldn’t have known how much awesome stuff was in front of us.

After the gondola ride back down, we hiked off lunch. The campgrounds were not yet open for the season, so we hiked down to them, and through, to see the white river and a very, very big tree.

We celebrated Cinco De Mayo with enchiladas prepared in a real woodstove. Cabin cooking is pretty cool. The massive cook stove is completely fueled by burning wood. The menu during our stay included “cabin pizza,” bacon and eggs, scones and the aforementioned enchiladas. Along the way, I also got to chop firewood.

If you’re not convinced, here’s the video evidence:

You can read about The City part of our Seattle trip here.

Outfit info: Pullover from The North Face girls’ department (similar)