We Are In This Together!: July 2008

Back at De Goode's Bulb Farm....the purple is Salvia along with some other colorful flowers that make this meadow turn into a beautiful rainbow.

Some of my flowers I planted that are displayed on the old carved out Redwood tree trunk in our side yard.

I am thinking about buying some Hens & Chickens or air plants to stuff into the cracks of the tree trunk.

Our trip to Mt. Rainier National Park and our stay at
Paradise Inn.

We saw some craters in the mountain and, of course, Mt. Rainier. It was awesome.

Driving down off the mountain we passed numerous groups of bicyclists riding up the hill.... That would not be fun to peddle up but fun coasting down.

National Park Inn is at a lower elevation of the mountain and they offer breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as about 27 rooms for rent.

The Stellar Jay's were enjoying the tourists (above) at this river overlook on the left.

Our two smiling Paradise Inn desk clerks in the top picture who checked us in and made us feel welcome.

Allan at the front door of the Paradise Inn. The two people in the blue shirts are the greeters who make sure every Inn guest gets parked, checked in and moved in with all their luggage. We were really treated extremely well and their

customer service is totally excellent!!

This is our little room on the 4th floor of Mt. Rainier's Paradise Inn with a fabulous view out the window which is the mountain range on the upper left. I went to the other side of the Inn and found a window that was partially open with a small crack but big enough to place my camera far enough to get a great picture of Mt. Rainier... which is the picture on the upper right. Those green things on the sides is the window casing.

WHEW just had enough room for the camera to get this picture.

The top 3 pictures were taken in the main lobby of the Inn and the bottom picture in the dining room where we had our dinner (Al had Buffalo Meatloaf and I had Coq au Vin). It was delicious. In the morning they served a breakfast buffet which was very good also.

The lamps hanging from the ceiling are hand painted and the Grandfather clock is quite tall and a massive piece of furniture which fits in very well in the huge Lobby. Climb the stairs that lead to the balcony which allows guests to overlook all the happenings in the Lobby. It is an awesome room.

Mt. Rainier had all sorts of dreamie men walking around... WOW. These two guys are more mountain guides speaking to another large group of climbers. They both have years of climbing experience ~ the man on the left climbed Mt. Everest and the man on the right climbed Mt. Denali in Alaska. The only reason I would ever want to climb a mountain is to get to know these guys better!!! (But only in my dreams as I am older than dirt and old enough to be their grandmother).

These 4 adorable young men are all from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and will be starting college (LSU) this fall. They have been friends ever since lst grade and now are going to climb Mt. Rainier (then they said they will go to Mt. St. Helens and climb her too). Oh, to be young and single as they were all really cute.. The guy above with the red shirt is originally from Seattle but is now from Louisiana too and does have some climbing experience and the man in the blue shirt and sunglasses is also from Louisiana. They have hired guides to climb with them and teach them "the ropes"....oh that was a play on words~~~! To hire guides is pretty expensive but well worth it to have them all come back home and not getting stuck on that mountain (which has happened a few times already this year).

The guys started out and climbed up a small hill then when they all gathered at the top

~ off they went.

Everywhere we went Mt. Rainier was lurking overhead. What a majestic and beautiful mountain she is~!

Animals of Mt. Rainier; from the little to the BIG.

These adorable cabins are part of the Gateway Inn which is run by Korean's who are very nice. We stopped in to see this place as we met some people who stayed here and ate here and said it was wonderful. The Cabin on the far left is #1 which would be nice for 3 people for me, Al and my cousin, Diane, from Dallas, TX. These cabins are located right outside the gate to Mt. Rainier National Park..

We followed the road to Mineral, Wa to find the old locomotives (which we never found) but did find these 2 signs at the Neighborhood Christian Center of the Assemblies of God and they were so thought provoting we drove back to take pictures of both sides of their sign. If you look at the "Welcome to Mineral" sign ~ please look up in the tree above the sign.... I believe that is an EAGLE.

Al and I took a 'side trip' to find Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad's collection of steam locomotives which is said to be the most unique collection of logging locomotives in the world. The passion of Mr. L. T. Murray, Jr., son of West Fork Timber Company's founder and a logger himself has collected examples from the four major builders of geared locomotives, and three from builders of rod-type locomotives. Mr. Murray has been determined to save as many types of the old locomotives as he can........................... unfortunately we only found these

old relic railroad cars....

Neither the locomotive nor the motorcycle are real...they are both metal sculptures...please check out the very authentic features of all the animals too..

This wonderful art we saw right off the road in

Elbe, Washington.

After seeing the old railroad cars it was quite unique.