Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Day trip to Paradise with Moonrise Over Mt Rainier
Every trip to Mt Rainier promises something special and so it was on Monday as we headed south to Paradise.
We arrived at the Nisqually Entrance to the Park, the only one open to vehicles year-round. We had lunch at Longmire where visitors had stayed for the holidays, something we would think about for the future.
We continued up the road to Paradise stopping at scenic overlooks for as long as we dared without chains. (Yes we carried them as required but no we didn’t want to mess with putting them on.)
As the snowy road conditions worsened and having gotten our fill of the mountain, we headed back before sunset. The best was yet to come.
After we left the park, traffic slowed to a crawl and cars were parked on both sides of the road. It reminded me of a buffalo jam at Yellowstone. A bear or moose perhaps? But no.
The moonrise over the mountain was the reason why and we stopped to admire the scene with the rest of them.
It was tremendous. And though I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it justice I would nevertheless try.
So we didn’t make it to the Visitors Center at Paradise, but it was a day in paradise just the same.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
I think you did it justice, Susanne. Worth making the stop for, definitely. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you so much Pete. I’d never seen that view of the mountain with the moonrise before. All who stopped seemed to realized it was a special treat – so tranquil and serene.
Wow, Susanne, the drive was gorgeous, but the moon shot was definitely worth the stop!
It really was a special scene, so peaceful and serene!
I’ve never been able to do a moon shot justice, but yours are great!
Thank you so much. 😊
Utterly lovely. Your skill continues to improve. Some of these are definitely calendar worthy along with your great pictures of cats. As for chains–I have so many memories of them. Especially all the cars off to the side of the road on the way up to Mt Hood. And the awful noise if one wasn’t put on right.
Thank you so much. I appreciate your lovely comment. 🙂 We carried the chains with us but decided to go as far as was safe without them,
I remember people trying to argue to no avail with the State Police saying “I don’t need them I have four wheel drive.”
Love the alpenglow shot! Well timed. These are really hard to do.
Thanks so much. 🙂 I was hoping to get more detail in the moon but I guess that would have taken more time than we had to figure out!
Serene!
Yes it really was! Thank you!
Wow, such stunning photos and those views!!
I’ve nominated you for the 10 day travel photo challenge https://aliveandtrekking.com/2021/01/01/10-day-travel-photo-challenge-day-1/ Don’t feel like you have to do the challenge if you don’t want to 😉
Thanks so much for your comment! I love Mt Rainier and every visit is unique! I appreciate you thinking of me for the 10 day challenge but I don’t think I’m up for it, at least for now! 😉 🙂
You’re welcome! And no worries, it’s all for fun and games so no pressure! 🙂
Beautiful photos, and nothing safer than gettin gout to the solitude of nature!
Thanks John! So true!
Amazing 👏
Thank you. 🙂