Waking up with the Mountain – A Night in Paradise

Posted on August 5, 2022 by

46 Comments

Location – location – location.

Look closely and you’ll see the Paradise Inn where I spent the night earlier this week.

Yes, I know. I’ve posted about Mt. Rainier again and again; twice in the last month alone! But this is wildflower season and to make sure we’d beat the crowds, I booked a night at the Inn and got to wake up with the mountain.

Now, I’m not normally an early riser but when the light started coming through the window, I jumped at the chance to get the early morning light and was out of bed by 5:30.

(I passed Bob in the lobby – he IS an early riser – and saw the look of shock on his face. ‘Who are you and what have you done with my wife?!’)

I said good morning-goodbye, then hurried outside with my camera.

I was out for an hour or so and had the trails mostly to myself save for a few other photographers. I didn’t venture far from the Inn – I didn’t have to – all this was right behind me.

After taking too many pictures I returned for a latte and drank it outside with this view of the Tatoosh Range.

The Inn is a classic.

Built in 1916 it’s a quaint and rustic place to stay – and the only place to stay other than Longmire. The room was small but comfortable.

The food was another story! We’d hoped to have a nice meal in the dining room. Unfortunately, the boiler went out the night before, so we had our choice of hamburgers or hotdogs from the grill outside. Let me just say, they were adequate, so we didn’t starve. Uh-huh.

I’d do it again just to wake up on the mountain.

I’ll have more stories to tell from our visit including two hikes and more wildflowers. But this will do for now.

~ Susanne

Category: National Parks, TravelTags: , , , , , ,

46 Comments on “Waking up with the Mountain – A Night in Paradise”

  3. Wow, Susanne, that’s such a beautiful place! The lodge, the mountains, and the flowers. Gorgeous! ❤️

      • I hope you do keep posting about it! I love mountains, Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains. ❤️

  5. This sure looks like a very special place, and who can blame you for wanting to share these pictures? Gorgeous scenery. The early morning shots are wonderful. I even like the lobby!

    • Yes indeed! The mountain is gorgeous and it was wonderful to be there at sunrise and sunset. The Inn is very charming. The experience would have been much better if the dining room had been open. Hopefully, next time! 🙂

    • Thanks, John! It was perfect! And I was thrilled to get up early and catch the mountain under the early morning light!

  8. WOW! Amazing photos. Such a beautiful place.

  9. Wonderful photos! I loved seeing the wildflowers and the mountain glowing in the morning light!🌺

  10. Makes you want to get up early doesn’t it! What a great day too. Too bad about the boiler, but that place is pretty old I think so one has to expect things will break now and then. I think I only ever visited the inn once, and not to stay. Love that lobby though.

    • Yes, indeed! It might make an early riser out of me yet! The Inn was pretty cool, best location in the park to stay. Had been looking forward to a nice dinner bur maybe next time!

  11. Definitely worth getting up early for, Susanne. And burgers are better than nothing. 🙂
    Best wishes, Pete.

    • Thanks, Pete. It was wonderful seeing the mountain in the early morning light. And you’re right about the burgers!

  12. We had a wonderful night’s stay here! Unlike you we got to eat in the dining room, which was excellent albeit quite expensive 🙂 Also unlike you, we awoke to fog and no views of anything! Luckily we’d seen quite a bit of Paradise the day before. It is well named! We were a bit too early for many of the flowers, so it’s especially lovely to see your shots of them, while the ones of the Inn and mountain views bring back great memories – thank you 🙂

    • I’m glad you at least got a nice dinner at the Inn if no views of the mountain! I was thrilled to see Mt Ranier glow under the morning light and at sunset the night before. And happy to be on the trail to Myrtle Falls alone. But I was disappointed about dinner, especially as we’d skipped lunch that day and only had snacks on the trail. (The restaurant we planned to stop at earlier for lunch was closed.) Oh well, if I had to choose one or the other, I’d choose blues skies and sunshine over the mountain!

      • I guess I could say we got the best of both worlds, because we’d at least seen the mountain the previous day when the weather was fabulous! The main disappointment was that we’d planned to stop off at Reflection Lake on our way out of the park. Well, we did stop off but we didn’t get any reflections! I don’t usually plug my own blog in comments on other people’s posts but you might be interested in the comparison photos of the view from our room at the top of this page: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/

  13. I’m so glad you rose early and took a camera with you! These images are extraordinary and I felt as if I was able to explore right along side you. What a beautiful location. xxoo, C

    • Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! We visit a lot but it was extra special to wake up with the mountain. 😊😊

  14. Outstanding photos! The wildflowers are pretty but make me think of how short their time is before the cold rolls in and their time is cut short!!

    • Thank you! They bloom for about a month, from mid-July through mid-August depending on the year. But what a show they put on during that time! I’ll have more pictures to share in a future post.

      • I was at Fort Lewis. I worked ROTC Summer camp for college students becoming officers. Two summers I traveled to Ft. Lewis from Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia where I was the Army ROTC Supply Sergeant. I really enjoyed my time up there.

  17. I’d love to go back to see the wildflowers! Thank you for sharing!

  18. Pingback: Waking up with the Mountain – A Night in Paradise – MobsterTiger

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