TRIP DAY -71cont., 72, 73, 74
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DAILY
MILES 38, 220, 24, 93
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TOTAL
MILES – 9,115
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8/24 cont. - Our fourth and last day at Olympic National
Park provided our first ever view of the Pacific Ocean. We had a picnic lunch on a bluff overlooking
Ruby Beach with its seastacks and tidal pools.
Then it was on down the coast to Kalaloch Beach where we had a campsite
in the national park within view of the ocean and sound of the waves. 
8/25- Saying goodbye to Olympic NP we struck out for
Mt. Rainier NP 190 miles to the southeast.
Our first view of Mt. Rainier came when we were about 60 miles from the
park. It is over 14,000 feet high and
has over 26 glaciers. Once again we were
lucky enough to get a site in the national park campground at Cougar Rock. Then we headed up the mountain to the
Paradise Visitor Center to view the film and see the exhibits.
 |
| First View of t. Rainier |
8/26- This morning found us headed back up the
mountain to the Paradise area to attend a Ranger lecture at Paradise Inn and
later hike to Myrtle Falls. For the second day Mt. Rainier’s summit was
cloud covered. We had a delicious lunch
at the Jackson Visitor Center and then drove 12 miles down to Longmire to
explore that area. A walk around the
area with a visit to the National Parks Inn and gift shop and we were headed
back to the campground to plan tomorrow’s journey to Mt. St. Helen’s National
Monument Visitor Center. (We topped
9,000 miles today!)
8/27- We drove 93 miles south to Castle Rock, WA
and the Mt. St. Helens National Monument Visitor Center. After attending an excellent Ranger
presentation on the history of the volcano, we viewed the park film and checked
out the exhibits. We were greatly
impressed with this visitor center.
Also, we could see Mt. St. Helens from the center which is not always
possible due to weather conditions. The
Seaquest State Park is located directly across the road and we secured a site
for the night. Tomorrow we leave
Washington (and its wonderful trees) to enter Oregon and hope to reach Crater
Lake National Park. 
