Mt. Rainier to Tacoma, Washington

Today we spent more time in Mt. Rainier National Park. One of the most interesting things about the park is a flood that occurred last year. They said that it was a 400 year flood: 18 inches of rain in 36 hours. The devastation it caused was quite dramatic. One creek has a different route than it used to have. Trees were thrown around like matchsticks. Parts of the park will be totally altered from it. We were thankful we saw the peak of Mt. Rainier yesterday since the cloud cover today prevented us from seeing it. We went on a short hike through their wildflower trails and stopped off for a very short hike to a 168 foot waterfall. The boys and Sheri hiked behind the waterfall while I stayed with Bailey. We were somewhat hindered by the boys’ stomachs. Somehow they all have the same stomach bug, which requires maintaining close distance to facilities. By the way, I should mention that Mt. Rainier (being a volcano) has a totally different appeal than the parks of the Rockies. In fact, they say that Mt. Rainier stands more majestic than Mt. Everest. It certainly isn’t higher than Mt. Everest, but it is higher than its surroundings in a way that Mt. Everest is not. If you're into glaciers, we learned that Mt. Rainier has more glaciers than any other area in the lower 48 states.