Spoiled In the Shadow of a Mountain

 

     As we've made our way across this lovely country of ours, we’ve been spoiled. Not only by the sights, but by the people we’ve visited along the way. The pattern has worked out like this: spend a chunk of time on the road, see some amazing stuff, and eventually end up at some gracious host’s house for a few days to recharge our batteries (literally and figuratively) and take advantage of their wi-fi, showers and air conditioning. Our stop in Graham, WA, combined all of this into one stop.

    This view. Could one ever tire of seeing it? Not me. That’s Mount Rainier—more on that later. First, let’s get to our hosts, both two-legged and four.

        Anne’s Aunt Margaret and Uncle Norm live on this unbelievable piece of property where, over the years, they have raised everything from cows to chickens to rabbits, not to mention a menagerie of pets, both traditional and...non-conventional. They are full of stories about the house, the animals, the surroundings, and old family lore. Did you know Anne is descended from pirates? We didn’t either, until this visit. They went above and beyond with meals and desserts and local tips and tractor rides and listening to Everett's extremely detailed account of our fossil dig to just allowing us to relax. It was perfect. The only thing missing was Anne’s cousin Mary Beth and family, who were out of the country. Bad timing, but we’ll catch them next time. Because we’re coming back. Try and stop us, I dare you.

    Our four-legged hosts also bear mentioning. The cows in the field were fun to look at, sure. But it was El Cid and Kya, two truly gigantic dogs, that stole the show. Olive, who loves big dogs and who has a surprisingly high tolerance for doggie slobber, was truly in heaven.

    Of course, while there we had to visit that beautiful mountain. Mt. Rainier is the highest peak in Washington, coming in at 14,411 feet. The entrance to the park was only about forty-five minutes away, but it takes almost an hour to navigate to the base of the mountain. More, when you stop along the way, which you have to do, because how can you pass up sights like this:

  

 The visitor center is an interesting mix of day trippers and tourists, literally in sandals and flip-flops, to mountaineers who were returning from a two-day ascent. The path up to a couple of viewpoints was easy, although steep. We tried to go further, but in our sneakers and sweatshirts, didn’t get too far beyond some snowfields. But keep in mind, we started our hike at 6,400 feet and went up for awhile, so we were up there, especially when you consider New Hampshire's highest peak, Mt. Washington, is 6,288. All to say, it was worth the trek, obviously.

    An amazing stop, filled with lovely people, animals, and scenery. Our time in Graham encapsulated everything we hope to find as our buffalo roams. Thank you, Margaret and Norm. Hope to see you again soon.