Autumn Visit: Mt. Rainier National Park

A week and a half ago my college friend, Gerry, and I traveled down to Paradise at Mt. Rainier. We hiked up to the Paradise Glacier, and stopped for our lunch at the site of the former ice caves, which I had seen once decades ago. On the sunny day we were there, marmots were out gathering grasses and snacking on the meadow plants. We saw individuals of all ages, grizzled matriarchs and patriarchs, as well as playful young ones. Just two days after our visit, the Mt. Rainier webcam (which I love looking at on my Seattle pc at all times of year) showed a few inches of snow at the Jackson Visitor Center! How quickly things change in the high elevations!