Thankfully, we were introduced to Camp Zarahemla near Rimrock Lake, WA by our gracious friends earlier in the summer and got a great spot there this past weekend when most other area campgrounds were overloaded with Labor Day weekend campers. During that previous trip we hiked partway up Round Mountain, so this time there was some unfinished business to attend to...
The vantage point from the top of Round Mountain is incredible! As we neared the top, the layer of clouds grew closer and closer until we were immersed in them. The numbing chill meant we didn't pause long at the summit, just enough for Wren to stretch her legs. She was such a trooper during the 2-hour trip in the backpack, swallowed up by blankets and beanies. In the picture above on the right, you can see two lakes. The lower lake is Clear lake and the home of Camp Zarahemla.
After the hike, we headed west to the Packwood Flea Market and boy did we bite off more than we could chew. I have never seen that much camouflage in my lifetime, and it was all in one place! Always expected the west side of the Cascades to be more, shall we say yuppie-influenced? To say we felt out of our element among the rows and rows of fair food vendors (elephant ears, fried snickers, funnel cakes, etc.) and weapons dealers would be an understatement. Despite our uneasiness, we had a great time and fantastic pizza at Cruisers on Highway 12.
Camp life was a bit muted this time due to the rain and chill, but we still had to eat! Our past two excursions, we have frozen cooked soup in preparation for the trip and simply heat it up when we get to the site. This time we made a white chicken chili recipe that is delicious and provided much needed calories and warmth for the frosty night ahead. We set up our tent inside the canvas framed tent pictured below and slept comfortably despite temperatures in the 30's. Even Wren!
Sunday we drove east to Naches, WA for church at the blissful hour of 10:00am. Church would be so wonderful if we could always meet at this hour.
Afterwards, it was back in the car to complete a loop around Chinook Pass and around to our temporary home away from home. Along the way we experienced Boulder Cave, home to the western big-eared bat! When the cave was at its blackest and McKenzie started expressing doubts about our decisions, Wren chimed in with her sweet voice: "It's gonna be ok, Momma. There are no shadows!" :)
After the cave, we headed towards Mt. Rainier and were unfortunately fogged out of exploring the Sunrise area, so we stopped at the Grove of the Patriarchs southeast of Tahoma for some extra Sunday School material.
This picture reminds me of my time at Cedar Breaks NM telling visitors about the ancient bristlecone pines. Strong winds (waters/volcanoes/knots/etc) make strong trees. I wonder what happened here in the 800 year old lifetime of this old fir.
Mt. Rainier is such an incredible place and we felt so dwarfed by the largesse of the titanic trees that surrounded us. At each turn of the trail there was a new natural wonder, some marvel of nature we somehow hadn't comprehended before. Of our stewardly responsibility towards the earth and it's many curiosities, the trailhead reminder says it best:
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