A little push goes a long way

Sometimes in life, you just need a push. I went to Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park recently, when my sister-in-law Tori’s best friends – Tabitha and Cody – were in town from Texas. Like a good Washingtonian, when out of town visitors show up, I immediately took them to the mountain. My goal was…

Trail of the Shadows: Mt. Rainier National Park

The past four years, my family has used Longmire as a pit stop on the way to Paradise. When visiting Mt. Rainier National Park it is easy to overlook the Longmire area as it is pretty – but not as pretty as the aptly named Paradise. While camping at Big Creek Campground recently, we decided…

Burning Washington

Two weeks ago the sky was orange. The sky was orange and the sun was a ball of red fire. Smoke drifted across the Evergreen state bringing ash and the smell of woodsmoke. Temperatures were rising and the warm days combined with the thick smoke from Washington wildfires let everyone know that the state was on fire….

Sunrise: Heed the name

Going hiking is not always beautiful views, gorgeous sun and a good time. Sometimes it is screaming children, long lines, annoying tourists and traffic jams! Veronica, Catarina and myself recently picked my sister, Olivia, up at the airport and had a free day before she had to be at a church camp she was speaking…

Paradise found: Part II

When you are standing in the parking lot in the Paradise Historic District in Mt. Rainier National Park, you have many choices about where you can hike. You can go see glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, heck the top of the mountain itself. So, what do you do? I think in some ways it depends on the…

Paradise found: Part I

If you Google the word paradise you are immediately met with images of tropical beaches, links to the John Milton book “Paradise Lost”, descriptions about the Garden of Eden and potential afterlife destinations in general. My results page also includes links to Paradise Bowling alley in Tacoma – I would never cheat on Tower Lanes,…