Exploring Mount Rainier

The day after we camped at Mount Rainier we had fun exploring a little and doing a few short little hikes.  We had a great time seeing new sights and seeing some beautiful scenery.  Alden was a good little hiker for most of the day and when he got too tired Drew gave him a ride on his shoulders.  Alden also got to complete the Junior Ranger program for Mount Rainier while we were in the park and he got a badge that he was very proud of.  It was really fun to see Alden having fun exploring and discovering new things in the park.  I honestly enjoyed getting to spend time with family and friends and getting to take in the natural beauty that is so close to home for us.

These were the beautiful views we had as we drove from our campsite up the mountain to Paradise.

The views we had on our walk from where we parked up to the visitor center at Paradise.  It was very crowded the day we were there so it was pretty much a mile walk to the visitor center from our car.

There were beautiful meadows of flowers on our little walk/hike.

I just loved the view from this point.  The stream, meadow, flowers and mountain all looked beautiful.

Alden and his friend Brooks had a great time throwing rocks into the stream together.

It was fun trying to get them to smile at the same time.

They finally timed their smiles together!

Alden and Daddy hiking the hill together.

Fathers and sons having fun together.

Mount Rainier

Alden loved pushing all the buttons here.

The boys all got their Junior Ranger badges and got sworn in together.  They thought this was pretty cool!  

Alden got his badge on!

I thought these trees were fascinating because they have no branches on one side.  I think it is because of the way the wind blows there, but I could be totally wrong.

For some reason Alden and Brooks thought it was fun to walk around the grill where we stopped for our picnic lunch.

Alden and Brooks had a lot of fun just running and jumping off this little step.

Alden loved walking on all these rocks.

This was one of the last things we saw before we headed out and of course the kids all thought it was pretty cool.  We had a great day and I am so happy that we got to go on this trip with some friends and enjoy the beautiful sights close to home.  It was a great weekend adventure and it made me excited for more camping trips in the future.