Traveling cross-country and heading through Washington from the east, I had already been exposed to the beauty and geographic diversity of this state.
I pulled into Tacoma on a rainy, overcast afternoon – putting in some long days to make a service appointment that I had scheduled when I was back in Utah.
All I saw for the next two days was rain, cold and darkness. I was about to give up on this place and head south when I woke to sunshine on the following morning and saw the peak of Mount Rainier standing majestically in the distance. “Wow! Has that been there the whole time? I know where I’m going today….”
This ride starts in Auburn, Washington (just outside of Tacoma) and ends inside the Mount Rainier National Park at the Cougar campground.
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My original plan was to do a loop ride around, and through the park, via the Stevens Canyon Entrance on the east side.
However, route 123 was closed due to a rock slide, so I had to adjust my plans – camping for the night inside the park and moving out from there the following morning. Not a bad compromise….
Mount Rainier is truly awesome… nothing like this back in New Hampshire, that’s for sure. We have our mountains back home but a 14,410 foot active volcano capped with 26 glaciers is not something you see everyday!
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The ride to the park is relaxing and enjoyable passing through farmlands as well as thick forests – all along, the mountain is in your view.
The ride offers a nice mix of open and twisty roads with the most challenging riding being inside the park itself. Mount Rainer National Park has an almost prehistoric feel to it (at least to me).
Within moments of being inside the park you’ll notice the temperature and lighting differences.
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Everything is green, everything is “living”. You can feel the history in the trees, the rocks and the earth which are both beautiful and mysterious. Mount Rainier is truly a “must see” location.
This month’s featured ride is from the Moto-Maps® “Finding America” cross-country discovery tour and was created and reported by the company’s founder, Keith Myers.
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Click on the map, legend and directions below to enlarge.
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