Camping - Mt Rainier

We're home from another camping trip. In the last six weeks, we've gone camping three times. And I'm loving every minute of it! We continue to be so happy with our trailer because there is no way we'd be able to camp so much otherwise.

This trip was short because we had to work around Owen's gymnastics classes. So we picked Mt Rainier as our destination since it's not very far away. Packing took no time at all... in fact it gets easier each time because we've been accumulating items that just stay in the trailer all the time (bedding, cooking items, food staples, etc). We're to the point that we just need to throw some clothes and food together and take off.

We arrived at Cougar Rock around 2pm. We got ourselves set up and headed out for a walk. The forecast was calling for clouds and rain but the sun was shining. Knowing that weather up there can change in minutes, we jumped in the truck and headed up to Paradise to get some pictures. We stopped at Christine Falls and a couple of other places along the way. By the time we got to Paradise, the clouds were really coming in so I'm glad we drove up when we did. We wandered through the lodge for a little while before heading back to the truck. On the drive back down to Cougar Rock, we saw a fox (surprised we didn't see more because they've become a real problem up there) and a couple of deer and grouse. We did see a mama and baby deer as well.

We stopped at Narada Falls but I couldn't get decent pictures. All the creeks and waterfalls are running very high right now, and there was so much spray coming off the falls that I couldn't keep my camera dry.

Once back at our camp, we got a fire started and I made pizza on the grill for dinner. The boys played in the trailer for a while until it was time for Logan to go to bed. Owen stayed up and made s'mores, and eventually he asked if he could go to bed. He really likes that he's big enough for his own sleeping bag, and I'm so happy that bedtime is easy for him when we camp. He fell asleep within minutes and Chris and I headed back outside to sit by the fire for an hour before heading to bed ourselves.

Overnight, something spooked the dogs because they started barking at some point. I'm always a little concerned about bears when we have the dogs with us, especially when they sleep outside in the kennel. But I'm sure it was just a raccoon or squirrel.

The next morning we woke up and found that our propane had run out, which was actually a good thing. Since the trailer is new, we have no idea how long things (propane and battery) last. So now we know that we can go 6 days on a propane tank (using the heater at night, and the stove and grill for 2 meals a day) and the battery will last 3 days. I had my Dutch oven for cinnamon rolls so cooking wasn't an issue.

Chris took the boys for a walk and I packed everything up. By the time they returned, we were ready to break the trailer down. We hooked up and headed home. It was a short trip but a fun one, and the boys had a good time. And to keep up with our "let's camp as much as we can this summer" mission, we already started planning our next trip during the drive home.