Mt. Rainier? I hardly know her!

If you've seen THAT scene from the 1965 classic, "The Sound of Music," when the young Julie Andrews dances around in the beautiful meadows of the Austria Alps, then you've seen a sneak peak into the beauty that is Mt Rainier National Park. 

Nestled in southwest Washington State, Mt Rainier Park is the nation's 5th National Park. It was established in 1899 after John Muir wrote about it's beauty and advocated for it's conservation. The main attraction of the park, Mt Rainier, is a Strato volcano that last erupted about 1,000 years ago. It stands at 14,140 feet tall and has 25 major glaciers. 

These glaciers, which partially melt and re-freeze every year, feed numerous glacial waterfalls and glacial lakes around the park and mountain itself. You'll find that running water in the park has a milky and cloudy like color that is due to the melting glaciers. It can appear as flowing mud at times.

One of our favorite parts of the park was the wildlife viewing. The main trail of the park is a long walk around the mountain, meadows and waterfalls. On this hike, we saw a countless amount of Marmots running all around the meadows and peaks. The Marmots loved taking a second to lay tummy down on the cold ground to cool down! We also spotted a mountain goat (from a far distance). One of our favorite parks and a must-visit if in Washington!