Mount Rainier National Park – Washington…

On Monday we got our van fixed, thankfully! We had to have our spark plugs and coils replaced. They were damaged and causing misfire due to the recommended fuel injector cleaning we had done a couple weeks earlier.

Tuesday afternoon we were happy to securely be back on the road! We drove about an hour and a half from our RV park, Seattle/Tacoma KOA, to Mount Rainier National Park.

Like all national parks, we were able to get in free with Cherish’s 4th grade pass. If you have a 4th grader and want to visit any of the national parks for free, you can get a pass here. I am going to get Liberty one and start using hers soon, as she is now our 4th grader.

We parked at the Sunrise Visitor Center. We weren’t able to go into the visitor center, but there were tables set up outside where our kids were able to get their passport books stamped. We purchased a Christmas ornament and postcards there, picked up a map and got a ranger’s advice on what to see and do.

First, we chose to walk the Silver Forest Trail. It starts at the Sunrise Visitor Center parking lot and is a 2.4 mile hike roundtrip. We were able to push the jog stroller, and it was an overall easy hike.

The views of Mount Rainier, an active volcano, were stunning.

The trail was lined with many different types of flowers on both sides. Our kids enjoyed using a pamphlet to identify flowers.

We felt it necessary to pause and sing a little song here. We couldn’t miss the opportunity, and it made all of us burst into laughter.

We loved the Silver Forest Trail and were very happy that we chose to hike it.

Next, we drove to Tipsoo Lake. We parked and ate some uncrustables and chips for supper. We’ve come up with a few different easy meal options when on the go. Meals and snacks are definitely something we have to think through because it’s not easy to just pick something up or grab a snack for a family of twelve.

After we ate, we walked over to Tipsoo Lake. It was a small lake with beautiful flowers surrounding. We had seen photos with amazing reflections in the water but it didn’t really appear that way in person…until we took a picture.

We were stunned looking at photos after taking few. The reflections were amazing!

We enjoyed walking around the lake, and we were excited when we caught an almost invisible view of Mount Rainier.

By the time we finished our walk around Tipsoo Lake it was after 7PM, so we decided to head home.

It was another great national park experience with so much beauty to behold!