Rising early the following morning thanks to jet lag we set off for
Mount Rainier national park. Once we were clear of the urban sprawl
of Seattle / Tacoma the pristine wilderness opened up in front of us
and as we got closer to the park Mt Rainier dissappeared from view
obscured by the foothills and dense forest surrounding it.

As we climbed within the park, the peak came into view and each time
it did so there was a well designed pullout for us to park up and
drink in the spectacle. Mt Rainier is a volcano rising over 14,400
feet above sea level and to appreciate its majesty you need to stand
up close in front of it and be humbled by its huge size. Apparently
the peak is often shrouded in clouds, but for us a flawless blue sky
highlighted the most extensive series of glaciers in the USA carving
into the flanks of the peak. The glaciers feed countless rivers and
streams flowing through old growth forest.

We set off south west from the park to find somewhere to stay having
been unable to locate a suitable place prior to our visit on the
internet. On the way we came across a railway level crossing with
two red lights flashing. I slowed down and we wondered aloud what
the lights meant when with a great hoot of its whistle an enormous
steam engine pulling several carriages emerged from the trees and
crossed the road. With a great intellectual leap I deduced that the
flashing lights mean stop ! This train turned out to be the Mount
Rainier Scenic railway and it looks to be a great ride. Morton our
target town was soon reached but we decided not to stay there and to
press on taking miles off of the next days drive. We stopped for the
night at Chehalis (pronounced 'she - hay - liss').

We found a wonderful 'Mom and Pop' private motel festooned with
hanging baskets of flowers and with well furnished rooms. We ate at
the restaurant next door and sampled one of the local micro brews.
Cant remember the name but it tasted good and was much more of an
English type ale than the usual American light lager type beers -
the first of many great beers on this holiday !