"49"

Day #3

    For the next couple of days, there will probably be a larger amount of pictures because what we saw and experienced deserves that. All of the ones posted here are taken by Nikki and Rachel. I don't own an actual camera, and my phone camera is the quality of velveeta cheese. Also, I'm lazy and don't like taking pictures. All of the credit goes to them.

    I'd like to let you know that my Bible reading for these days were in the last few chapters of Job. If you don't know the story, Job and his not so helpful buddies were arguing about sin and God's mercy. In short, they were both wrong. God starts talking to Job in the last couple of chapters and puts him in his place. There are sentences like this, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you will answer me." Then God talks about His incredible power. "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?" "Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its' place?" This goes on for quite a few chapters. Reading this right before climbing an incredible mountain gives you a little different perspective.

   So anyway, our goals for the day were to hike Mt. Rainier and start discovering Portland. We started out early. That's because we woke up early because we went to bed early because we were exhausted by 8pm. We were only 7 miles away from the entrance to the park, but that doesn't matter because the park is huge. We drove as far as we could up to Paradise where I planned to do a hike. I had read about the incredible wild flowers that gave the place its name. The elevation of Paradise was about 6100 ft, so when we got there, it was covered in snow. Whoops. No wildflowers for us- just feet and feet of snow. The road beyond the visitor's center was still blocked due to snow. The it was about 9:20 am at this point, and the visitor center didn't open til 10am. Inside that visitor center was a stamp (see previous post). I needed the stamp. So what did we do? We hiked in the snow. Pro-tip: If you want to see wildflowers, apparently July is the month to go. Paradise has one of the highest snowfalls in the country. Anywhere from 50-70ft a year. 
     We could see a sort of path-like thing (basically a bunch of footprints), so we decided we'd start there. I'd like to add that in the parking lot, there were a couple of groups who appeared to be starting a serious hike. Backpacks, hiking poles, hiking boots, fancy jackets, etc... They had guides who were explaining the hike to them, but we walked past them all and headed up the mountain in our t-shirts and sneakers. Pro-tip: We are not pros. Do not copy us if you want to climb a mountain in the snow.  Our goal wasn't to get very high- we just wanted to pass the time til I could get my stamp. We took a couple of pictures where we depicted what our attitudes were concerning the hike.

I'm thrilled. Rachel not so much.

Nikki loves mountains. A lot. 

   This was not an easy hike. It was slippery and rough and snow got in my shoes, but it was one of my favorite parts of the day. On the way down, I found a track made by something non-human that provided an excellent slide. I pushed myself forward a little, and then proceeded to slide down. Nobody would follow me.

We're actually throwing snow in the air in attempts to be artsy, but I think this is a better representation of how Rachel felt at this point.

   Finally the visitor's center opened, and I got my stamp. A very helpful park ranger recommended a different hike farther down the mountain that didn't include any snow. This hike was marvelous. And strenuous. The ranger mentioned that "there are a couple of switchbacks" but she failed to mention that nearly the entire hike was switchbacks straight up the mountain. Just think climbing stairs for 1.7 miles in the 80 degree weather. The trail we hiked was the Rampart Ridge Trail up to the Longmire viewpoint. The trail itself was gorgeous. Huge trees made me feel like I was in Narnia. 

   Along the way we picked up a friend. We forget her name, but she was hiking alone and thought she might have heard a bear. Pro-tip: Travel in groups. Then if a bear attacks you, maybe one of you will make it out alive ;)    My friends were troopers. It took a while to get to the viewpoint where we stopped and had our packed lunch. Peanut butter and jelly has never tasted so good. There is a moral to be learned here: I'm not sure exactly what it is. Something like hard work makes the simple things in life taste better? You can extract your own moral here. 

    After this we headed back down. Pro-tip: Galloping down the mountain is significantly easier than walking. We reunited with James and started making our way to Portland. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive, so we had some bonding time in the car. Pro-tip: Don't try to engage your friends in a game that requires a lot of brain power when you've already worn them and their hips out on a strenuous hike. Oregon= state #49!!!!! 

   

    Our first stop was Powell's Bookstore- the largest bookstore in the U.S. It takes up an entire city block and is 3 stories tall. There is a rare books room, a place where you can publish your own book, and stack and stacks of books. Somehow, we didn't take any pictures of Powell's, so this one is from the internet. Here is something really neat. When I go into a bookstore, I hardly ever have an idea of what I want to read. I might pick up something I've already read or something on the best seller list. At Powell's they had a great way of engaging people. In the bookshelves, there were these little cards that might read 'staffer's pick', 'kid's pick', 'if you liked Hunger Games, try this series', 'local author', 'award winner'. These cards made me want to read a bunch of new books. Barnes and Nobles should try this. Pro-tip: If you end up here, spend plenty of time in the children's section. It's precious. 

     At this point, we had already accomplished everything on our list, and it was only around 5pm. We made an impromptu stop at Voodoo's donuts which is a place that apparently people drive hours to partake. It might be famous, and it might be delicious, but it was also not necessarily a family friendly place. Some of the donuts have profane names. Just a Pro-tip.  Pictured is some sort of caramel donut and their famous cream filled donut. They also have weird donuts called Mango Tango, The Loop (with fruit loops), Captain my Captain (with Captain crunch), Memphis Mafia, Arnold Palmer, Voodoo Bubble (with bubble gum), and the No Name donut. 

   Our first impression of Portland was that it was weird. Anything goes. A little too weird for three young women from the midwest. There was also heavy traffic, so Portland was not our very favorite. Another Pro-tip: In Oregon, you don't pump your own gas. It's actually against the law ( which I might have accidentally broken). People come out and pump your gas for you, and you don't have to tip them. Stay in your car, lean back, and relax. It was awkward at first, but I'm sure that's wonderful in the winter. 

    Our AirBnb that night was in Gresham on the east side of Portland. It was Nikki and Rachel's favorite place- mainly due to our hosts. They had a wonderful, sweet dog named Emma, and we talked to them more than any of our other hosts. They were super friendly and welcoming. 

Sleeping Beauty

Breakdown of Day #3:

Favorite moment: Reaching the lookout point and eating lunch

Least favorite moment: Rush hour traffic in Portland

Quote of the day: *After 2 hikes for many hours, driving, and Powell's bookstore* 

Caroline "It's only 5, and I don't have anything else. Sorry I didn't plan enough"

Rachel *in total disbelief* "FOR TODAY?!?!?!?!" 

Bonding moment: Hiking with snow in our shoes

Breakdown of Costs:

•  Entrance to Mt. Rainier $20
• Gas pumped by Caroline (whoops) $20
• Parking downtown Portland $5

Day 4 will be coming soon!