The destination for today’s trip was a little vague when we departed from our fifth wheel and headed east on US-12 up the Cowlitz River. We zipped through Mossyrock, Morton, Glenoma and Randle before pulling into Packwood. The drive here from I-5 is very pretty and there’s plenty of turnouts available where we could get out of the truck and gaze slack-jawed at the sensational scenery. There used to be a sawmill in Packwood that was a robust employer but the mill’s gone now so the town looks like it is shriveling up.

Just up the road from Packwood, we left US-12, turning north on OR-123 and up the flanks of Mount Rainier. Like an idiot, I suggested that we go up to Rainier without consulting the weatherman first. There were clouds obscuring anything taller than about 10,000 feet so we didn’t get to see the elusive volcano which tops out at 14,411 feet. That’s okay; this part of the world is still spectacular even if you can’t see the top third. There are waterfalls right next to the road. The volcanic terrain is jagged, unforgiving and absolutely beautiful to look at. Walking around and climbing here is miserable for those not used to abrupt cliffs, dense vegetation, rocks shaped like stabbing weapons and constantly distracting surroundings. Don’t step over the edge here.

Conditions were terrific for flowers today. Amazing arrays of wildflowers were in bloom all across pastures and right up to the fog line at the road’s edge. We spotted a type of flower called a Colt’s Foot which is shaped like a foot-long teardrop or comet. Peggy found weird plants she thinks are Hostas.

We soon turned off OR-123 and onto Stevens Canyon Road which started us going back west. Stevens Canyon Road eventually does indeed go west from 123 but it does a lot of north, south and east before going any closer to the coast. Along this section we spotted a marmot that had a nice perch overlooking the road. He was a big, chubby guy about the size of a beaver but without the silly tail.

We soon crossed the top end of the Nisqually River which at that point looks like a gritty, fast-moving creek but it is on top of and enormous river of gravel and boulders that have washed down from the mountains. The rock & gravel pile, and the ever-wider river extend for dozens of miles along the bottom of a massive glacial ravine. The water gets clearer the further it goes downstream. The rock and gravel must filter out all the ground up rock brought down by the meltwater from the glaciers above. We soon pulled into the little town of Longmire and continued west through Ashford and Park Junction, following the Nisqually down into the flatlands. At Elbe, we turned south and OR-7 which took us back to Morton over in the Cowlitz River Valley. From there we headed back west on US-12 to our digs at Paradise RV in Silver Creek. Just over our left shoulder during this segment we could check out St. Helens looming just to the southeast.

Check out the pix we got today by clicking the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/inap9aSk4pQvahV36