The destination for today’s trip was a\nlittle vague when we departed from our fifth wheel and headed east on\nUS-12 up the Cowlitz River. We zipped through Mossyrock, Morton,\nGlenoma and Randle before pulling into Packwood. The drive here from\nI-5 is very pretty and there’s plenty of turnouts available where we\ncould get out of the truck and gaze slack-jawed at the sensational\nscenery. There used to be a sawmill in Packwood that was a robust\nemployer but the mill’s gone now so the town looks like it is\nshriveling up. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tJust up the road from Packwood, we\nleft US-12, turning north on OR-123 and up the flanks of Mount\nRainier. Like an idiot, I suggested that we go up to Rainier without\nconsulting the weatherman first. There were clouds obscuring anything\ntaller than about 10,000 feet so we didn’t get to see the elusive\nvolcano which tops out at 14,411 feet. That’s okay; this part of the\nworld is still spectacular even if you can’t see the top third. There\nare waterfalls right next to the road. The volcanic terrain is\njagged, unforgiving and absolutely beautiful to look at. Walking\naround and climbing here is miserable for those not used to abrupt\ncliffs, dense vegetation, rocks shaped like stabbing weapons and\nconstantly distracting surroundings. Don’t step over the edge here. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tConditions were terrific for flowers\ntoday. Amazing arrays of wildflowers were in bloom all across\npastures and right up to the fog line at the road’s edge. We spotted\na type of flower called a Colt’s Foot which is shaped like a\nfoot-long teardrop or comet. Peggy found weird plants she thinks are\nHostas. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWe soon turned off OR-123 and onto\nStevens Canyon Road which started us going back west. Stevens Canyon\nRoad eventually does indeed go west from 123 but it does a lot of\nnorth, south and east before going any closer to the coast. Along\nthis section we spotted a marmot that had a nice perch overlooking\nthe road. He was a big, chubby guy about the size of a beaver but\nwithout the silly tail. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out the pix we got today by clicking the link. https:\/\/photos.app.goo.gl\/inap9aSk4pQvahV36<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 … Continue reading