When: September 2012
Where: Paradise at Mount Rainier / Tacoma (təqʷuʔməʔ)
With: my partner
What: hiking
Accompaniment: It All Feels the Same by Tennis

purple asters, white seedheads, white cow parsnip and more burst from a green hillside before the massive summit of Mount Rainier
bunches of purple and pink asters dot an idyllic meadow slope with artfully placed stands of trees, beneath a blue sky dashed with white clouds
the summit of Mount Rainier, snowcapped with bare sides, peeks out above the hillside bright with sprinkled white and yellow flowers, a stream channel winding through the middle marked by yellow rocks, while a channel with water passes across the frame, edged with bunches of pink flowers

Sometimes things get overhyped, and they’re a letdown when you finally see them. Paradise is not one of those.

I’d been wanting to get to Mount Rainier since moving to the Seattle area in 2008, but plans kept falling through. I felt like I needed to go see it for myself to be a real Washingtonian. Mount Rainier is such a visible fixture that it seemed symbolic to visit: a pilgrimage to recognize my changed identity. Earlier in the summer, I’d started my blog Cascadia Inspired as a way to get to know my adoptive home better, to anchor myself in Washington, to claim it as mine. Even though I went to college in Washington, I’d thought of myself as a Californian until moving to Seattle after graduation. Some Washingtonians have a strong antipathy to Californians moving here, and I still felt like an outsider sometimes, like I didn’t belong.

Another summer had nearly slipped by, but in early September I managed to get us the last site available at Cougar Rock Campground, at the foot of the mountain. Finally, I was going to Mount Rainier.

I went in intentionally, focused on experiencing a few places at the park deeply rather than seeing it all. And the first place I wanted to go: Paradise.

It was everything I dreamed and more.

Where’s somewhere you went that lived up to the hype?

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Category: Summer 2021

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2 Comments on “First Time in Paradise”

  1. Any time I’ve explored the less developed parts of Baja California I’ve had an amazing experience. It’s becoming so touristy these days that getting off the beaten track – with a vehicle that can handle it – is key to experiencing the magic.

    Thanks Tracy for these photo missives about your adventures. They’re delightful and inspiring. They also connect me with my own ramblings. Plus – I listen to songs I’d NEVER find on my own.