Driving and sightseeing day: Castle Rock, WA to Kent, WA
Feature of the Day: Mt. Rainier
Night Accommodations: KOA in Kent, WA
So Cindy roused me early in the morning and began telling me excitedly about her dream featuring raccoons eating food off of her, and as I groggily struggled to comprehend the relevance to Mt. Rainier, she pointed to the sight captured below:
We had been visited by raccoons in the night! Cindy is a prophet. Clearly.
As an active volcano, Mt. Rainier is arguably one of the most destructive volcanoes in the world, due to the heavily populated areas surrounding her peak, and her explosive history. Her 26 glaciers (including one Fryingpan Glacier—Tolkien, anyone?) provide gorgeous vistas, many waterfalls, and frequent mudslides.
Along the trail of lookout points, we began following (accidentally) a woman in a van with South Carolina plates. We chatted and it turned out that Lynn (that was her name) was from Pleasant Hill, CA and had lived in the Bay for some 20 years, before moving to SC for 10 years after her retirement, which she described as “ten years too long”. She was attempting a similar trek to ours, albeit starting from the other coast, no tenting, and alone. Hearing her story made us wish we had more time to spend at each National Park, to truly soak up what each treasure has to offer, but her journey also made us thankful that we are traveling together and visiting family and friends along the way. While she seemed full of joy and wonder at the splendor of Rainier, she also seemed lonely and eager to reach out to other people. 
Once we reached the summit of Rainier, our surroundings more resembled a New Hampshire ski lodge in February than Washington State in mid-July. We ventured outside along one of the trails, but quickly found it to be more than we had bargained for—the entire mountain was covered in snow! Deep snow. New England snow. Poor Cindy and Matthew were trekking along, venturing up the slopes with their Keens, and consequently their toes immediately froze. Of course I was in heaven; I missed the snow!
Scaling the mountain we could see young yellow-green shoots from various plants poking through the layer of snow, only to be crushed by self-absorbed and wayward tourists. It seems we as humans either forget (or choose to forget) how fragile life really is and the responsibility we have towards preserving it wherever we go. Stewardship. And common sense! Follow the signs of the park rangers. Even now, nearly a hundred years after the latest fire, the fields are still recovering from its rampage. 
During the hike we encountered two guys wearing cowboy hats and dazed expressions. Turns out they were from Tuledo, OH on tour with their band, Stately Mane. They confirmed that their state consists of corn and wheat fields as far as the eye can see, and that the steepest slope around is the exit ramp on the freeway. Makes Oberlin a bit scarier. I still giggle at this conversation. People literally travel from all over to bask in the wonder this volcano bestows upon her visitors, and I am deeply thankful that we were three of them.
I miss home.
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