We had our annual family trip to Mt. Rainer. David said, "Are all mountains this beautiful?" Probably not. Mt. Rainer is a magnificent magical place. The trail that was covered in snow last year was completely clear this and the wild flowers were exquisite. Mt. Rainer smells like nowhere else I've ever been. I think it's a combination of the trees, the wild flowers, the mountain air and the lack of competing odors. I gulp it in.

We did three hikes. Twin firs is just a .4 mile loop off of the road that leads to our camp ground. Short but kind of steep. We did it twice. The kids loved going in a different direction from us and being on their own. At Paradise we did the Nisqually Vista trail on which we saw grouse, tadpoles, deer, and a glacier. The tadpoles were my favorite. And then some of us took the 3.5 mile hike down from Narada Falls back to our camp site at Cougar Rock. David went back to Myrtle Falls with some of the grandparents and was very cheerful about the plans. (I need to acknowledge all the times my children were cheerful and accommodating because I'm currently annoyed at them for their bad attitude about decamping. Maybe I need to play them the Free to Be You and Me song about nobody likes housework but if we all help it will get done faster.)

We got a group camping site with a huge rocky field and other areas to explore behind it. The kids spent most of the trip establishing games and exploring. They made up secret calls and secret meeting sites and prepared skits. Mostly, we got to spend time with the mountain.