Washington Fly Drive Destination
Mount Rainier
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The volcano Mount Rainier dominates the whole region. As we flew into Seattle I was amazed at how large it loomed through the plane window. This is a view of the volcano from our motel in Seattle some 60 miles north west of Mt Rainier. It is deceptively large and features that look close still seem far away after you have driven many miles towards it.
Mount Rainier and its immediate surrounds are a national park. Like all national parks I have visited, the scenery is wonderfully unspoilt.
A drive through the park takes you round the mountain and you can see breathtaking views from a variety of angles.
As you get closer to the peak you begin to recognise the glaciers that spill down from the summit. There are 26 named glaciers on Mt Rainier making it the biggest glacier system in the contiguous 48 states.
When you get closest to the peak at the visitor centre the view of the glaciers is stunning. However, it is these glaciers that make Mt Rainier the most dangerous volcano in America according to some sources. It is feared that when the volcano erupts (as it surely will) then the mud slides caused by the metling of the glaciers are likely to cause devastation in this relatively populated region.
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