"M" is for Mount Ranier National Park

When we were in Seattle, Washington a few years ago, I was completely captivated by the mystic distant view of Mt. Ranier from the downtown streets. My excitement continued when I was able to take photographs (35mm color slides) of the mountain range from the commercial jetliner as we flew over the area.

When Mount Ranier National Park was established in 1899, it became our nation's fifth National Park. Mt. Ranier, the highest peak in the Cascades, rises 14,411 feet above sea level and continues today to be an active volcano with its last eruption in the mid 1800s.

Mount Ranier volcano is often shrouded in clouds that obscure it from the view of many of the 1.8 million visitors to the park each year. Of the about 378 square miles in the park, approximately 39 square miles are glaciers.

This is a popular mountain for climbing. Paradise, at about 5, 400 feet on the south slope, is the best-liked area in the park for tourists. Interesting to know that the National Park Service says, "Paradise is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly."

Although we have viewed Mt. Ranier only from a distance, I would like to visit the National Park someday when the peak is not cloud-covered. I'd like some digital photos of my own and, perhaps, I might even try plein air painting there.