Today our first item of business was getting a rental car. How hard could that possibly be?
We got to the rental place and they casually informed us that our car would not be ready for some time. We were on a tight schedule so we were annoyed for a period but then went full on lemons into lemonade mode and took a walk.
We wandered around through an industrial neighborhood that wasn't scary at all. Neighborhoods that aren't scary don't sit well with us St. Louisans, so we kept our guard up. You never do know when the clock may strike scary o'clock. We happened upon a lovely brewery going by the name of Georgetown Brewing.
They were pretty serious seeming about covid and had digital menus.
I was amused that the highway signs here are little Washington heads.
The highway rules here are very confusing. There's tolls that differ depending on what lane you're in, speed limits that also adjust, and on top of that there's HOV lanes that seem to have differing passenger number requirements. It's a lot to deal with when you're already in unfamiliar territory.
It was kind of fun that we were driving to Mt. Rainier surrounded by little pictures of Mt. Rainier. Like one big fan club out here.
The tiny town of Elbe did a great job getting us to stop and spend some money. There was a lot going on.
There was a train track on one side of the town with a bunch of old trains in it. I think some of the train cars had bars or restaurants inside which sounded awesome.
I had no choice but to buy some Rainier cherries, I mean come on.
They like bigfoot a whole lot out here.
I was excited to see all the weird stuff that they were selling in this shop. I purchased some mushroom jerky much to Lydia's dismay. She still has night sweats about
the Great Mushroom Incident of 2016.
These things are fantastic. It's like an umame fiesta in my mouth and only mushrooms are invited.
Abandoned old timey gas station where bigfoot probably used to work.
A few other people also had the idea to visit Mount Rainier National Park today.
There was so much snow that a lot of the trails and roads we had planned on visiting were inaccessible. We made the best of the snowy situation.
We weren't getting back in the car without a hike so we climbed up on the snow and walked around a bit.
Mount Rainier is the highest point of the Cascade Mountain range. President William McKinley signed a bill passed by Congress authorizing the creation of Mount Rainier National Park in 1899.
There were a lot of holes in the snow that were so deep it was kind of scary. They looked like instant injuries.
This area used to serve as a hot springs before it was turned into a park. You can see by the red water that there is some serious iron flowing out of this place.
I don't think I've ever seen a tree that a beaver had eaten until it fell over before. It was like something out of a cartoon.
Dick's Drive-In is a local favorite burger joint that still has a very 1950s feel to it. The menu is very simple, focusing on burgers, fries, and milkshakes.
According to Sir Mix-a-Lot "Dick's is the place where the cool hang out
The swass like to play and the rich flaunt clout". I would have to agree.
