We had the privilege of enjoying a day at Mt. Ranier just one week before we moved, when Baby was 3 weeks old. It was fun to introduce Baby to our love of hiking and the beautiful world around us when she was so little!
We didn’t take a very strenuous hike. (Due to the fact that I was only three weeks beyond giving birth.) We walked a very beautiful trail though, called Grove of the Patriarchs. If you ever visit Rainier and want to take a nice and beautiful stroll, I highly recommend this trail. The trees are grandiose and there is a swinging bridge to cross. Here are a few pictures of what we saw while on the trail.
The kids decided to hold up some of the fallen trees!
If you want to feel small, stand next to some of these trees. You realize, you’re pretty young and pretty small both.
Here they are standing inside the roots of a fallen tree.
We enjoyed watching this little bird (which I think we identified as a Western Wood-Pewee) feeding her babies. We stood by the side of the trail and watched for a long time. Other hikers stopped to watch when they saw us watching her. The ones who had children with them thanked us for pointing this out. It’s a reminder that it’s important to pay attention to what is going on around you, otherwise you might miss out on some really neat experiences.
Before we left the Park, the kids all got their Junior Ranger badges. This is one of the highlights for them of visiting National Parks.
