We have now experienced a whole range of temperatures & weather systems! When we got to Olympia we decided to see how near to Mount Rainier we could get, bearing in mind that some roads had been completely closed & others required the use of tyre chains! We set off for Mount Rainier National Park with our Park pass & resolved to take advice from a Ranger before venturing too far, especially as it was quite a cold, wet day. At the entrance the Ranger told us that as long as we only went as far as Longmire he would let us through without tyre chains. Which we did. It was amazing how the scenery changed as we drove higher. Suddenly we were surrounded by trees with the forest floor covered in snow! Magical! The snow ploughs had been out in force over the preceding days so that the roads were clear, but the snow was feet deep all along the sides of the road. We could just make out Mount Rainier towering over us in the mist. When we got to Longmire everything was closed except a souvenir shop & hotel & restaurant, (Longmire Lodge) The snow was so deep that when we walked along the cleared paths it was up to our shoulders either side of us! As the restaurant was open we thought a hot meal might be a good idea. It certainly was! The food was lovely & my very tasty bowl of chilli definitely hit the spot!

It was obvious that the weather wasn't going to improve so we thought it sensible to start making our way back, especially as we'd been told that more snow was expected & we didn't really fancy being stuck on the mountain overnight (apparantly people often have to be rescued!)

The next day we were heading South to Portland so took a little detour to Mount St Helens. We were hoping that we'd get some good views of this volcano which erupted on May 18th 1980, causing great changes to the landscape & to the lives of so many people. We drove to Silver Lake Visitor Centre where a very helpful guide told us that we could probably go as far as Johnson Ridge observatory, even though it's closed until May, as are all the Visitor Centres above Silver Lake. So we set off towards Johnson Ridge. Wow! What views! We were able to see snow covered Mt St Helens from various points along the road & could see very clearly where the side off the mountain blew out in the enormous blast of 1980. All along the road there were signs showing where & when new trees had been planted to replace those destroyed during the eruption. It was also clear that there was still old growth affected by the blast that was only now beginning to regenerate. As we drove higher so it got colder - were we glad of our M&S thermals! Then, suddenly, there was still snow on the ground! It looked so picturesque! The views across the landscape to the mountain were jaw-dropping! We drove as far as we could, then, as the weather started to change we drove back to Interstate 5 & made for Portland & our hotel, promptly getting lost in Portland! We eventually found our hotel after enlisting the help of a workman & his mapquest app. After driving around Portland for an hour it was getting late so we ate a just about ok meal in the restaurant next door to the hotel & hit the sack!