Mt. Rainier National Park and Seattle
Mt. Rainier National Park For my birthday (in the fall), I wanted to visit a national park. I figured one of the ones near Seattle ( Mt. Rainier , Cascades , or Olympic ) would be good for a weekend due to the ease of direct flights to and from Seattle. Originally, I was leaning toward Cascades National Park , but then realized that Cascades National Park is gigantic and would require a long weekend to see in its entirety. Thus, we landed on Mt. Rainier National Park , an easy hour and 45 minute drive from Seattle. We landed in Seattle late Friday night and checked into the Hotel Monaco , one of my fave hotels (and not only because it's dog friendly). The gold fish in our room at Hotel Monaco Saturday morning (my birthday) began with us renting a car and driving to Cascades National Park . We started off at the Longmire Visitor's Center where we did two short hikes - Trail of the Shadows and Twin Firs Loop Trail . (Neither were "must sees.") We did not anticipate...