When in Seattle area, you spend a lot of time seeking out the best view of Mt. Rainier.
I grew up spending every Saturday, and oftentimes Friday or Sunday, at Crystal Mountain, skiing to my little hearts desire. We spent so many weekends driving there, that we had memorized which spots were the best to grab peach rings or corn nuts (family favorites). So when Jon came over this summer, my mom and I started planning a trip up there.
For those of you that do not know anything about Crystal Mountain, it is a 7,000 foot Mountain in the foothills of Mt. Rainier. That means that it has an amazing view of Mt. Rainier, on days where the mountain is behaving. It also has a gondola that goes all the way from the base up 4,000 feet in elevation. It's a beautiful gondola and we were so lucky to go up on such a beautiful day.
Keep swiping to see some cute chipmunks!
Much to our delight, the top of Crystal Mountain has been overrun by chipmunks. Particularly, chipmunks who have grown accustomed to being fed. They are incredibly friendly and will bug you even if you aren't carrying a snack that they can steal from you. I even watched one climb onto someone's lap!
As you can tell in the first photo, my mom was not to thrilled about this little guys interest in her. We stopped and watched as some kids tried to pick one up. We watched as they climbed over and under people's feet. We also noticed there were some fatter chipmunks that were a lot more comfortable with people. We have assumed that those chipmunks are the needier of the group.
Once we were fully entertained by the chipmunks, we got some pictures with Mt. Rainier in the background. If you are from Washington you fully understand how unpredictable this mountain is for visibility. So while it was clear from the base of the mountain, once we were up top there was cloud cover at the top of the mountain. Still a great view!
As is customary on the way home from Crystal Mountain, we stopped at Wapiti Woolies. They are known for their ice cream and Mt. Rainier gift shop. We stopped and got a few scoops of ice cream (dairy doesn't like any of us, but we sure love it) and a cute sticker to add to my water bottle!
All in all, it was a nice day to brag to Jon about my home state and the beautiful mountain I grew up skiing on.
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