MT. RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
I’m a big fan of mountains and I have a great love for the Cascade Mountain Range that runs through my home state of Oregon. I love the Cascades for the many prominent peaks that dot the corridor from southern British Columbia down to northern California. While a wall of mountains with peaks stacked closely together a la the Alps, Rockies, or Andes is a beautiful site, the Cascades beauty and uniqueness is in having so many individual isolated peaks that rise up seemingly out of nowhere to staggering heights.
The classic shot of Mount Rainier at Reflection Lake. This area just beyond Paradise has some great hikes too.
Being an Oregonian I have to admit I love the majesty of Mount Hood but the undisputed king of the Cascades is without a doubt, the massive monolith of Mount Rainier. 
Mount Rainier National Park is dominated by the 14,411 foot high Mount Rainier and its foothills. Our intent on our recent mid-August trip was to hike the alpine meadows teeming with wildflowers now that summer has reached the high country.
When you head up the stairs from the Paradise visitor center towards the Skyline trail you will come upon a set of stairs containing a quote from one of our nation’s greatest conservationists and advocates for our national park system – Mr. John Muir. When you read his words on the stairs in the picture above, know that he is perhaps the most qualified person to ever have an opinion on this subject. So you know you’re in for a treat when you grab your gear and head out into Paradise.
I’ve never come to Mount Rainier in the winter but I know that for some people this park is a winter wonderland. But on this summer visit to Mount Rainier NP I was hoping to time our arrival for the wildflowers being in bloom. 
The wildflowers in the Paradise area of the park do not generally bloom until mid-July and they were still strong in mid-August for our visit.
There were fields of the lavender colored Cascade Aster.
The white pasqueflower were everywhere. They look a little like a Dr. Seuss creation to me.
Unlike our previous visits there was smoke from some Canadian wild fires and so the mountain itself was not as clear and stunning as it was on our last visit. The images of the mountain prior to the picture above were taken in 2017 and so you can see the effects of the poor visibility from the smoke when comparing the images. So instead we focused on the flora and fauna of which there was plenty.
We ran across a few deer including what looked like some twin fawns.
There were a few very well fed marmots scrambling about.
We witnessed a white-tailed ptarmigan chick out for a stroll with Mom and another sibling.
This eagle in flight was taken at nearby Ohop Lake where we stayed courtesy of my lovely sister.
There are trails of all difficulties and lengths including the Wonderland Trail which goes all the way around the mountain. And since there are 26 active glaciers on Mount Rainier and the sun is shining in August it means that the waterfalls are running and so we were treated to a variety of babbling brooks and waterfalls of varying height and flow.
Streams from glacial runoff make their way down the mountain.
On a sunny day the spray from Narada Falls makes a small rainbow.
And the wildflowers were everywhere in all shapes, colors and sizes. And where there are wildflowers there are moths and butterflies and bees and grasshoppers.
A grasshopper hanging out on a Mountain Spiraea.
We are blessed to have this national treasure in the Pacific Northwest. Take a trip to Mount Rainier NP and hike around the Paradise area – you won’t be disappointed.
Great info and photos as always! Thanks