Day 4: Packwood to Castle Rock

Today was set aside for touring in the Mt. Rainier & Mt. St. Helens area. Rain, cloud cover and closed roads kept us from the spectacular views we were hoping for but it was a fun day anyway. The end of the road in Mt. Rainier was the parking lot at the Paradise Lodge.

We "think" this is Mt. Rainier but with the clouds ... who knows?

After Rainier we tried a "Delorme" route to Mt. St. Helens. It turned out it was a private road with a sign that clearly stated "No Access To Mt. St. Helens" so we switched to a more conventional route. Part of the route that didn't work took us past Riffle Lake which had some rather interesting shoreline and log piles.

Mt. St. Helens as seen from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. It's a fascinating area that we'll probably return to when the weather is a little more appropriate.

It's not my imagination. It doesn't matter where we park, someone with park right beside. Of course, the place was busy ... there were 5 of us in the theatre watching the movie and we did bump into one other person walking the paths so we can understand why the van driver couldn't find another parking spot.

We ended the day at the Timberland Inn in Castle Rock. Dinner was at the El Compadre Mexican Restaurant and I now have a new favourite restaurant for Camarones a la Diabla ... they were spectacular.

Tomorrow is scheduled as a lazy day driving to Portland. We'll be meeting up with friends for dinner and spend the weekend with them.