2nd day hike

44 degrees F and showers were predicted for today. Woke up to clouds all around but before breakfast, they partly scampered away leaving blue sky and sun! We even saw the top of the mountain for about 5 minutes before it was again enveloped with it's own weather system for the day. So we headed away from it this day toward the lake trail which still goes through fabulous meadows but also old growth forest and views of lakes. This photo is of H's brother and s-i-l outfitted for blizzard conditions. :-) (H and I just wore jacket, day pack, and baseball cap, but we did put our gloves on for part of the day!) The mountain range you can see here is the Tatoosh, some 15,000,000 years old and made of lava - but it is not volcanic itself. For comparison, Mt. Rainier is a mere 500,000 years old and an active volcano that could erupt anytime (with lots of warning, the experts assure us). And then there are the flowers again!! We had our lunch overlooking some reflective lakes, in the sun, trying to stay out of the wind, before climbing back up to Paradise, catching just teasing glimpses of the mountain between the fast moving clouds. That latte we had sitting in big comfortable chairs in front of the massive fireplace in the great room of the Inn tasted so fine!!