When: September 2012
Where: Paradise at Mount Rainier / Tacoma (təqʷuʔməʔ)
With: my partner
What: hiking
Accompaniment: It All Feels the Same by Tennis
Sometimes things get overhyped, and they're a letdown when you finally see them. Paradise is not one of those.
I’d been wanting to get to Mount Rainier since moving to the Seattle area in 2008, but plans kept falling through. I felt like I needed to go see it for myself to be a real Washingtonian. Mount Rainier is such a visible fixture that it seemed symbolic to visit: a pilgrimage to recognize my changed identity. Earlier in the summer, I’d started my blog Cascadia Inspired as a way to get to know my adoptive home better, to anchor myself in Washington, to claim it as mine. Even though I went to college in Washington, I’d thought of myself as a Californian until moving to Seattle after graduation. Some Washingtonians have a strong antipathy to Californians moving here, and I still felt like an outsider sometimes, like I didn’t belong.
Another summer had nearly slipped by, but in early September I managed to get us the last site available at Cougar Rock Campground, at the foot of the mountain. Finally, I was going to Mount Rainier.
I went in intentionally, focused on experiencing a few places at the park deeply rather than seeing it all. And the first place I wanted to go: Paradise.
It was everything I dreamed and more.
Where's somewhere you went that lived up to the hype?
This wraps the summer season of Sense Memory! I’m taking Labor Day weekend off, then will return with a short fall season on September 12. We’ll be cruising along some road trips through Washington and Western Canada, including Vancouver Island and the Okanagan region of British Columbia.
If you enjoyed the summer season, I’d love it if you let me know! Reply to this email or leave a comment.
Know someone who’d be interested in Pacific Northwest road trip ideas? Send them the Sense Memory signup so they can join for the fall “road trip” season!
Have a great Labor Day weekend! Cheers to workers organizing for their rights around the world from this union employee 🥂
Tracy