Another week, another hump day passing. That calls for a drink, does it not? Similar to our Blackberry Mint Spiked Lemonade, we've been on a summer cocktail spree recently. With the perfect weather we experience in Tacoma, it's hard not to kick back a creative, light summer-y cocktail, particularly after being outside all day. It's hard to believe that it was only last Wednesday that we spent exploring Mt. Rainier National Park. What a sight to behold! The mountain is HUGE. Which we knew, obviously. We see it most days of the week on our way into work. But to be right up on it like that? Pretty incredible. We know it's not even at its best this summer because of a dry winter season, combined with the drought this summer. However, that did not deter from our trip there!
Will selected a couple easier trails for us to hike last week, that were categorized as "easy to moderate," depending on the guidebook we looked at. It was mostly a chance for us to see how Washington "moderate" compared to Virginia "moderate." Thankfully not as far as off as we expected, but I still felt they were different rankings of ability between Virginia and Washington hikers. We hiked one trail that was a lake combo, including Bench Lake and Snow Lake. I captured this gorgeous shot of Mt. Rainier while we stood at Bench Lake, after burrowing down some overgrowth to get to the lakefront. We then continued on the course to Snow Lake, which had several families playing in the lake, much to our entertainment. Snow Lake looked like it had once been nestled in between glaciers, with large rocky areas and a small falls tucked away in the bend, buried by boulders. The water was perfect and clear blue, and was stunning (and muddy, based on the conditions of the kids we saw).
After completing those hikes, we traveled to another site in the park (which is equally as huge as the mountain, btw - it took almost an hour to get from one location to the other) to do an "easy" hike to see Silver Falls. The trail was right off a campground that we intend to stay at in the future and was pretty straightforward. We were hiking amongst gorgeous redwood trees, which captured the sun setting in gorgeous splays of golden-red light. The falls were beautiful and especially delightful to see in the drought. After completing our second hike, we headed back home, reviewing our "Hikes of Mt. Rainier" book to start planning our next trip, since we also got an annual pass. Despite the crowds at the main visitors center, the park was serene, vast, and absolutely stunning on such a clear day. If anyone comes to visit, know that you will be going to the park with us! We are especially excited when the park transfers into winter season (in like, October...so strange) so we can go back to do some snowshoeing!! And of course after getting home, we engulfed some Chipotle burritos and had this cocktail to celebrate such a wonderful mid-week day off :)
2 shots, peach lightening
Fresh-squeezed lemonade
Mint
Crushed ice
2 lemon slices
Begin by muddling a couple stems of mint leaves in a glass. Fill glass with crushed ice. Pour over 1 shot peach lightening, then pour lemonade in until glass is full. Stir well, then top with a lemon slice and a sprig of fresh mint and enjoy!
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