Life with the Ball's: Mt. Rainier

It was Labor Day weekend and I was husbandless. Randy went on a backpacking trip with his brothers in southern Utah so it was just me and the boys. Naturally I decided we couldn't let Randy have all the fun and were long overdue for an adventure. A friend told me about the Grove of the Patriarchs - a beautiful forest of trees in Mt. Rainier National Park that is as old as the Redwood trees and almost as big. Because I grew up spending many summer vacations camping in the California Redwoods I knew I had to take my boys to see the next best thing.
I mapped it all out, picked out a few hikes, packed some food and the first aid kit {I'm so prepared, right?} and away we went in the minivan. It was a sunny day and eventually we could see Mt. Rainier in the distance as we drove. It was huge and majestic, with it's snowy peak towering above the clouds. We were all in good spirits despite the GPS on my phone taking us a different route than what the computer mapped out. I figured we'd just enter the park from another entrance and it would be no big deal. I was so wrong! The quick 90-minute drive was going on two hours when we passed a sign that said the wait to get into the park was an hour long. What??? I tried not to panic while all the boys instantly started whining/crying/complaining. It was a low point.
We waited behind the line of cars and were pleasantly surprised to find that the sign lied. We made it through the entrance in about ten minutes. I paid the entrance fee and asked the ranger how to get to the Grove of the Patriarchs and in a very over-the-top cheerfully annoying voice she said, "That's on the other side of the park so it's an hour and a half drive. Have a nice day!'
I wanted to throw up but kept on driving because there was no turning back. We'd come too far! I opened up the huge map the ranger gave me and confirmed that the she was right. My heart sank. But I was determined to see those dang trees so away we drove. I think I set a new record for how fast you can drive around Mt. Rainier national park. Turns out if you disregard the 25 MPH speed limit signs it only takes about 45 minutes.
The park was beautiful! We flew, errrrr, I mean drove past beautiful lakes, through tunnels, over bridges, and under thick canopies of trees. Unfortunately once we were in the park the low clouds completely covered Mt. Rainier. It was disappointing but at least we caught glimpses of her on the drive down.
We stopped at a parking lot to use the restroom and discovered a bridge that went over a gorge of rushing, foamy water 150 feet below. We spent a lot of time throwing rocks and sticks into the water which was fun even for me. In fact, the boys were running around like mountain goats, happy to be free from the car when an older man passing by watched them with a smile and said, "Wish you could bottle up that energy and sell it!" I couldn't agree more.