Super Angie...Mt Rainier...PART Three..Danger!

We were officially entering the DANGER ZONE...
Snowboard dude hiked up with two boards and had a blast crusing down the mountain.
I had heard about this sign. Basicly--beware, if you go past here, you can die. I had to have my picture taken by it.

We drank out of a few streams. Ah...fresh, cold glacier water.
STEEP! What an incredible hike this was.
I wasn't the only one who enjoyed taking breaks to refuel...
Hiking up the snow was hard but fun.
Rule number one: Always put your puffy on when you take stops.
Did I mention how steep it was???
Time to crampon up!

Super Angie...Mt Rainier...PART TWO..easy hikin

We started off from Paradise on the SKYLINE trail. Its a paved sidewalk and really simple strolling for the first bit. Lots of day hikers and tourists. I actually had a really nice conversation in German with this lady and her son.

We like to hike like the guides do...taking stops once an hour to hydrate and refuel.We also stopped to chat with fellow hikers. I know we take way longer then most hikers, but I like to enjoy the whole experience.
Rainier has such beautiful meadows of wild flowers. I simply couldn't get enough of the colors.
Yes, I stopped WAY too much to take pictures.
I LOL about this. Rick has been to Rainer many many times, but every time he has gone, the weather has been horrible. He honestly had NO IDEA you could see the mountain while you were hiking on it. I was in disbelief, thinking maybe he just doesn't pay attention when he was hiking. Later I was shown how it usually looks. (thats for another post though)
The trail changes from sidewalk to a nice packed dirt and stone trail. The NPS takes really good care of the trail. Very well maintained. Lots of stone steps leading to beautiful vistas. At this part of the trail, most people are in running shoes. I think next time, we will not wear our big boots down low and change into them higher up.
A great view of the glaciers.
This waterfall was SO LOUD.
We really lucked out with the weather on the ascent. GORGEOUS views all around.
My sweet honey on the the trail.
THE MOUNTAIN!

Super Angie...Mt Rainier...PART ONE..prep work

Thursday morning, we woke up bright and early, did a workout and got ready to go.
Of course we sat on the left side of the plane so we had the best view as we passed by THE MOUNTAIN!
Simply gorgeous...and SO BIG!!!
We spent the night in Ashford and then head up Friday morning to Mt. Rainier National Park. We stopped at Longmire to take a stroll and look around.
The HISTORY TREE at Longmire
I couldn't stop taking pics at Longmire. The views were great and the Inn was so pretty.
Love seeing wildlife anywhere I go.
To climb Rainier, you must stop in at the Ranger station and get a climbing permit. They had this sign up with the latest info.
My pack and stuff. My bagel sandwhich from the Whittaker store is in the brown paper sack. Mmm...it sure did taste good on the trail!
Rick's stuff. Notice all the ice screws. His pack was way heavier then mine.
There were quite a few other climbers in the area getting ready to start their hike. RMI and AAI were both there with a few groups each.
Ready to go with beautiful weather and the mountain behind us!

--Super Angie

Super Angie...in loving memory

Today Angela Dawn Rogers was laid to rest in American Fork.
I will miss my friend very much.

--Super Angie

Super Angie...packing the pack

We spent some time on Saturday packing my pack for Rainier.

Most of my gear laid out. I have my gortex clothes, although right now the forecast is looking unliking. We may just leave it at Paradise in the car. I have my baselayers, my awesome Marmot soft shell coat, my puffy, two pairs of socks, my Mamut beanie, a buff, helmat, head lamp, perscription glacier glasses (Julbo!)...I'm set to pack!
Which sleeping bag should I take. They are both so pretty, but we opted for the down one. The forecast isn't showing snow or rain, so the down will be okay. Plus its as light as a feather! lol
When Tan saw me with my sleeping bags, she just had to get into hers!
Some of my food. Notice the three ding dongs!? Yummm
And of course...the chocolate covered cinnamon bears!
I look so sexy, don't I? LOL
With my ice ax and crampons on the back, I'm all set for some glacier travel.
Tanith taking a peak at daddy in the tent.
Me and Tan testing out the tent...yup, its gonna be great!

After packing my pack, we weighed it and it was around 27 lbs. PERFECT! Then we unpacked it all, and packed it into my expedition size suitcase to check on the plane. DONE! Now I'm all ready for the flight. Just a few more days, and then we are off!

--Super Angie

Super Angie...matching PJs

Tonight while putting Tanith to bed, we had a cute conversation.

I was dressing her in her footed jammies that are blue with polar bears on them. She liked that the feet had polar bear eyes and ears on them. She then touched my top and asked if I was going to wear it to bed.
"No" I said, "I will wear my jammies"
and she said, "you need to get some polar bear jammies like mine"
"Okay" I said, "I will take a look at the store and see if they have any"
"You need to show me the big ones you try on, okay?" she said.

I'm very tempted now to try to find my own pair of polar bear jammies so we can match. I love my sweet little girl.

--Super Angie

Super Angie...100 degree day=seven peaks fun

Yesterday in the awful 100 degree heat, we went to Seven Peaks Water park in Provo. What a blast we had. We didn't take our camera because we knew we'd be running around too much, so I don't have any pictures.

Top ten things we loved:
1. the wave pool. Everyone loved having the huge waves crash over them. Tanith laughed and laughed as she and I kept getting knocked over. Once she ran so far out that the regular water level was to her chin. Then the waves started coming and Rick had to quickly grab her. The boys LOVED the waves.

2. the kid's area. Brennan LOVED sitting on the floating snake. Tan loved going down the slide, all by herself--she went SO MANY TIMES! Dallin was a big helper and was even helping other kids be safe. Rick and I enjoyed how warm the kid's pool was, and watching the kids laugh and play.

3. the lazy river. We didn't bother renting any tubes this time, but that didn't stop us from floating and moving in the current. Rick and I took turns holding tan, while the boys hurried ahead of us.

4. the baby area. While the water was REALLY cold in this area, we still had fun turning all the nozels and making the water spray. Tan did great going down the slide over and over again.

5. the rope swing. Both boys did the rope swing, although Dallin didn't like it as much as Brennan. I was impressed with the great freestyle stroke Brennan did after dropping into 9 feet of water. WAY TO GO BREN!

6. crossing the lilly pads. Again both boys did the lilly pad crossing and they were by far the strongest kids who did it. They were even stronger then the teens. Neither took a fall and had very little difficulty hanging from the rope. Must be their rock climbing skills!

7. chowing down on hot fresh from the oven pretzels. Not the most healthy thing, but we sure did enjoy our pretzels.

8. laughing and smiling.

9. getting wet. Ah, it felt so good to be in the water in this awful heat.

10. being together!

--Super Angie

Super Angie...its not a camera, its a nikon!

My beloved camera that barked finally had one too many drops and died. So, my dear sweet Rick bought me a new camera for our Anniversary. Its not a camera, its a Nikon. (anyone know what movie thats from?)

I'm way excited because the zoom on this camera is HUGE... 7x. :)

Thanks honey for letting me use your camera while my new one was being shipped and THANKS for my Nikon!!! Yea!

--Super Angie

Super Angie...just an hour

Just an hour is all it takes to run up the canyon, have a picnic, read a few books, and make lots of memories. I took the kids up to Gray Cliffs picnic area. We love this area because of all the boulders (plus we like to rock climb at Hard Rock). We decided it was BEAR WEEK, so we read a book all about bears and talked about everything "bears". I'm so pleased with my kids and how much they love animals and how much they know about them.

Lots of climbing, snacking, howling like a wolf...and all in just an hour.

--Super Angie