Sat, 15:19: Birth Week viewpoint #12! Mt. Rainier Gondola, Crystal Mountain Resort
Base elevation: 4,400 ft (1,1341 m)
Summit elevation: 6,872 ft (2,094 m)
Elevation gain: 2,472 ft (753 m)
Naturally the two days of my Birth Week this year that involved going up a mountain were also the only two cloudy days—at least we can be grateful that it didn’t rain today.
The entire point of coming here was for the view, though—especially nearby Mt. Rainier. We got just the tiniest glimpse of it through the clouds from the summit today.
But! We had a lovely lunch—and an excellent margarita—at the Summit House restaurant, then a delicious hot chocolate at the delightfully named Snorting Elk at the base. And then, seeing some breaks in the clouds, we took a second ride up the gondola. Still no view of Rainier, but the clouds did part for some spectacular views of the Cascades otherwise. Still totally worth it! https://t.co/etQP4tbmak
Sat, 16:46: This, by the way, was the best shot I got of Mt. Rainier all day today—and it was taken from the car on the way to Crystal Mountain. https://t.co/GM8KpPSjeb
Sat, 19:35: Birth Week Observation Deck #13! Smith Tower
Height: 462 ft (141 m)
Observatory Bar height: 415 ft (126 m)
Observatory Bar height above sea level: 465 ft (141 m)
Built in 1914, at the time the tallest building west of the Mississippi, which it remained until overtaken by the Kansas City Power & Light Building in 1931—but remained the tallest building on the West Coast until the 605-ft Space Needle was finished in 1962.
I was just last here with my team from work last summer, but I could not have an “Observation Decks & Viewpoints” themed Birth Week and not include what remains one of the most beautiful buildings in Seattle! https://t.co/3flsOToh5D
