Unlike the East coast we here in Western Washington have been enjoying an unnaturally mild, beautiful and early spring.  So much for that interior paint project I started on when it was raining.  Good thing the rain will be back. Yesterday was promising to be another sunny day so the husband and I headed to Mt. Rainier.  How I love that majestic mountain.  She lures me in time and time and time again.  And she has just about the prettiest flowers known to mankind. But, it’s early.  Way early.  And I, born and raised along the Oregon coast, am not a snow person.  Snow is best experienced from inside.  Preferably in front of a fire. With a hot toddy in hand.  It is not meant to be driven in or slogged through.  But, I’ve never seen Mt. Rainier close-up in the winter shrouded in snow.  The mild weather also means that the road to Paradise was clear and dry, so off we went.  We knew ahead of time that we would not be hiking.  Husband has been battling a nasty cold and had no desire to traipse out in the woods.  That was okay with me.  I still got my reward. I even managed to take a shot that makes one thing that there might be a lot more snow than there is: But, who am I kidding.  This is reality: After wandering around a bit we sat down to a bumper picnic.  Meaning that, because it’s so early there were no picnic tables out, so we opened the trunk and sat on the bumper of the car.  I am a girl who knows how to picnic.  It may not be fancy (we made our own sandwiches and mine was PB&J), but there’s always a good variety.  And there is always a treat.  Yesterday’s treat was hot chocolate (I was not expecting the 50 degree weather we experienced).  The husband was pleased.  Then I reached back in the bag and pulled out the two little bottles of kahlua to add to the hot chocolate.  The husband was delighted. And you couldn’t beat that view. We dropped back off of the mountain, stopping to explore a couple of turn-outs that, in high season, are so packed that there’s no possibly of stopping.  Took in a pretty waterfall: And stopped to find out the name of a trail head so we can plan an early spring hike up there.  I mean, hey, if it’s going to be this mild might as well take advantage of it.   We’ve got our sights on Van Trump Park.  A relatively short hike, but it apparently has a gain of 2100 feet, so it should be an early-season puffer. All-in-all a nice day.  Beautiful drive.  The mountain satisfied, like she always does. And I still got a little flower hit when I got home, thanks to the pot on my front porch: