The magnificent mountain best known as Rainier was the destination for our first trip from the new home base on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill. It was a quickie that was filled with plenty of stressful moments, but ultimately it felt good to be back in the rig.

What did we forget? We had a fairly dramatic end to our last outing with Leslie getting a diagnosis of gallstones and a recommendation to have surgery asap. Ouch! But a week into the recovery, she was feeling strong enough to suggest a solstice getaway to the iconic mountain we now enjoy a view of from our new digs. The last-minute call to action was a bit frantic, various kitchen staples stuffed into a bag, essentials tossed together willy-nilly. Heck, what’s the worst that can happen? We’re pros, we know what we’re doing, right? Wrong.

Water-deprived: Our holding tanks had been drained and we mistakenly thought we could add water when we arrived at Cougar Rock Campground near Paradise. Oops, that dump station is now closed. We made due filling gallon jugs at the refill station, but next time, we’ll come better prepared for an off-grid plumbing situation. We joked that we were really roughing it, yet we didn’t have to sleep in a tent like many others at the very busy campground.

Be prepared, part two: It’s essential to book a timed entry reservation to the park, a new program launched this season to deal with the overwhelming number of visitors. We snagged a spot on the same day, but ended up waiting nearly an hour at the entrance on a Thursday. The campground was on its final days of first-come, first-served status before shifting to high summer mode where reservations are required. We pulled into the excellent B8 site and paid for two nights, which totaled $20 with our America the Beautiful senior pass. What a screaming deal.

Relax, enjoy: Despite the sometimes white-knuckle driving – Interstate 5 is the worst – we arrived at our destination and got set up by early afternoon. Ahhhhh. By the next morning, we were ready to go early up to Paradise. Even before 8, though, the parking lot was mostly full. We walked up to the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center and laid out our separate agendas. John slid into some snow spikes and began climbing up, eventually making it high onto Muir Snowfield. Leslie soaked up the historic vibe at the magical Paradise Inn, which was playing host that very day to our nation’s poet laureate, Ada Limón. Bravo!!

Hate to leave so soon: Our getaway day went fairly smoothly, out by 8 and home by noon after making a couple stops. (The dump station at the SeaTac Rest Area was very utilitarian and much appreciated.) The final takeaway from this outing was that for all the schlepping, loading, unloading, driving and getting re-organized, it’s probably best to stay out longer. There are definitely some adjustments that need to be made as we evolve into “weekend warrior” RVers. But, heck, we enjoy a challenge and we’ll just get better every time we do it. Or, then again, is anyone in the market for a used Thor Gemini?  LOL, JK.

Speaking of summer travel, where are you headed? We’d love to hear from you: goingmobile@spokesman.com.

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We’re posting photo updates on Facebook (Facebook.com/goingmobiletravel) and Instagram (Instagram.com/goingmobiletravel). You’ll also find all of our content at Spokesman.com/going-mobile, along with stories from our globetrotting buddy, Dan Webster.  Dan recently posted about a memorable trip to Albania.

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