Other than actually seeing the snow-capped mountain of Mt. Rainier, there was not much else I wanted to do or see in the park. I had already checked Google maps and the state highway dept. of transportation to see the actual route and what construction is going on for my selected route. I wanted to take highway 410 on the northeast side to go through Chinook Pass. My main goal was to get to Lake Tipsoo before sunrise. That early helped with two goals. One, it got me out of Yakima early, thus, past the construction zones before the workers got there, and, two, beat most everyone to the park. However, that meant I saw practically nothing on the way to the park because of the darkness. I think I missed seeing some huge bluffs just feet from the side of the highway. I also missed the few very small towns I passed through such as Nile and White Pass. There were lots of signs for various campgrounds too.

I did not have to show my National Parks Pass Card. Either it is not necessary in this park or I was past the park gates before the rangers arrived. Just five miles or so before I got to Tipsoo Lake, the sky itself was beginning to have light. The ground was still dark, or at least shadowy. Such is dawn.

When I got to Tipsoo Lake just before 6:30 am, there were already three other vehicles there. They wanted to see the sunrise hit the top of Mt. Rainier. It was rather chilly as I got out of the car. I was glad I brought a jersey, gloves and ear muffs. I walked around the lake and took lots of photos of Mt. Rainier (about 3 - 5 miles away), of the other mountains, of the plants and the bodies of water in the area. Nice place to observe the mountain. The parking area had restrooms and trash cans. The walking paths all around Lake Tipsoo were quite handy.

I was hoping for some sunlight on the Lake Tipsoo area. I waited two hours. But the mountains to the east were quite tall. I think it would have been another hour or so before any sunlight made it. I decided to move on as there was still Seattle to visit for the day.

According to Wikipedia about Chinook Pass, it says "Tipsoo Lake is located just a few hundred meters from the summit, with a picnic area and a trail going around the lake, is one of the most photographed landscapes in the United States". I did have the lake to myself for two hours and did my part to continue that tradition.