Report on the Christmas festivities in Mineral

Did you all see that Mineral’s tree-lighting made the front page of the Eatonville Dispatch. They have pictures, so go look!

Before that, it was the first day for the Snowball Express to run out of Mineral.

Here is the train as it arrives down by the lake:

Santa passes out candy canes to all the kids waiting to talk to him:

We all loaded up on the train, and steamed out toward Murray yard, then backed up to go out to the Divide. You could see a lot of the flooding damage on the Cowlitz.

Rumor has it that the afternoon trains are selling out quickly, so if you and your kids want to spend a pleasant couple hours, contact the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad soon!

Oh, and I should mention for people who have been on it before that I think MRSR has pulled out every piece of rolling stock they have that rolls! I had never seen the plushy 40’s era car that we were in before. It is, as scenic trains go, pretty long. For those of you with kids like mine, this is a blessing, because you can be inside and far away from the whistle, so they don’t spend the whole trip with their hands over their ears.

Flood Pictures

Our neighbors up at Mt. Rainier National Park have put together some great resources on flood damage in the park that they know about. It will be late spring before we get a complete picture of all the damage.

Mt. Rainier Flood page

Damage tour (PDF)

In the meantime, remember that every day the park is closed is another long, slow day for the businesses that depend on tourist traffic. A Mineral resident who works up at Copper Creek says that she has had entire shifts where no one comes in. This holiday season, consider taking your relatives out to dinner locally, instead of eating at home. We probably won’t be sledding at Paradise this winter, but maybe we can sneak away to one of the B&Bs in Ashford.

In happier news, Mineral’s new fire truck has arrived! Thanks to the Department of Homeland Security, our emergency calls will be answered by a truck that does not need “coaxing”.