Fourth Of July Parade

Day 265: You've got to love small-town parades. The citizenry of Eatonville lined the streets along the one-mile route despite cooler than usual temperatures. We had a good turnout of Parkies and their families, and even brought the Park's fire engine down off the Mountain to bring up the rear behind a patrol car. Superintendent Randy King led the way, carrying the Park's banner with the assistance of Junior Ranger Logan, and following right behind them, Mount Rainier National Park's BioBlitz dance team repeated their energetic routine at every intersection and stop along the way to the tune of "Bird Machine (feat Alesia)". A grand time was had by all, but it may take me until July 4, 2017 to recover!

Parkies On Parade

Day 264: I'm sure hot temps kept a lot of people from attending Eatonville's Fourth of July parade today, but a group of stalwart Parkies marched despite the weather. Our theme was "trails," so some members of the group carried shovels or pulaskis while others wore backpacks and carried trekking poles for the one-mile route through the heart of town. Although turnout was low compared to previous years, those who attended waved enthusiastically or cheered as we walked by.

Best Of Show

Day 278: I didn't want to carry my camera while marching in Eatonville's Fourth of July parade, but as we queued up for the procession, I was kicking myself for that decision. Several FarmAll tractors were lined up and r'arin' to go! I can never resist a FarmAll. Oh, sure, there were a couple of those green things there as well...glorified lawnmowers, those, and much noisier than their red counterparts, but I won't give them a second glance. No, a FarmAll is the only REAL tractor you'll find in a Fourth of July parade, and fortunately, the Eatonville event was so well attended that I was able to catch one of them after our Park group had completed their circuit. FarmAll - Best of Show!

A Farmall Fourth

Day 275: As much as I love watching parades, I enjoy actively participating in them even more. Today, it was my privilege to be one of almost two dozen uniformed representatives of Mount Rainier National Park who swept through Eatonville, handing out candy and high-fives to the kids, waving acknowledgement to the community residents and smiling in general goodwill. It was perhaps our best Park turnout ever, and the small-town populace lined both sides of the streets elbow to elbow, ranked three to five deep in places, over a one-mile route. The high-school band followed directly behind us, marking a lively tempo which inspired some -ahem!- to "boogie" joyously. Our group was fairly near the front of the parade, so when we had completed the circuit, we stood on the sidelines and watched as other groups passed by. As in many other rural areas, tractors come naturally to a parade. I was delighted to see two Farmalls bringing up the rear and managed to catch this shiny red beauty before she headed back to the barn.