Mount Rainier National Park: An Artist’s Tour

Mount Rainier National Park is one of the most stunning and beautiful of the many parks we are lucky enough to have in our country. Molly Hashimoto is both an artist and a writer, and this slim volume shows off both of these talents in a stunning way. If it had been printed in a larger format, it would make a great coffee table book. It has all the beauty usually found in such a book. The delightful writing is part memoir, part history, part travelogue, part guidebook, part art instruction, and more. After an extensive introduction, it takes a look at this incredible national park by examining six distinctive areas — Nisqually Entrance & Longmire, Paradise, Stevens Canyon, Ohanapecosh, The White River & Sunrise, Carbon River & Mowich — and ends with a section on the beautiful wildflowers found in the park. Hashimoto’s writing is very conversational and will lull readers into thinking they are listening to a good friend tell of her travels. Her soft watercolor paintings of the flora and fauna of the park as well as the pretty scenery will tempt readers to tear out pages and frame them. This is a spectacular homage to Mount Rainier National Park.