The Mount Rainier National Park Associates will assist Mount Rainier National Park vegetation restoration staff Saturday with planting of alpine meadow plants at the site where the old Jackson Visitor Center once stood at Paradise.

Volunteers will meet in the Paradise upper parking lot, near the new Jackson Visitors Center, between 8:30 and 9 a.m. The work will last until at least 3 p.m.

Participants should bring lunch, plenty of fluids to drink and gardening gloves.

Heavy leather work gloves are too clumsy for handling tiny seedlings, said volunteer coordinator John Titland. He recommends thin gloves with rubber palms and fingers. Also consider bringing a garden trowel or small digging tool and a knee pad, he said, as well as a hat, sunscreen and a full set of rain gear.

Volunteers are welcome to camp in the Longmire Campground for free the night before or the night after their volunteer service, or both. Contact the park at Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov, Nicholas_Abel@nps.gov, or 360-569-2211, Ext. 3385, to reserve a site.

If you want to volunteer, e-mail Titland at volunteer@mount-rainier.org.

Smooth ride: Anyone who has driven through the Nisqually entrance in the last couple of weeks should have noticed a smoother ride. The park has paved over rough spots as temporary repairs. The park is working on long-term repairs where the roadway is sliding away from the hillside.

Facility updates: This is the last weekend restrooms at Sunrise Visitor Center will be open. The last night of camping at White River Campground will be Oct. 3.

Paradise Inn will close for the season Oct. 5. The National Park Inn at Longmire remains open year-round.

Jackson Memorial Visitor Center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Oct. 12, then weekends and holidays only from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the spring.

The Longmire Museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until Oct. 12. After that, hours will be 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Jeffrey P. Mayor, The News Tribune