Mt. Saint Helens…again

Corinne Family, National Parks & Monuments 6 Comments

In August, 2017, when Janelle and I were in Portland, Oregon visiting Callie, Janelle and I visited the Mt. Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument and the David Johnston Observatory (read about that visit here).  Jim had never seen Mt. Saint Helens.  Since the RV was parked between Mt. Rainier and Mt. Saint Helens, we put it on our to-see-list.

The first day we drove along the east side of the volcano.  This road doesn’t lead to the Monument and Observatory.  But it does give you some amazing views of Mt. Saint Helens.

Mt. Saint Helens as viewed from the east.  You can still see trees that had all their branches stripped from the eruption.
This is Spirit Lake. When Mt. Saint Helens erupted in 1980, the resulting mudslide spilled into Spirit Lake and caused its surface to raise 200 feet. The logs you see floating on the lake’s surface are trees that were blown down in 1980 and are still floating on the lake 38 years later.
This is Coldwater Lake. It was a river before the eruption. The ecology of the region recovered much quicken than scientists thought it would.
This is called the Miner’s Car. It belonged to three gold miners who left it parked and hiked to their mining cabin before the eruption. They did not survive the blast. The 1978 green Pontiac Grand Prix did survive….sort of. It is still there today. By studying the materials in the car and how they looked after the blast, scientists determined the blast air temperature in the vicinity of the car was 400 degrees F.

The next morning we started out to visit the National Monument itself and the David Johnston Observatory.  This is what we saw out the windows of the Observatory.

Mt. Saint Helens…can you see it? No, we couldn’t either.
This is outside looking at the Observatory building.  You can’t see much, can you?

Let’s contrast that with what Janelle and I saw the year before. Note the difference.

Memorial

No matter.  We still enjoyed viewing the exhibits and learning the story of the volcano.

After we escaped the clouds that morning, we drove north towards Seattle.  We met up at a restaurant with my college roommate Renee and her husband Jeff.  Renee and I lived across from each other in the dorm initially and subsequently shared an apartment for two years.  Jeff used to constantly beat me in racquet ball (I do recall beating him once).  We tried to remember when we last were together.  I seem to recall they met up with us in the same manner right after Jim and I were married…34 years ago.  That is WAY too long between visits.  We won’t let another 34 years pass.

Jeff, Renee, Corinne…all University of Michigan graduates!  And we don’t look different at all! 

I have one final picture to share with you before we leave the mountains. Jim spotted this establishment in Packwood, Washington.

This is one-stop-shopping!  A combination quilt fabric store and liquor store.  I now regret not going in to explore. But we didn’t need any liquor and I have way more fabric than I should already!

6 thoughts on “Mt. Saint Helens…again”

  1. dominiquefeather

    Quilts and liquor —- hmmm!!!!! We visited Mt. St. Helens on one of our trips out west with Mike and Karen. Didn’t get very far as they were still cleaning up. Saw lots of ash and trucks hauling logs. Like your comparison of your 2 visits.

    1. Corinne Post author

      That must have been a sight to see with all the ash. The area has rebounded surprisingly fast from such destruction. As for quilts and liquor…a dangerous combination!!! But funny. 🙂

    1. Corinne Post author

      I know, the trees still being there was amazing. Scientists are watching what happens next, I’m sure. Our country has a lot to see, and we are just getting started!

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