Mount St. Helen's

Off the ship at 8am. Jonathan picked us up and we went to a funky fifties diner not too far from the terminal. Jonathan had sussed it out in advance! We had a terrific breakfast sitting at the counter in white piped black seats. Some of the best bacon I have ever had! All that was missing was a jukebox! After tear-less ( with great effort!) goobyes, we dropped Paul and Amy back at the ship and set forth on our adventure.

We headed south from Seattle on the freeway (we are in the west!!) and then turned off on the scenic roads. We could see Mt. Rainier very clearly as we deove along. All very lush and rural...farming and fruit trees and, of course, timber trees. We stopped at Patty's Place at 19 Mile House an quaint roadside cafe that has probably been there for decades. I had more bacon...on a belt...yummy. And we ordered their famous fruit cobblers to go...for after dinner.

And then we approached Mt. St. Helen's through 30-year stands of Noble Firs to the blast zone...which extended 14 miles. I think we all remember the day in May, 1980 that this volcano blew its top. I quote from the USDA Forest Service site:

"Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. In a few moments this slab of rock and ice slammed into Spirit Lake, crossed a ridge 1,300 feet high, and roared 14 miles down the Toutle River. The avalanche rapidly released pressurized gases within the volcano. A tremendous lateral explosion ripped through the avalanche and developed into a turbulent, stone-filled wind that swept over ridges and toppled trees. Nearly 150 square miles of forest was blown over or left dead and standing.

At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. Wet, cement-like slurries of rock and mud scoured all sides of the volcano. Searing flows of pumice poured from the crater. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

A vast, gray landscape lay where once the forested slopes of Mount St. Helens grew. In 1982 the President and Congress created the 110,000-acre National Volcanic Monument for research, recreation, and education. Inside the Monument, the environment is left to respond naturally to the disturbance."

Little by little the devastation came into view....bleached tree skeletons, rocks slides, mud slides....a real moonscape! And, of course, new life....trees and wonderful sub-alpine flowers. It is astounding how quickly life returning to this devastated landscape.

Although the top of the mountain was visible for only a brief time because of clouds, the enormity and immensity of the scene is truly breathtaking. We took all the side roads to overlooks and trails to see it from every angle. Jonathan took a short hike while I stayed in the car.

Then it was on to Vancouver, WA, just across the Columbia River from Portland to our nice suite hotel right on the river. This is our jumping off point for the Columbia River Gorge and the Oregon coast tomorrow.

Needless to say we were both exhausated and had an early night after ordering in sushi and Thai food. And for the dessert the delicious fruit cobblers we had bought at lunchtime!