MOUNT ST. HELENS…GLORIOUS!

Wednesday, June 20 – We are visiting Mount St. Helens today.

We left the campground at 7:30 a.m. The fog hadn't lifted yet.

There is a mountain out there somewhere.

As soon as the fog burned away, it was an beautiful day to visit the Mountain. Remember, we are traveling to the top of mountain, so dress accordingly (more on that later).  The area inside the 14-mile Blast Zone was left to Mother Nature to reclaim.

Hoffstadt Creek Bridge is the longest and tallest of fourteen bridges on the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway ( Hwy 504) at Mount St. Helens. It is the tallest bridge on a State Highway in
Washington State and third tallest in the Northwest at 370 ft. above the ground below. It begins the Blast Zone.

Millions of trees have been planted, outside the Blast Zone, to replace those destroyed. They are planted very close together and the entire forest is made-up of trees the same size . It made us dizzy looking at the trees – weird.

The camera is not out of focus. Crazy how the trees appear.

On Sunday May 18, 1980, (can you believe it's been 32 years), Mount St. Helens blew its top!

Our friends, Terry and Jeri of Just Wonderin', sent us a photo that Jeri's brother, Marvin, who is a pilot, took after the first big explosion. Just amazing.

The explosion blew over 1300 feet of the mountain outward and down the hillside. The area around Mount St. Helens was instantly and permanently changed.

But the Mount St. Helens' story is about re-birth. How, after total destruction, the Mountain has come back to life. We had the re-occurring thought, while on the mountain, that if mankind was wiped off the face of the earth, this is how the earth would come back.

Since 1980, plant and animal life have come back to the Mountain and surrounding valley. Flowers bloom and grassy greens have overtaken much of the gray. Scientist are amazed at the miraculous ability of nature to come back after such devastation.

Look at this cutie.

Still a bit cold up here for many flowers, but we did get a glimpse at what one type looks like.

Interesting tidbits about Mount St. Helens:

1. The eruption of Mount St. Helens caused the largest landslide in recorded history.

2. Wind speeds reached over 300 mph.

3. Landslides reached speeds of 155 mph.

4. Temperatures reached 660 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. The lateral blast removed the upper 1,306 ft. of the volcano.

6. Over 1000 commercial flights were canceled following airport closures due to ash and debris.

7. During peak summer months, more than 800 truck-loads of salvageable timber were retrieved EACH day.

8. Weyerhaeuser employees planted 18,400,000 trees by hand to reclaim the forest. It took workers 4-years to complete this project.

9. From Oct. 2004 through Jan. 2008 minor eruptions produced over 125 million cubic meters of lava. Enough to pave a 3-foot thick, 7-lane highway from Portland, OR to New York City.

You see the mountain soon after exiting I-5, that's over 50 miles away! Today, it is still covered with snow.

As you approach the mountain, you begin to see the Northside that was blown away. The remaining mountain is now sort of “U-shaped.”

We were surprised with the wind (40 mph gusts) and bundled up against the cold. It's not surprising that we saw people in short, sandals, and flip-flops.

Crazy lady…50 degrees, wind gust up to 40 mph.

We urge anyone visiting Mount St. Helens to be sure to view BOTH movies in the visitor's center. They are very enjoyable and as the movie ends the curtain rises and you have a very dramatic view of the mountain through the entire glass end of the theatre. You hear quite a few gasps from the audience.

The center of the mountain is called the dome. Growth of the new lava dome continues with each eruption.

We were told that even though the crater of Mount St. Helens is in a pause state, it still has steam escaping. With a zoom lens, we were able to see it for ourselves.

There are several hikes at the mountain, including a 19-mile all day hike to the crater. We headed out on a short hike, but with the 40 mph wind it wasn't very enjoyable so we turned around and called it a day.

It was windy and cold, but really Marsha…gloves?

From the Johnston Ridge Observatory, Mt. Adam  (another volcano) can be seen.

This adventure on Mount St. Helens made our list of “Best Experiences in 2012.” So, if you are ever in the area, be sure to take at least a half day, and drive to the Mountain. Marsha calls it the "Monster."

To see more photos, please click on Mount St. Helens.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

LONGVIEW HIDDEN TREASURES

Tuesday, June 19 - We woke up to a rainy day today so we scrapped our plans to explore Mount St. Helens. Instead, we dodged the raindrops and visited the sights of Longview, Washington.

Founding father Robert A Long began planning for the world's largest lumber mill. He immediately approved for his employees a modern city called Longview, what is known as the first truly planned city of the 20th century.

Thank you Mr. Long

In the middle of town is Lake Sacajawea. It is named after the Shoshone woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition through this area over 200 years ago.

Sacajawea, also known as Janey, and Jean Baptiste, her son, aka "Pomp"

Lake Sacajawea is a huge, man-made lake covering is 120 acres on Longview's Historic Westside.

Used for all types of local events, this beautiful park has 3.5 miles of trails, two fountains, three playgrounds, and numerous benches for resting.

Best Friends

Japanese Island

Bridge to island.

Lovely Japanese garden.

In another park in the center of the town is Squirrel Monument/Tree City USA.  Longview's abundance of oak trees means a healthy population of squirrels. There is even a Squirrel Festival held each year.

Giant wooden squirrel statue

Nutty Narrows Squirrel Bridge. Don't forget to look up as you drive around town to see the numerous and unique bridges built over the streets just for squirrels. As it goes, the road is too wide for the little legs of the squirrels to get across safely, so the residents decided to build bridges for their furry friends. At Christmas time, they adorn the bridges with colorful lights and Christmas trees.

Running to get to the bridge.

Monticello Hotel. This is one of the first buildings built in Longview as a showcase for the “Planned City.” At the center of town, “the Hotel” has long been the focal point of community and social activities. It has a ballroom, lounge, and restaurant.

Longview Public Library. Founding father Long donated the library. This represents the importance he placed on the city's cultural and intellectual growth. It has one of the few rooftop cupolas in the region.

Storybook Time, our favorite statue…why? The cat!

R.A. Long Park & Terrace. This green space in the center of the circle is named after Longview's founder R.A. Long. Here you find several monuments.

North to Olympia. This stone is dedicated to the pioneers who blazed the way through here to Olympia, the end of the Oregon Trail.

Veteran's Memorial. This Memorial commemorates the sacrifices of local members of the Armed Services.

We did a short visit to the downtown area.

The Columbia Theatre was dubbed the "Crown Jewel of Southwest Washington" when it was built in 1925. It hosts national, international, and regional artists and is home to many community arts partners.

Despite the nasty weather, we enjoyed our visit to Longview and see all the hidden treasures it holds.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

HERE WE COME…MOUNT ST. HELENS

Monday, June 18 – We made a short drive up to Kelso, Washington, today. We are staying at the Kelso Elks Lodge for a couple days while we visit Mount St. Helens.

The Lodge is very nice, but the campground needs some more gravel. The sites are gravel with gravel streets. With the recent rain, things are a little muddy. We have 30 amp electric and water. There is a dump station on the property.

Site 5

Looking left.

Looking right. The yellow building is the back of the Elks.

We met friends, Jeri and Terry Williams for dinner in the lodge this evening. It's “burger-nite.” It's our “farewell” dinner because we will probably pull-out of the area before seeing them again. They wouldn't let us drive, pay for gas, or buy them dinner during our guided tours. They finally agreed to dinner at the Elks tonight….WOW, they really made us pay big…NOT!

Jeri, Terry, Paul, Marsha

Once again, we would like to thank Jeri and Terry for the time they spent with us and the enjoyable days around the Portland area. Thanks guys!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!