SATURDAY, SEPT 13

SATURDAY, SEPT 13:

     On our way up to Mt. Rainier, we stopped at the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center.  Actually, one of the Visitors Centers.  There are 5, I believe, located at various places around the volcano, and which offer different views and perspectives of the mountain, different emphases in the exhibits, etc.  The one we visited is the one most accessible – just 5 miles off of I-5.

     An attractive, spacious, building houses this Visitors Center.  Once again, the exhibits were excellent, informative, and engaging, focusing on the weeks prior to May 18, 1980 when the volcano exploded.  A short film was also excellent, containing footage of the side of the mountain giving way, the actual eruption, the huge ash cloud which rose 15 miles into the sky (and fell as far away as Montana, so thick that people thought at first it was a hard rain, except they weren’t getting wet –only dirty!), and the enormous mud slides which gushed down the mountainsides, taking everything in their paths – houses, machinery, and of course millions of trees, which fell like matchsticks.  I believe the final death toll was 50+ . . . could have been far worse, since it was a late spring Sunday morning, and normally, some 2,000 people would have been camping, fishing, or hiking in the area.  But due to the foresight of the Forest Service (based on what the scientists were warning about), and local law enforcement, relatively few people were in the vicinity.

     The Visitors Center also focused on the cyclical nature of volcanoes like Mt. St. Helens . . . what appears to be chaos and destruction paving the way for new earth forms – new rock laid down, nutrient-rich ash providing excellent new farmland, even the re-growth of the mountain itself as a lava dome is forming inside the volcano.  Echoed the theme we heard at Crater Lake – beauty from ashes.  Literally.

     We could see the mountain dimly off in the distance.

                                                                    

Some 50 miles down the road is another Visitors Center, which is only 7 miles from the north edge of the mountain, with tremendous views of the crater and the emerging lava dome.  Would be fascinating to see!  But there was no way we wanted to pull the RV down that narrow road and back again.  It’s about 3 hours from Mt. Rainier, so it’s possible that we may drive down there during our stay there.  We’ll see.

     Another couple of hours and we were at our campground, which is 20 miles or so from the National Park.  It’s another beautifully wooded, rustic campground.  Only about 20 sites, and a few tent sites.  Very, very quiet and peaceful.  No WiFi, though, at least from our site.

 

Grilled burgers for dinner, and then walked around.  Very cool at 8:00!  Those tenters are going to be chilly come morning!