Friday, September 4, 2009

Mt. St. Helens Volcano

We were tired from being on the road most of the day yesterday.  At about 10 am, we headed out to Mt. St. Helens National Park, which was about 50 miles away. 

What a beautiful scenic drive... This is the Toutle River.

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We made several stops at viewing points...This is the Hoffstadt Bluffs Center....We will probably have an early dinner here on our way back...

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This is the view from the Patio.  Mt. St. Helens Volcano is the highest mountain.

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Back on the road...

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Another view point...This bridge was completely gone when the volcano erupted in 1980.

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Back on the road...

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The Forest Learning Center and Gift Shop, elevation here is 2,650.  We are about half way to the top.

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The Tree Planter....

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There were many Elk Crossing signs but this is the only Elk we saw!

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Another view point.  We have arrived at the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Park....still need to travel a up little more.  A beautiful view of Mt. St. Helens.

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Back on the road to higher grounds....the wild flowers are really pretty.

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Manuel and Corina wait for me to finish my picture taking....

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A view of Mt. St. Helens and Coldwater Lake.

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Another view point...

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These are newly planted trees...

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We have arrived at the Johnston Ridge Observatory where we are at 4200 elevation.  We begin our walk up the trail....so sad to see the bare ground where beautiful trees once stood. 

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We get a very clear view of the active volcano mountain and there is ashes and dust...

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It is very windy up at this level...just imagine this being covered with 150 foot trees....

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We really enjoyed the trip here....so interesting.

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We are still heading up the trail....so windy here.

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More of the wild flowers...

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This is a memorial to the 57 researchers that lost their lives on May 18, 1980, when a 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook Mt. St. Helens triggering a massive explosion. 

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The eruption was 60,000 feet into the cloudless blue sky.  It has no peak now but a flat top. 

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This is what it used to look like before the eruption, this is a picture in the observatory.  The lakes and rivers were also transformed....

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We watched the film of the amazing history of the mountain before and after.

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A view of the Volcanic Mountain after the movie ended and the theater curtain was opened.  

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Our walk back to the SUV.  We are tired of all the walking but this was worth the trip here.

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There is a group of Bikers coming into the park....

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Our drive back to pick up the RV and we will then drive to Portland which is 50 miles away.

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We stopped at the Hoffstadt Bluffs to have an early dinner since we will be driving to Portland, Oregon.

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We had a spectacular view from the Patio...

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Driving to Portland, Corina enjoys the ride....

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The beautiful Kalana River before we cross into Oregon.

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We arrived at Columbia River RV Park.   It is a very nice park.  We will stay here two days.

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Manuel and Corina enjoy the evening....I do too, taking my pictures.

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Tomorrow we will tour Portland.  Our time with Corina is running out.

1 comment:

Jesse Aleman said...

That was an awesome tour . I would like to make that my next bike trip . What I would give to be able to take a trip with my Parents !! Corina you are so blessed . I love you all and be safe