Mount St Helens Volcano, Washington

Mount St Helens volcano before 1980 eruption

Without its cap - post eruption

How we saw it yesterday, covered in snow

Dust (on rose petals) from explosion as far south as Portland, Oregon

This tells the story...

This tree stump is still standing to illustrate the story

Ash blackened landscape with tree remnant

Snow lined road

We loved the drive up

Finally: Murray locking the door of the RV at Johnston Ridge

In May 1980 (I was 6 months pregnant with my second child at the time) the awe inspiring Mount St Helen volcano, about 2 hrs drive south of Seattle, Washington exploded, precipitated by a series of earthquakes. Yesterday, Murray & I drove about 1.5 hrs from our campground to check out the area. The furthermost and closest accessible point, within the actual 'blast zone', only opened to traffic the day before we drove up. We weren't surprised either, as there was still several feet of snow in patches. The snow clearing machines would have had their work cut out clearing the roads in readiness. The winding, climbing drive up to Johnston's Ridge was beautiful - but stark at the same time where evidence of the blast zone was present. Despite it being the 31st anniversary of the eruption, many areas of blackened landscape remain. Burnt beyond repair. If you just drove up there and looked at what is left of the mountain (the top blew off and just a crater exists), that is one thing, but to see the videos and hear the story of what happened before, during and after that fateful day is really mind blowing. We called into 2 of the visitors centers, and watched 3 different videos. There were also great informative areas, showing a timeline and displaying memorabilia from the event. Scary really. We are now in a campground by the beach. We can see the Pacific Ocean from our RV, and the sun is shining - the landscape couldn't be more different!