Mount St. Helens, WA

Mount St. Helens

Note the lush new growth in the valley below the mountain.

With more rain falling, the weather wasn't perfect today, but we took up a ride up to the end of Hwy 504, ending up at Johnston Ridge Observatory.  This visitor's center does honor the federal pass, so we saved $16 in entrance fees.  They gave us each a band to wear around our wrist showing that we had paid.  Those were amusing because they each said "Youth $2".  We felt very youthful!

Mount St. Helens under a cloud

Johnston Ridge offers a great 16-minute movie.  When the movie ends, the screen goes up, the curtains open, and there it is...Mount St. Helens.  Somehow, each of the three times we've been there, it's cloudy and/or rainy, but when the curtain goes up, there's still a good view of the mountain.  We walked on the short but steep Eruption Trail, where it was windy and cold, but on the way back to the parking lot, we went on a different part of the trail which went past a memorial to all the people that died as a result of the eruption.  That trail was more protected, so it was much warmer there.  We ate our lunch in the car in the parking lot because it started to rain again.

The sun started to come out, but the cloud didn't lift in time to get a good picture of the mountain.

This is a picture of Spirit Lake and the Windy Ridge area located on the northeast side of Mount St. Helens.  The road from where we were does not go to this area.  You can drive there by going all the way around and coming in from another road.  Yet the lake is only 3.5 miles away.  We visited this section a few years ago, and it's worth the trip, because you see more of the devastation from that area plus more new tree growth. 

After visiting Johnston Ridge Observatory, we drove to Coldwater Lake and took a walk along the paved "Birth of a Lake Trail".  It started raining again shortly after we began the walk, so we got soaked.  It's a beautiful walk, though, with several places to built to enjoy the view the lake. 

Our first view of Coldwater Lake from the trail.

Coldwater Lake just as it's starting to rain again.

This view from Hoffstadt Bluffs shows the Toutle River and its surrounding mud flats created by the ashes from the volcano eruption.  After the eruption the North Toutle River was log-jammed with trees that had been felled by the volcano.  Helicopter rides over the area are available here.

This was our view as we drove back down the mountain.  The trees have been replanted and things are looking very green and healthy.