Mt St Helens, Washington Johnston Observatory View

Mt St Helens, Washington, August 2010
























We left McChord Air Force Base FamCamp and drove about 140 miles to Silver Cove RV Resort in Silverlake, Wa about 40 miles from Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument Visitor Center. There are several visitor centers as you travel around the volcano. The first center is located about 45 miles from the Johnston Ridge Observatory, where you first get a view of the mountain and during the day the park rangers offer briefings about what happened in May of 1980. A 15 minute video with actual newscast from local coverage of when it erupted and the aftermath. Several museum type displays are there along with newspaper articles, film clips and a gift shop with many books that were written about that day. We left the center and headed towards the RV resort and set up. Mid afternoon we drove up state route 504 and headed to the Johnston Observatory. Along the way we came across many signs along the road indicating points of interest. First and most interesting was the sign "Entering Blast Zone". This was about, I believe, to be 10-15 miles from the volcano. Trees that were in the direct path of the blast had their tops snapped off or just ripped from their trunks and sent to topple other trees in the blast zone. An example of a tree in the direct path is in the Observatory on display, the force is shown where the top was snapped off.

In June 1987 the Wayerhaeuser Company completed their commitment to replant the forest with a 9 million dollar project to replant some 18.4 million trees by hand one by one with their projected first harvesting in 2010. The project covered some 45,000 acres. When you drive down the road you can see where the controlled plantings took place and where nature started over reforestation.

Again at Johnston they have a 15-20 minute video on the eruption but from a different view and being so close to the volcano once you see the movie you have a better sense of what it was like back then. When you go out on the observation deck you can see the direction of the mud flows and you also have to imagine that this landscape is now 200 feet higher than what is was before the eruption. Trees flowed downstream took out bridges, homes and anything that was in its path. You have a great view of the volcano and can see another volcanic dome that has been growing over the years and see the ash dust that keeps sliding down from the top of the mountain and creating landslides in the crater. Ash dust flies all the time and these landslides inside the crater cause the elevation to rise about 150 feet a year. The day we visited the wind must have been around 35-40 mph. From this view point you could see Mt Adams which is still snow covered as well as Mt Rainier.

This National Monument is a work in progress as the mountain is still being monitored and according to the park rangers, a lot has been learned on predicting eruptions. They share their lessons learned with other countries - one of the largest classrooms we have ever seen. On our way out of the park we stopped at another center where you can take helicopter rides to the top of the mountain and into the crater, you don't stop you just do a fly by. We weren't ready for that adventure but it did sound like it could have been interesting. At this center we did see a car that was recovered from the blast zone from a local TV station. The reporter was safe but the car did sustain much damage. I will post more pictures on the next travel day. After the eruption, search and rescue operations started and all people who knew the area came back and saw that the landscape they knew was gone and it was all strange to them. No landmarks, roads, rivers, buildings just a complete wasteland. Many new lakes were formed with the landscape changes. The death count was 50 and 60, with some never to be found. Complete families, reporters, scientist and just people that shouldn't have been there.

Our first day of travel in the park was so very interesting and does give you a wake up call, especially when you look at the Volcano. To me it looked like it had a smirk on its face to tell people that I am still here and don't try to wake me up again. I can be some ugly.

Our next stop was Windy Ridge View Point.