Incredible Mountains
July 18, 2005
While we were very tired today, both physically and mentally, we experienced some amazing sights and were reminded of the awesome power of nature. Leaving Seattle we drove near Mount Rainier, although couldn't afford the time on this trip to go clear to Mount Rainier National Park. That is something we will want to do on a future visit to this area. Mount Rainier is an amazing edifice; it is remarkable how large it is and how it can be seen from (seemingly) everywhere we were in the past few days. Rainier, part of the Cascade Mountain Range, is actually volcanic, as are most of the mountains in the range.
All afternoon was spent in and around Mount St. Helens. Our first stop was at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake, which is actually operated by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Department. There we bought passes to allow us access to all visitor centers within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. We also saw a couple of movies at this center that described the mountain and depicted the eruption that occurred on May 18, 1980.
Next we traveled to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. From here you have a view directly into the crater. While we've posted a number of pictures in Flickr, Mount St. Helens is a place that needs to be experienced in order to truly comprehend the incredible destruction that took place when it erupted in 1980, and the rebirth of the mountain that has been ongoing in the past 25 years. Put it on your list of places to visit if you haven't already been there.
The Johnston Ridge Observatory Visitor Center was also excellent, with another very good movie and also some terrific exhibits that help one's understanding of the 1980 eruption and volcanoes in general. After leaving the Johnston Center, we stopped briefly at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center. Here you can see Coldwater Lake, which didn't exist until after the 1980 eruption. The lahars from the Mount St. Helens flowed down the valley and formed a debris dam, creating Coldwater Lake. You can see the hummocks, or ridges, formed by the lahars in this picture. Now, 25 years later, trees are reclaiming the land (although in other areas we saw the trunks of trees still standing, and many others laying on the ground, that were destroyed in the blast) and animals (even elk) have returned to the area.
Tonight we are in Tigard, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. The next two days are primarily travel days as we head for our final destination of this vacation, Yosemite.
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A selection of photos from our trip can be viewed at Flickr. You might like to watch them as a slideshow. Send us an email by clicking HERE.
While we were very tired today, both physically and mentally, we experienced some amazing sights and were reminded of the awesome power of nature. Leaving Seattle we drove near Mount Rainier, although couldn't afford the time on this trip to go clear to Mount Rainier National Park. That is something we will want to do on a future visit to this area. Mount Rainier is an amazing edifice; it is remarkable how large it is and how it can be seen from (seemingly) everywhere we were in the past few days. Rainier, part of the Cascade Mountain Range, is actually volcanic, as are most of the mountains in the range.
All afternoon was spent in and around Mount St. Helens. Our first stop was at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake, which is actually operated by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Department. There we bought passes to allow us access to all visitor centers within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. We also saw a couple of movies at this center that described the mountain and depicted the eruption that occurred on May 18, 1980.
Next we traveled to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. From here you have a view directly into the crater. While we've posted a number of pictures in Flickr, Mount St. Helens is a place that needs to be experienced in order to truly comprehend the incredible destruction that took place when it erupted in 1980, and the rebirth of the mountain that has been ongoing in the past 25 years. Put it on your list of places to visit if you haven't already been there.
The Johnston Ridge Observatory Visitor Center was also excellent, with another very good movie and also some terrific exhibits that help one's understanding of the 1980 eruption and volcanoes in general. After leaving the Johnston Center, we stopped briefly at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center. Here you can see Coldwater Lake, which didn't exist until after the 1980 eruption. The lahars from the Mount St. Helens flowed down the valley and formed a debris dam, creating Coldwater Lake. You can see the hummocks, or ridges, formed by the lahars in this picture. Now, 25 years later, trees are reclaiming the land (although in other areas we saw the trunks of trees still standing, and many others laying on the ground, that were destroyed in the blast) and animals (even elk) have returned to the area.
Tonight we are in Tigard, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. The next two days are primarily travel days as we head for our final destination of this vacation, Yosemite.
-----
A selection of photos from our trip can be viewed at Flickr. You might like to watch them as a slideshow. Send us an email by clicking HERE.
posted by Bill Bauer at 11:56 AM
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