Mount St. Helens. Day 32

Outside the Mt. St. Helen's visitor center,

was a walk around a wetlands and Spring lake, a

lake that was formed from the big earthquake in 1980.

So Mount St. Helen's was put on the map (at least from

this non Washington native perspective) for the eruption of

the volcano in 1980.  The visitor center's main emphasis is the

 retelling of the powerful force that came that day.

We heard there was snow the further up you went towards the mountain

 and that visibility was not good.  I just couldn't settle being at the lower visitor

center without getting a closer look.  So we headed up further to the Hoffstadt

Visitor Center.  We never were able to see the top, but at least we received some

 perspective and drove through the area that was affected by the volcano.

The valley in the picture was always there, but majorly raised

after the volcano erupted.

Something that stood out about the eruption was the change

that took place on Spirit lake.  A popular tourist destination,

a lake house, boy scout camps, and now it is gone.  There are no trees and

 the lake has changed dramatically in appearance and there isn't even really

 access to the lake we were told...It is also sad for those individuals who lost

their lives that day.  What a powerful force.

 "A 5.1 magnitude earthquake from within Mount St. Helens triggered the collapse of the mountain’s north flank, releasing the largest landslide in recorded history and a volcanic eruption equal in power to 500 atom bombs.  The lateral blast traveled at more than 300 miles per hour with temperatures in excess of 600 degrees Fahrenheit, destroying 230 square miles of forest. Within seconds, the trunks of thousands of 150-foot-tall, old-growth Douglas firs snapped like toothpicks. Rock, snow and ice roared down the mountain at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. Ash rained down over 22,000 square miles, blew more than 12 miles into the atmosphere and circled the globe in 17 days. When the ash finally cleared, the mountain was reduced by 1,313 feet."

A picture so you can gain perspective on where the peak

would be if you could see it on a clear day, this is mama

using Bobo to gain a clear perspective on a cloudy day!

Thanks Bobo!

Now we are headed back into Oregon.

Thanks Washington for such a beautiful journey...majestic

mountains, space (on water and land), city life, and much diversity.

We hit a trip weary moment.  We pulled into a Motel 6 for the night

right around 6:00.  Now some are better than others...this was on the "not

as good" end of the spectrum. 

Ugh.  It is 6:00 and here we are.  I felt trip weary for many reasons. 

But the kids were laughing, playing, glad to be out of the car, and basically

 no awareness of what I saw around me.  Andrew also hit his first (and only) trip

weary moment as we experienced our first rain that day and sense of winter and cold

descending.  We have also been trying to figure out what is next in this journey

and there seems to be a domino effect in our decision making contingent on timing.

 We were told the Hyatt most likely will not be ready for Andrew by December 2nd,

true to the process that began in May, we don't have absolute certainty and

timing and answers do not seem to come easy.  

But we choose to still sing our songs and read our passages in a Motel 6 as it was Sunday

today. Not even sure the name of the town, yet trusting and moving

forward in the ways we know how to move. 

Morning light will hopefully bring more clarity.