Eric and I have been on two long-ish road trips in the last five days. On Thursday we took a day trip to Gonzaga University in Spokane, roughly five hour drive each way (about 285 miles). There is an exhibit of Oz materials in a library at Gonzaga, and hubby-Eric wanted to check it out. We made the long trip with our trusty troll Torvald along for scenic pictures along the way. You'll have to ask hubby-Eric if it was worth the ten hours of driving, as I'm no Oz expert.
What I do know is that as of last Thursday, the weather turned somewhat warmish around the state, and that it was a long hot drive. I enjoyed stopping near Vantage Washington both ways to get Troll pictures, but I'm still not totally up for walking around in heat that exceeds 80F. The worst was still yet to come for that, but I managed to get a bit carsick on the way home after about 8 and a half hours of driving.
We made it home in decent time, although the way I felt after we got home I think we really should've found a hotel and not tried the entire trip in one day. It was just a wee bit much for me.
After a rest day on Friday, we then set off for Portland Oregon on Saturday afternoon, as hubby-Eric's Jeopardy trial was Sunday morning. Because of the timing of the trial we had already reserved a cheap room at a Portland hotel, and planned to make a weekend of it. The drive down on Saturday was mostly uneventful. We took Torvald along, but never stopped for pictures. Once we got to the hotel, we settled in a bit then wandered around downtown for awhile looking for a good place to eat (cheap).
Unfortunately, when I reserved the room in Portland, I made a stupid mistake. The hotel advertised "wireless in every room!" and I assumed that meant FREE wireless. HA! Not only did they charge for wireless, they also charged extra for parking. I've never been to a hotel that didn't offer free parking to overnight customers. Still, the room was inexpensive. The staff was friendly and competent (we had an AC problem, they fixed it promptly). The beds... I hadn't slept on a twin bed for many many years, and the last time I slept on a twin bed it was low to the ground and pushed up against a wall. These rooms had tall twin beds with very springy hotel mattresses that made you feel like you were sleeping on a balance beam. It was not a sleeping experience I care to repeat any time soon.
Sunday morning, hubby-Eric and I took the troll around Portland (page under construction) and Eric went to the tryouts (which I hope he'll write about here soon). I took some more pictures, played on my computer sans internet, and read until he came back.
Then we went into phase two of our trip: Mt St Helens!
I've wanted to go up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory ever since it opened, but time and the effort involved, not to mention the likelihood of getting there on a crummy overcast day, meant that I never got around to it. Well, no more! We planned it for Sunday, and when Sunday dawned bright and gorgeous, we headed up to the mountain.
Getting up to Johnston Ridge on Mt St Helens is very easy. From I-5, you take the Castle Rock exit and follow 504 until the very end, 52 miles along the road. At the absolute end of 504 is the observatory, five miles north of the mountain looking down on the still devasted landscape.
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Heading up 504, all seems pretty normal until you reach a very tall and long bridge that sits on the edge of the blast zone. Going into the blast zone, you find Weyerhaeuser managed forests that look absolutely nothing like any forest, managed or not, I've seen before. Imagine hillsides with nothing but noble fir^, setting up a natural moire pattern^ that utterly confuses the eyes. In most forests, even clearcuts, there are other trees mixed in and lots of undergrowth. These forests seemed more than a little wrong, with their uniformity and lack of bushes and brush.
After many miles of managed forests, you reach an area that even Weyerhaeuser hasn't messed with. There is growth, and life, but even after 26 years you can still see the pattern of the blast. The large trees, left where they were instead of harvested after the disaster, all lay on the ground pointing in the same direction. The stumps are all the same height, many twisted by the forces that ripped the trees down.
Into this place, that used to be a prime vacation spot, you drive until you reach the end of the road at Johnston Ridge. Plenty of parking, and a vendor set up in the parking lot selling water and other cold drinks. A short walk takes you to the nice air-conditioned center, where you buy a pass for $3 (or a pass for all the visitor centers for $6).
If you go, I recommend watching the movie at this point. It's short and tells you everything you need to know about the eruption and what you are seeing on the hillsides between you and the mountain, and the ending is pretty impressive.
After the movie, head up to the top of the ridge. If you are lucky, somebody might have a telescope set up there to look at the elk prancing in what's left of the snow on the next over ridge. I managed to get this picture thanks to another guy set up on the path. Click it to see both fallen trees and lots of elk.
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After doing everything at the Observatory except for the long hike (maybe I'll go back some year when it's cooler and try that) we headed out, stopping at all the rest stops and vantage points on the way for more pictures. On the very first vantage point out from Johnston Ridge we caught this rockfall (not an eruption) on the mountain. As we were leaving the vantage point, more rocks started to fall in a more spectacular show. I probably should've stopped the car and got another image, but I was hot and tired.
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At that first vantage point we saw a woman feeding a chipmunk. She was shocked at how tame the fuzzy beggar was, but I wasn't too surprised. If any human hurts any animal in the area of the volcano, it's entirely by accident. These animals are considerably less afraid of humans than most any others you're likely to meet. Which leds to this sign, which makes a humorous point about feeding wild animals. Unfortunately, neither the woman nor the chipmunk had seen this one.
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And one last image... this doesn't look like much, but it's a steam vent. While the rockfalls on the mountain itself were more impressive to look at, this was the real deal. Back when the mountain first started rumbling in 1980, steam vents were one of the signs that something serious was happening. Now they are a normal part of the post-eruption landscape.
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It was a good trip, and I'm glad I went. It scratched an itch I had for a long time, and was nicely informative too. We got back on I-5 a bit after 6 pm and didn't get home until almost 9 pm thanks to heavy traffic through Tacoma and Federal Way. But it was a fun trip.
And hey, Eric's in the pool for Jeopardy contestants! He'll explain the odds of getting on the show to you all once he posts his report on the trip, I'm sure.
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