July 30
We left Crater Lake on our way to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, WA about 7 hours and 375 miles away. Our route on I-5 north took us right by William’s Aunt Shirley and Uncle Hank in Salem (Shirley is the sister of William’s father, Kenton). We hadn’t seen them in many years and met them for lunch at an Applebee’s near their house. Shirley immediately presented us with delicious cookies she had made for us. We all had a great visit catching up and discussing all kinds of topics. Hank mentioned that the house William lived in from birth until 2nd grade was only about four blocks away. We couldn’t pass up the chance to see it. We all piled into Hank and Shirley’s car and headed over. William pointed out all the things he remembered about living there and a few memories that came back to him.
After about three hours we said our goodbyes and continued our drive toward Mount St. Helens. Since our plans had changed a little bit because of our visit with Hank and Shirley, we postponed seeing Mount St. Helens until the next morning. We stayed the night at Seaquest State Park only 47 miles west of Mount St. Helens.
July 31
The Johnston Ridge Observatory is the visitor center immediately in view of the north face of the mountain. Very informative displays and a short movie explain in great detail how the landscape was dramatically reshaped in the famous and catastrophic May 18, 1980 volcanic eruption that started when a huge bulge began to grow on the side of the mountain. This bulge set in motion a sequence of events that had incredible and lasting effects on the valleys, lakes, forest, and rivers around the mountain. The huge explosion, landslide, ash cloud, lahar (mudflow), and hot pyroclastic flow worked together to totally reshape the area.
There were several survivor accounts and pictures of that day. Unfortunately, 57 people died, including Johnston for whom the observatory is named. From the observatory, the close view of the mountain missing its original summit and a huge portion of its north face, the devastated area surrounding it, and the obliteration of forests within the blast zone is truly amazing. One can see directly into the crater with its growing glacier and its relatively new lava dome that formed between 1980-86 and 2004-08 and has replaced about 7% of the volume lost in the 1980 eruption.
The Davids' Cross-Country Trip 