Washington Day 2

August 11, 2008

After a restless night with me sleeping with Eliza and Greg sleeping with Forrest we all woke up earlier than I would have liked, but that is usually how it works. After having breakfast we headed out to Mt. St. Helens.
The day was quite overcast and it was threatening to rain. We had been watching the weather all week and we knew there was a good chance that it would be overcast. Knowing that we were going up to the Northwest where it rains or is overcast a good majority of the time we decided to just stick it out.
Our first stop was at the Mt. St. Helens visitor center. Inside they had a volcano that you could walk in to see what the inside of the volcano looked like. They even had a hole dug into the ground that made you think you were seeing lava flowing under the visitor center. We were suckered into believing it, but the guide reassured us it is just lights and mirrors. After seeing all of the exhibits we headed outside. Every time we would turn around Eliza would stop and say cheese so we could take her picture. Of course she would never look at the camera or sit still long enough to get a really good picture.
Forrest on the other hand just wanted to count all the rings in the tree. I figured by the time he was done it would be about dinner time.
We did a little exploring and then went on to our next stop which was the retention dam. This is where we decided to stop and have some lunch.
While we were waiting for Greg to bring all the food. I took a little time to photograph the scenery. I just love how everything is so green and alive. I also really enjoyed all the wild flowers. After lunch we went on a little hike.
Greg and Forrest spent time playing with the walkie-talkies while Eliza just ran wild.

Our nest stop was probably my favorite. It was called the Forest Learning Center. It was really hands on and had a lot of information. The kids got a real kick out of it and spent a lot of time exploring. Unfortunately while we were enjoying the museum it started to get really dark and ominous. We decided we better head out to try and see the top of Mt. St. Helens before it was completely obscured. On the way up we saw some really neat things.
These mountain looking hills are actually chunks of Mt. St. Helens that were completely blown off the mountain. We also saw trees that had been buried by the mud flow and only now can we see them because streams are eroding away the mud.
You can also still see debris flow. The guide told us that the debris flow would continue until 2035. That is just amazing to me that they will still feel the affects of the explosion more than 40 years after it happened.

By the time we reached the top you couldn't see more than three feet in front of you.
If we had been able to see this is what we would have seen. I was really disappointed, but what can you do. Everything else we had seen was so cool it almost made up for it.

Once we realized we couldn't see the top we headed to Karen's. On the way Greg and Forrest would make me take pictures of whatever would catch their fancy.
Bridge anyone? No.
What about some aircraft carriers. Ya it wasn't that interesting for me either.

We got to Karen's house about 6:30 and settled in. We had pizza for dinner and then played some games. Forrest and Colton immediately took to each other. They were like two peas in a pod and loved to play and hang out together. By 10:00 we were all pretty beat so we headed to bed. Tomorrow is going to be more of a lazy day which we could all use.