Yesterday was one of those days when I am 100% certain that we made the right decision to move here. It is just amazing in Washington state in the summer. Today was actually a little hot for my taste, but the sunshine and views were beautiful. I am so glad that happens on a day when we have plans to drive a couple of hours to visit National Parks. Our Rainier trip a while back ended up being a little disappointing in that regard, but yesterday we had great views of Mount St. Helens.
It turns out that there are multiple visitors centers on the way up the mountain. Jason did some research and found the Forest Learning Center which boasted of beautiful views and kid-friendly exhibits.
The views were rather spectacular.
Inside we watched a short video about the eruption. I have seen video of it before, but it is still shocking each time. The cloud billowing out of the mountain looks like solid rock even as it is rising into the sky. The boys were stunned. Michael studied the eruption in school this year and was our family expert, but I don't think this movie was one they showed in the schools. Afterwards we found our way to the discovery room for some hands-on fun.
The people working in the discovery were very knowledgeable and happy to share their passion. Unfortunately, the boys were far more interested in getting their hands on all the cool stuff like rocks that float and bones that can be attached to their heads than in listening to any explanations. So I had some lovely chats with the staff and snapped some shots of the boys at the same time.
Josh's first kiss.
Josh's first helicopter flight.
Outside of the center was a short, but steep, path displaying the wonders of a new growth (ie since 1980) forest. While the sun was already getting warm, the forest was so cool that I am convinced that shade is nature's a/c. Well, here anyway. In VA, shade is just a place where the heat and mugginess is just darker.
I LOVE WA!
What we didn't love so much today was the construction traffic. Intellectually, I understand that the weather here dictates that the peak tourist season is also peak road construction season. In reality, hanging out for looooong periods of time (without a/c) on the road waiting for a pilot car (the two most hated words of the day) multiple times on our way up and way back was very trying.
But back to the fun stuff: we drove to the Johnston Ridge Observatory to get a great view of the spot where she blew her top. Disturbingly, she has a bulge with a "belly button" in the crater left by the 1980 eruption. Fun to visit, but I am okay not living too close by.
While taking in the sight, a nice lady offered to take a family picture of us. And, yes, this is the best she got.
Then Jason took over the camera and we have some pretty cool shots.
Since many of us had dressed for warmer weather (curse you weather website!), we opted out of doing a hike by the observatory since the hikes in that area had no tree coverage and some faces (see above) were getting a little bit pink. The nice park ranger (such helpful people!) recommended a short hike down by Coldwater Lake, so we backtracked down the mountain to spend some time near the water.
We had a little snack at the picnic tables and meandered over to the lake. On our way, we found a new friend. Thankfully, this little fellow was quicker than our toddler, and so returned home unscathed despite Isaac's multiple attempts to pet him.
The walk by the lake had several boardwalk detours that afforded us several opportunities to check out the water. Isaac was so fascinated by the water that he tried to take a dive. And when that didn't work, he chucked his shoe in. Jason was able to retrieve it, but Isaac lost his shoe wearing privileges for the rest of the day. The rest of our time by the water was enjoyable, but relatively uneventful.
Jason getting creative with reflections.
On our way down, we stopped to visit a friend of Rachel's. She sent us a pic last time she visited the area and we had to do the same.
And then we got home and spent some quality time re-hydrating after our fun trip.
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