Ocean to Mountains

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Sure enough, we headed for Mount St. Helens this morning. We found a picnic table about 10 and had our breakfast. It was in a little area that had a couple of camping spots, a gift shop, and tourist information about the 1980 eruption, and it had a big sculpture of Bigfoot out front. Guess that is what drew our attention. We get a lot of stares and comments while travelling in our Two Big Feet, so wanted a picture of the Bigfoot. There was also an A Frame cabin that was just a few days from being finished when it was filled with about five feet of mud, silt and ash about 8 1/2 hours after the eruption.  The ground around it is now five feet higher than it had been, so the main floor would almost be basement level if it hadn’t been ruined.

We just poked around stopping here and there at the different viewpoints as we continued on up the road.  We talked to a ranger at one of the viewpoints, and he offered lots of information about the eruption and the area. From that viewpoint we could also see the top of Mt. Adams. It was a really clear day.

The ranger was very interesting to talk with.

The eruption was 31 years ago. Much of the private land around is owned by lumber interests, and has been replanted. It looks quite healthy. Then when you get to the Forest Service land that surrounds the mountain, you still see the stark hills with flattened trees all over. It is slowly coming back to life.

When we arrived at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, we stamped our books and then watched the movie. It was very good, and finishes with the screen and curtains going up to show the face of the mountain. It was especially stunning today because there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. After poking around there for a while, we headed out to find our way to Mt. Rainier. We took the back roads, and enjoyed the drive and different glimpses of the mountain from time to time.

After the movie, the screen opened
and there was the mountain!

This is the view of Mount St Helens
from the Visitors Center.

We went in the Southwest entrance of Mt. Rainier National Park and made our way to the Longmire area. We found the Museum and got our books stamped with not much time to spare before it closed for the day. We found the Shuttle stop, and hopped on a bus going up to the Paradise area.  As we entered the park, all the full signs were out – the campgrounds were all full, as was the parking at Paradise. So the free shuttle was a good way to go; just sit back and leave the driving to them.

The very beautiful Mt. Rainier!

Since it is warm and very clear, seems like everyone wanted to be at the mountain today. The bus up wasn’t very full, but the one back was crowded and quite noisy.  We got our books stamped at the VC, took a few pictures, then headed back down to our rolling caves.  

This is the free shuttle we rode.

Betty and Barney relaxing on the bus.

We still hadn’t had lunch, it was 7 pm, and we didn’t know where we would be staying tonight, so just fixed sandwiches, chips and fruit to get us back on the road. As it turned out, about 50 feet from the entrance to the park there was a quaint, cozy, rustic, you choose the word you like best, and you get the picture, RV park that was very reasonably priced, prevented us from having to drive half the night, and gives us a chance to go back in and see more of the park tomorrow. It isn’t totally beneath our standards, so here we are tonight. It isn’t sleazy, or we really would not have stayed.  It probably has about a dozen spaces. They don’t provide enough power for bigger rigs, but enough for our needs, and there certainly isn’t a shower available! It’s convenient and the people next to us are also from Idaho, so it can’t be all bad.

We have absolutely no signal on phone or mifi, so will post this when we can.

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