Sunday September 29 - Mount Saint Helens

People here must be desperate for their coffee fix. Even towns so small there are no restaurants or stores have a little espresso shack somewhere in town.

Today we headed toward Castle Rock and the entrance to Mt. St. Helen's National Park. It was very impressive. As you get closer to the mountain near the Johnston Ridge Observatory, the valleys look like moonscape as nothing is growing on the ash. There are huge dead trees mixed in with the ash and rocks

We stopped at two different visitor centers (free for us of course) and saw short films and other displays that told about the massive eruption and explosion that destroyed thousands of acres of timber, rivers, lakes, homes and killed many people. One of the centers had exhibits that explained how the area came back to life which was very interesting.

After eating lunch at a County Visitor Center, we drove down Interstate 5 to Portland.