Mount St. Helens

Castle Rock, Washington: We were tired of the foggy weather, so pointed the Magna Peregrinus east and found ourselves at the base of Mount St. Helens. The drive was spectacular along Highway 4, following the Columbia River. Great views - especially after we left the fogged-in coast!

We checked-into a campsite, and headed directly (in our Honda) up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. It had been several years since we had visited the park and were amazed at the amount of vegetation that is now growing in the devastated areas. We toured through the Visitor Center and watched a great film about the 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens and then went out to see the crater. I am tired and need some beauty sleep... so here is very little chatter and way too many photos of what is left of Mount St. Helens.

Mount St. Helens from the Visitor Center at the Johnston Ridge Observatory

Visitor Center at the Johnston Ridge Observatory


Mount St. Helens


Panorama


Johnston Ridge Observation Deck


My Old Geologist, in his element


Close-up of the crater... lots of ash/dust blowing around inside the crater


Ranger leading a hike.. notice the tip of Mt. Adams in the distance?


Another view


Pretty wildflowers everywhere


And plenty of RV parking... but it is a hard climb to the observatory.
500' elevation to 4,200' elevation in 40-ish miles. Use your tow vehicle, if possible.

After several hours at the Visitor Center, we began driving back to Castle Rock - stopping at many vista points and other interesting sights along the way.

Coldwater Lake - formed by the 1980 eruption


Boardwalk around the lake shore


Mount St. Helens from Coldwater Lake


A view of the devastation from the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center.
From here, you can hire a helicopter to fly you into the crater! (We passed.)

Our last stop of the day was to a pizza place, Papa Pete's at I-5 at Exit 49. It was just beyond terrible. Doughy. Undercooked. Tasteless. The only thing worse than their pizza was their "two beer limit per person". What?

Don't we have a kitchen in our RV?

Until my next update, I remain, your thirsty correspondent.

RV Park: Toutle River RV Resort. (Rhymes with poodle.) Huge new (still under construction) RV resort with hundreds of sites. Most are huge pull-throughs, full hook-up with 30 and 50 amp service, paved interior roads with gravel sites, pavilion, horseshoe, fire pits and BBQ's, game room, gym, fitness trail, free wifi, great laundry, swimming pool, spa, store, tennis court, etc., etc., etc. On I-5 and a train track, but not too noisy! We paid only $22 with our Good Sam discount... and I was thinking it has been a long while that we have paid so little for a campsite - any campsite.