Where is Jack, Day 100?

Today, we went to Mt. St. Helens with Michael and the girls. Nancy had been there before with Rich, but it was still fascinating and incredible. The landslide is just as visible as it was 10 years ago, but it didn’t seem as stark because of all the re-growth. We wanted to go because we thought it would be educational for Keely and Peyton. 

One side of the mountain blew out with such force that it incinerated everything in it's path and sent a 200 ft. wall of mud and debris which is hard to describe unless you see it in person.

Whole mountain sides and forests were destroyed; trees looked like tooth picks as whole forests were completely destroyed.

Michael found a trail that I could walk on so I had fun, too. I don’t like it when Michael goes anywhere or drives away. I think he reminds me of Rich.

Through the devastation, it's amazing to see the difference in just 10 years, well 30 since it happened. They say that Mt. Hood or Ranier will be catastrophic when they go; scarier, still, is that the scientists believe it's not "if" they go but "when" they go. Nancy said when she was there last time, it was like being on the moon. The ride up to the mountain was much greener this time. It's hard to imagine what it was like immediately after or even 10 years after.

Evidence of regrowth:

On the way up, we passed Toutle's Diner. Usually, Nancy and Rich packed a lunch, but Nancy had read about it somewhere so they went, and their lunch was delicious. She was asking herself, today, why she didn't take a picture of it this time--probably because she was following Michael. It looked like it had expanded from a little brown building to a larger restaurant. 

It was a long day with a VERY LONG drive home. The girls were very patient and very well behaved. Nancy thought Michael was driving slowly because he was conserving gas. He had mentioned that he only had 1/4 tank left when we got to the top, but it was driving Nancy crazy and was very tiring. We had a line of cars behind us. When we finally got down and stopped to get gas Nancy asked Michael what was going on with the slow driving. She had to drive in second gear to keep from running into the back of him. They both cracked up when he said he was waiting for her.

I was tired, too. We went to dinner when we got home and then we all sat and watched “Deadliest Catch”. Nancy was going to hook up, tonight, but we just got back too late. Tomorrow, we’ll head for the coast and for the whale watching trip. The girls enjoyed the outing so it was well worth taking them. We had stopped at a visitors' center to watch a film and see exhibits before we took the drive up. It was very interesting. As you can see, it was a happy day for Michael and his girls.