Mt. St. Helens

Today we traveled to Mt. St. Helens. Rob's folks live at the base of the road to Mt. St. Helens and we all took a drive up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory (all except Kate, who was with with her other Grandparents). The weather wasn't great, and the cloud cover was low but we figured it was a good day for a drive anyway. We all had a great time, got to see some scenery and wildlife, and took some good photos. Too bad we couldn't see mountain, but now we have an excuse to come back again soon!

Jack takes a look at the blast zone on the scale landscape model.

Cole makes a souvenir smashed penny for his collection he started in Disneyland.

Jack experiments with the seismic sensor placed in the floor.

Here is a shot of "Earthquake Jack" highlighted by the yellow arrow.

Cole reads checks out the monitors of live seismic sensors placed near the lava dome.


The boys wait to head into the Mt. St. Helens movie presentation.

Getting the front row at the movie.

Jack is astonished at what the mountain looked like when Dad was his age.

The boys at the entrance to the observatory. Note the snow pack on the right.

Papa, Jack, Cole and Nana out at the front entrance.

A great family shot but we are missing Kate!


Leaving the observatory. Notice the wonderful view we had in the background!

This was the view we were hoping for!!

Now let me get directions out of here. I just got to slip on my snowshoes.

Tucker says "I'm cold, and I just want back in the warm car".

Jack uses his new binoculars to check out the Hoffstadt Creek Bridge.

Coming off the trail head.

New walking trail/bridge on Silver Lake near one of the Mt. St. Helens visitor centers.

Testing out the macro lens again.