Mt. St. Helens Eruption–31 Years Later

Thursday was a gorgeous clear day. We were off to visit Mt. St. Helens and view the dome from the Johnston Observatory.  This location is the closest viewpoint to where the eruption first started 31 years ago. We remember that day well.   May 18, 1980 was a gorgeous clear Sunday.  As we watched the huge mushroom cloud escape into the sky, we had no idea at that time at the devastation that was taking place and the lives that were lost. 

Making our way to the Observatory, we had many beautiful views of the mountain. The Observatory had just been opened a few days before for the season.  Snow was still piled up but the roads were clear.

Numerous earthquakes and mountains of ash  occurred prior to the Big One!  We know.  We experienced much of it as we lived about 35 air miles from Mt. St. Helens.  We also dealt with ash clean-up time and time again that year.

The picture above the viewpoint gives an idea of just how close you can come to the actual dome itself at the Observatory.

The Visitor’s Center is full of information related to the eruption in 1980.  They also have a short movie.  We watched the movie but since we had lived in the area at the time, we felt so much was missing.  The actual devastation to the area and footage of the raging rivers would have really shown the damage done to the area.

We didn’t measure the snow but we certainly had an idea of how deep it was.  Obviously, we had no intention of getting stuck in it.  We stayed on the roadways.

Cousins, Larry and Judy, went with us.  This was one of the views of the mountain that we stopped at on the way back down to the Learning Center.

Notice the plume of steam rising from inside of the dome.  This plume was spotted going back down Spirit Lake Highway.  For several months before and after the eruption, there were many plumes of steam and puffs of ash which spewed the area.  You didn’t want to drive for fear of ruining your engines and you certainly didn’t want to breath it.  The ash would turn day into night.

Toutle River flows through the area.  Much of the original river is buried.  Parts of it were covered with nearly 650 feet of ash. During the eruption many houses and trees were carried down this river.  The debris and the force of the blast knocked out anything in its way including humungous trees, bridges and even parts of the I-5 freeway.

The Learning Center is on Highway 504 about 19 miles before arriving at the dome observatory.  The guide told us it took about 10 seconds for ash from the original explosion to make it that far.  

We made use of their picnic tables with our peanut butter sandwiches and oranges and were thankful it was a clear day and the mountain wasn’t acting up.

The Learning Center store had lots of items for sale, of course.  Some of the items are made from the Mt. St. Helens Ash.  Terry, Judy and I ended up buying warm jackets.  They were closing out their winter supply and we got quite a deal!

Normally herds of Elk can be seen from this viewing point behind the Learning Center. However, the Elk had moved to the middle island when we were there so no photos to take.  One of the guides told us that about 150 Elk live in the area and are usually visible from their viewing areas.  The problem is that they roam down by the river too.  You have to have a pretty powerful pair of binoculars to see them.

 

Since we couldn’t get a picture with real Elk, Judy took a picture of us by the statue of the Elk.  Remember we are Elks and we just paid our dues and have current cards to prove it!