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Published: June 19th 2008
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Scary Campground !!
This is where we ended up staying last night ! Well, we survived last night in Silver Lake, Washington and awoke to a brand new day. We planned on going up to Mount St. Helens and then over to the lava tubes. Before we could head out, Tim had to settle up with the owners and decide which route to take. It didn't take him long to route a course for us and we were soon on our way. Not long into the drive everyone starts yelling for breakfast. There was absolutely nothing in sight, no restaurants, gas stations, etc. I guess we didn't realize how barren it would be in this area but, it does make sense that no one would want to live close to an active volcano. Our options were very slim, actually there were no options other than to eat in the motor home ! So, I whipped up some sausage and biscuits, in about 55 seconds each ! Hey, I'm on vacation too !! After a long and kinda depressing drive (there's still a lot of damage), we finally reach the viewpoint to Mount St. Helens. At first, we were all talking trying to decipher the exact location of the volcano because it doesn't really look
Lake at the Campground !
This looks like something straight out of the old Friday 13th movie !! like the volcanoes you see on TV. It really just looked like another snow-capped mountain to us, but as we were trying to figure it out, this stranger approached us and he held all the answers. I guess he could tell we were tourist and we didn't have a clue what was going on ! I'm not sure if it was the motor home or the fact that it was 30 degrees and Tim was wearing shorts, that gave us away ! Anyway, this stranger turned out to be one of the many scientist and geologist that were sent to the volcano years ago to study it after the eruption. He told us every little detail from a year and half before the eruption 'til today. He was very intelligent and it was awesome to listen to him explain all about everything. Although, I must admit about 30% of what he said went completely over my head. I got enough to understand the thing exploded in 1980 and could explode again along with the other two active volcanoes beside it. I guess that explains why there are no signs of life within a 40 mile radius of it ! Well,
Me & Bigfoot !
We didn't realize we were in Bigfoot Country ! after our geology class was over and our feet thawed out, we head down the mountain and over to the lava tubes. Don't feel dumb, I had no earthly idea what a lava tube was either ! This is something that Tim found on the internet and he thought that the girls would enjoy. Lava tubes are natural conduits through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow, expelled by a volcano during an eruption. They can be actively draining lava from a source, or can be extinct, meaning the lava flow has ceased and the rock has cooled and left a long, cave-like channel. Yes, I totally just cut and pasted that from Wikipedia !! Anyway, after the longest, curviest two hour drive of my life, we arrive at the caves. Tim, Kayla and Emily are so excited until they realize that this isn't one of those attractions where you pay an arm and a leg and a cute little tour guide comes out and takes you through the cave. There's only three other cars in the parking lot besides us. Once the girls realize that their lives are completely in Tim's hands, they start packing food
Suspended Bridge !
I do not like bridges ! :-( and water in the back pack like it was going to be there last meal !! Tim starts getting out the lanterns, flashlights, etc. but it wasn't until he came back in the motor home to put on blue jeans that Kayla started to get this funny look on her face. She knew it must be serious if Tim was putting on pants !! I am happy to report that they all returned safely about an hour and a half later and they had the time of their lives. The three of them didn't stop talking about it for hours. I've already heard a thousand times how they had to do the "military belly crawl" through one portion of the cave just to get through it. We had a long drive ahead of us so the three musketeers all got changed into some dry clothes and we headed off towards the great state of Oregon. Sometime after crossing the Oregon border we stopped at the Original Roadhouse Grill for dinner. We eventually found a Wal-Mart parking lot in Salem, Oregon and that's were we decided to lodge for the evening. Tim went in Wal-mart to get some "guy" things like
On the Way to Mount St. Helens
Beautiful lake we saw on the way to the volcano ! nails and stuff while I cleaned and Emily rearranged the pantry and Kayla fell fast asleep. Tim is keeping an exact journal of our mileage and it's hard to fathom that we have already traveled a total of 3812 miles throughout 14 states (232 in rental cars) and we've used 592 gallons of fuel ! We head out in the morning to drive Route 101 down the Oregon coast ! Good Night
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Mamma
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Daily fix
I'm glad to see you're back, I mean I can get my daily fix again. I always go to your blog to see where you are and what's happening. All of you are really getting a hands on education with this trip and something you'll never forget. Ginny and family (including Dawn) are at Tybee Island this week but I told her to send info so maybe she'll be back in San Francisco when you get there. Misty is going in Monday (a week early) to have the baby. She is ready. So we'll have a little Nina around 12:30 Monday. I can hardly wait. Be safe and have fun. Kayla LOVE THOSE PJ'S Love, Mamma