Day 27 - Mount St. Helens

Got up early in the cool morning as we're headed to Mount St. Helens and it's not a far drive.  It's still cool here and in the 50's, but the sun is out.  Fireplaces have smoke coming out of them, so I must not be the only one who gets cold here.

This was my last view of Mt. Rainier as we left:

We saw lots of houses with moss on the roof.  This one almost looks like a thatched roof!

On to Mount St. Helens!  We're camping in Castle Rock, WA.  It's not the same park we stayed in before, so it will be fun to try a new campground.  Besides, our friends Sue and Dayne are coming to camp with us!  They live in the Seattle area.  Sue and I have been friends online for many years and we've met before.  We haven't met her husband, and we're looking forward to meeting him and their 4 legged child, Paisley.

We got set up and it wasn't long before they arrived.  We headed for the Johnston Ridge Observatory 5 miles from the crater on Mount St. Helens.  It's about 50 miles away and a beautiful drive.  The last time we were here, we camped for four days and never saw the mountain.  It was covered in fog, clouds, and snow.  Not today, however!!!  It's sunny and warm!

We put Chrissy with us in the front seat and Sue, Dayne, and Paisley took the backseat of the truck.  We had crates for each dog, too.  When we got to to the Observatory, we left the dogs in the crates, the windows cracked and the cool mountain air blowing in through the windows.

This particular sign always gives me the creeps!  YOU ARE ON THE EDGE OF THE BLAST ZONE!

Here's the bridge that was replaced near the sign:

Me and Sue at Mount St. Helens.

All the Happy Campers!

But here's what we came to see:

Here's the crater view:

The top 1,300' is missing now, and it's still beautiful.  I wish I'd seen it before the blast 30 years ago.

Chrissy isn't the most friendly of critters, but she decided she liked Sue and at best, tolerated Dayne.  We don't know why!  She enjoyed playing with Paisley.

Back down the mountain and dinner!  David and Dayne grilled steaks and they were delicious!  Since my body still thinks I'm on Central time, when it got to be 10 p.m. Pacific time, I was wiped out!  Promising I get up early, we all went to bed in our respective campers!  LOL

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)