We finally crossed the Oregon/Washington border and headed for Mt. St. Helens. Originally we had planned on just driving through, but we had an extra day so decided to stay near the park and spend some more time. The first day we drove up to check things out, but clouds and storms were covering the top of the mountain so thick that we could only see the bottom third or so of the volcano. It was a bit of a bummer, but we found out about a lava flow canyon with a river running through it and decided to check it out.
Lava Canyon is a beautiful river bed that, until the eruption of 1980, was largely undiscovered. When the eruption occurred a heavy lava flow of silt, rocks, and water came down the side of the mountain and wiped out all the trees in the river bed, exposing a canyon cut out of the rock with a beautiful glacial stream running through it.
The river running through the lava rock
Lacey on the suspension bridge with her fake "I'm scared of this bridge" smile
Me on the same suspension bridge, a little different reaction
The waterfall area of the lava canyon river
A slightly longer shutter speed for that "soft water" effect (I'm learning a bit about photography on this trip)
After lava canyon we drove to Ape Cave. We really had no idea what it was until arriving at the visitor center there, but learned that it is a 13,000+ foot lava tube that was created as hot lava flowed from the volcano and solidified on top due to contact with the air. As the lava flowed out of the interior towards lower ground it left a large cylindrical cave that can be explored by tourists like us on a self-guided tour. The cave has no installed lights, and believe me, it's freakin' dark down there when you turn the head lamps off.
We camped that night at Cougar Park on Yale Lake (actually a reservoir ran by PacifiCorp Energy). The campground was nice and our site near the lake was beautiful.
Our tent, hanging out by the lake
Yale Lake at sunset
The next day we got up, packed up camp, and headed up the road towards Mt. Rainier with, fortunately, some great views of the now cloudless Mt. St. Helens. The only bad news was that the road to an area where you can view the eruption site was closed because of snow. It'll have to wait until next time I guess :)
Lacey at a great Mt. St. Helens overlook area
Another self portrait
A very wide panoramic view of the volcano/mountain and surrounding stuff
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