Southwest Washington Tour

Saturday July 28, 2007

We started the day with a 9:30AM departure to meet Tom and Kendra at I-90 Marine in Issaquah. He was there to pick up his boat, which was having an oil leak fixed. We arrived before the shop opened, so I turned Andrew loose on the exhibit boats out front. He eagerly explored the ins and outs of a beautiful catamaran fishing boat. He especially liked the sunken toilet buried deep in the hull in the living quarters.

Finally the shop opened and Tom went in to pay for the work. An employee pulled his boat around front and we hooked it to the Denali. On the way out of town, we grabbed a bite to eat, then headed south for Chehalis.

Tom, Lanna, and the girls had a reunion to attend and we had plans to check out the Chehalis Fly-In and Chehalis Days at the fairgrounds. Based on what we saw driving in (not much activity at the airport) and what Lanna said (Cat show at the fairgrounds), I was considering a change of plan. Considering our proximity and the fact that the Haksch's had not seen Mt. St. Helens from Johnston's Ridge, I suggested Mt. St. Helens. Everyone seemed to like the idea, so Tom gave us directions that met our two requirements: 1) shortcut to the mountain and 2) with a mom & pop burger joint along the way. He pointed us to Toledo and we were on our way.

After lunch, we followed the route all the way to Johnston's Ridge. We dropped George off at the front and found a place to park. It was an hour before closing, so we were in a bit of a hurry. When we arrived at the front door, George already had our passes, so we walked right in. The movie was starting in five minutes, so we hurried to the end of the line. The doors opened and we entered the dark theater and found some seats. As we waited, Andrew started to get anxious. "Will it be loud?" was his primary concern. As the lights dimmed and the movie started, Andrew's anxiety continued to build. He seemed very concerned for our safety as we watched the mountain explode and the trees get shattered on the screen. Finally, the movie ended and the crowd of tourists gasped at the next sight - which I won't reveal here. You know what I mean if you've been here before.

The next stop was the large mountain model display. Andrew was fascinated by the lights. We walked around the model to see the mud flows and blow-down zones more clearly. Andrew's anxiety level was near normal again, but he still was a little concerned. I showed him our location on the map and told him that the landslide went through Spirit lake and right up and over the ridge, as depicted by the colored lights on the model. This lead to a game of, "Am I safe here?". He would pick a spot and we'd try to determine what, if anything, would get us if we were there during the eruption.

Outside, a ranger was giving a presentation, but Andrew wanted to walk. Andrew's definition of "walking" is Daddy carries him up hills and he runs down hills. When I ask him to walk up hills, I usually get, "I'm too tired" face down on the ground response. I've been trying to prepare him for the day when he becomes too big and heavy for Daddy to carry anymore. Although I love to see him grow, I'm not looking forward to that day.

At 6:00PM, the building closed and we headed back down the road to Coldwater Lake. As is generally the case, the cloud that was blocking the crater vanished once we left the ridge. We hurried back to a good viewpoint, but the cloud magically reappeared by the time we arrived. Such is life in the mountains.

On the way home, the question of dinner was raised. I threw out a couple suggestions, including places in Centralia and Olympia. Hunger and time-to-reach-the-restaurant ruled and Country Cousins was selected.

After a fine dinner we were back on the road. We finally pulled into the driveway at 11:30PM, completing our 14 hour Southwest adventure.