Going to Seattle - Day 3

The third leg of the drive north was the shortest in distance. We set out from the southern Washington town of Longview for Seattle which was a mere 120 miles away. Along the way we stopped by Mount St. Helens to check out the notorious active volcano. The weather, however, did not cooperate and clouds shrouded the peak of the mountain. This cut short much of what we were able to do at the park. Being at the site is impressive in itself because you can see the substantial impact the eruption had on the area. The entire landscape of the region was radically changed in moments on May 18th 1980. The following pictures hardly begin to convey the colossal force unleashed upon the area. 

A testament to the awsome power of nature		The Mount Saint Helen's region
The base of Mount St. Helens		Ominous warning
The mounds are actually pieces of what was the peak of the mountain pre-eruption.		During the eruption entire forests were laid to waste
Following the eruption the entire valley was filled with material from the volcano		Desolation where lush, mature forests had once been

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