seeing mount saint helens when mom and dad come to town

Sunday was my birthday.  As a special treat Josh and Rachel got a minivan for the day.  We all piled in and drove up to Washington to see Mount St. Helens.  It was great being piled in the family van, especially since I didn't have to drive!  What a great treat.

 We took this group shop outside of the Forestry Center.  You can see the clouded volcano in the distance.

 This was once the Toutle River.  The river is now under many feet of lava flow.

 The Forestry Center was so informative.  We learned that the forests were replanted with Noble Fir by hand after the eruption.   The trees all look very uniform because they are all about the same age.

 These two cuties took a selfie.

 It took some maneuvering.

Cute family alert!  Rachel, Eurydice, and Joshua in front of Mount St. Helens.

Our next and final stop was Johnston Observatory.  It is named after the man that was standing on the hill when lava washed over the crest.

 Eury and Rachel.

 Eury is standing where twenty-four years ago was covered in the eruption.

 Beautiful people on a beautiful lookout.

 This area is recovering at its natural rate.  A majority of the area was replanted but some was left as an area of environmental study.  There is still a bulge in the crater of the volcano and every so often it will have a small eruption.  Nothing as wide-spread or intense as that day in May of 1980 when the whole side of the mountain blew.

 Our group after the day of learning about the volcano.

Back at home we enjoyed a delicious meal of American Style Enchiladas, adjusted to be meat, dairy, and wheat-free (egads!), that Josh and Rachel prepared.  This was a favorite of mine growing up and I am super grateful they were able to prepare it for my birthday.  

I had to think for quite a while to come with anything to make my wish.