Off to Mt. St. Helens (part 2)

Wednesday July 23 - Thursday July 24th -   (Days 393- 394)

 

Today was a little cloudy and drizzly, just perfect weather for a hike. Marilyn had one all picked out for us called Goat Creek. So, after breakfast, off we went, east toward Morton. The route to the trailhead had us going up a forest service road that was extremely rough, and we were glad Gene's truck had four wheel drive.

 

The hike itself was great. We climbed through a forest and after about a half mile came to a rather unique waterfall. There was a huge rock cliff, with a cave underneath. The waterfall was like a curtain of water coming off the cliff in front of the cave and the trail went behind it. So we ducked through the water, admired the cave and went further on. The trail itself was about 5 miles roundtrip, with a lot of ups and downs but not too hard.

 

At the turn around spot, Marilyn and Gene found the creek, but Harris and Judy didn't want to wade through the mud to get to this last resting spot. 

 

We turned around and stopped at the waterfall for our lunch.

 

We just made it back to the truck when it really started to pour.

We returned to our camp, had a rest, and then ate the wonderful garlic chicken dinner that Marilyn prepared. We played cards in the evening, as we usually do. Gene won the game of “Oh, hell”.

The weather started clearing up as night approached..it'll be a sunny day tomorrow when we leave.

Off to Mount St. Helens

Monday July 21 - Tuesday July 22nd -   (Days 391- 392)

 

We were headed out for a short camping trip with Marilyn and Gene, and decided to add an extra day to go to Battleground. Judy wanted to visit her brother, Ralph. Monday was a gorgeous warm day, and we had a leisurely start....meaning we left around noon. We weren't expected before dinner, so that was all right.

As we neared the town of Kalama, our little sat-nav, Tom-Tom, told us there was a traffict jam up ahead, that might add an extra 20 minutes to our trip, so we decided to ask Tom-Tom to find us a detour. Hmmm. We left the freeway and climbed and climbed and climbed on a road up Green Mountain, then came down and down and down back to the freeway about 3 miles further than we had been....a detour that took us 20 minutes! But we did get to see this gorgeous view of the valley.

 

Ralph and Charlotte fixed us a great dinner of salmon, corn on the cob, sweet potato julienne fries, and homemade rolls. They had their granddaughters from New York visiting, so it was an extra special visit for us.

 

We camped in the driveway, and the next morning Judy talked the girls into playing Banangrams with her. It was fun watching them come up with words and they did a great job with very little help.

 

We left Battleground around 11 and drove north about an hour and a half to meet Marilyn and Gene at our campground at Mossyrock. This is a Tacoma Power Park, not a state park, and is situated on a lake formed by the Mossyrock Dam.

The loops by the lake were pretty full, but our loop, up above was full of open spaces..and much quieter.

 

This little deer was browsing near our spot when we drove up.

 

We took a short walk around the campground and down the road about a half mile to a quilt shop we had passed. This house along the road obviously doesn't welcome people!

 Judy couldn't resist checking out the quilt shop just outside the park entrance.

 

Marilyn made us a terrific dinner of beef fondue, salad, garlic bread and fresh tomatoes from her garden. As we've said before, camping with her is definitely gourmet all the way!

 

The sunset was made dramatic because the clouds were rolling in. It started raining in the night, and kept it up, all the next day!

 So, on Tuesday, we decided to put off the planned hike and drive up to Mt St Helens, even though we knew we wouldn't see the mountain itself. We stopped at one visitor “center” (more of a gift shop) and we all bought these great jackets that were on sale. We decided to wear them right there and then, because it was definitely getting colder...and rainier....

At the Johnson Observatory Center, we watched a movie about the explosion in May of 1980. At the conclusion of the movie, the screen recedes, the curtain opens, and you're supposed to be awed by the sight of the mountain...which was covered in clouds at this point!

 

But, on our way back down the road, the clouds began to lift and we had to stop to take a few shots of the mountain...quickly before it got covered up again!