After going through my photos from the trip I took during Fall 2017, I have to say: the day spent at Mt. Saint Helen’s in Washington state was magical for me. FYI, this post is completely out of sync with the rest of the trip blogs.
If you’re visiting the park, don’t be fooled by the first visitor’s center you see (close to I5). It’s an OK place to visit, but the real visitor’s center down the long road that sits directly north of the volcano is the best place to get the real scoop on the volcano.
Please check this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens. The facts about the eruption are so interesting! The mountain erupted on May 18, 1980, killing 57 people and changed the landscape forever. To stand on the ridges overlooking the valley thinking of the force of wind, heat, rocks, trees, knowing I wouldn’t have survived, is really awe inspiring. Residents were evacuated prior to the eruption, but because the eruption took so long after the initial start, many people were allowed to return for belongings the just the day before the eruption.
This is miles from the volcano, the lahars (volcanic mudslides) went north and southwest.
Spirit Lake, where a determined Harry Truman (a resident who refused to leave his home of fifty years) was completely destroyed. Castle Lake (above) was created; showing through the clouds like this was ethereal.
 
This small creek shows how the mud washed over the trees that were flung far and wide.
The ridge where these tree trunks were flung is high above the valley. Scientists were six miles north of the eruption and were killed from the force and heat of the gases blowing out – searing their lungs.
Tree trunks from 1980, slowly rotting, making way for new growth.
The photo above shows the crater very well.
Clouds and rain showers concealed the peak (or what’s left of it) all day long.
from egghill 