Erupting In Southern Washington...

 

Mount St. Helens…  Mom remembers just where she was when she saw Mount St. Helens erupting.  Do you?

I had no idea about volcanoes until we went to Mount St. Helens.  It’s a National Monument, you know.  If I didn’t know what happened there, I would have thought that it was just another flattish mountain off in the distance.  We got up early in the morning and began the 50-mile drive up the mountain.  It took all day. 

We kept stopping at centers and overlooks and first we saw nothing but tall trees.  As we got higher and higher, Phaedra and I started to see smaller trees and more dirt.  We also saw hundreds and hundreds of dead stumps sticking out from fields of flowers.  Mom calls it rebirth of the land.  I call it a great place to chase little ground squirrels and find voles.  There are lots of little creatures living there now.

Did you know that Mount St. Helens blew off her north face, laterally (I just found out that means sideways.), on May 18, 1980?  That was 30 years ago.  At 8:31 am PDT, Mount St. Helens was 9,677 feet high.  At 8:32 am, Mount St. Helens was 8,363 feet!  It blew off 1314 feet!  It blew 80,000 feet in the air.  Temperatures of the blast reached 600*.  It traveled at 300 miles per hour!  When that happened, it started a huge mudslide that traveled across Spirit Lake and raised the floor of that lake 295 feet higher. (The gas and heat from the eruption actually melted snow and several glaciers, which caused the mudslides.)   

Most of the debris, though, traveled down the Toutle River 13 miles at 155 miles per hour.  It filled the valley with rocks and debris up to 600 feet deep. There were waves that were 600 feet high!  I sure wouldn’t want to “Hang Ten” on one of those!

It was really interesting that the area on the way to the top where we drove had trees that were pretty tall.  Most of this land was private logging land, and it was replanted within three years.  Guess how many trees?  Whatever you think, you haven’t imagined enough.  The number is 18,400,000.  That all happened in just 3 years.  Can you imagine?

Up at the top and close to Mount St. Helens things have been left alone so that what happens is natural.  This is the National Monument.  At first I thought it was odd leaving it natural, but so much has been learned about how the earth forms and how it heals itself, I guess it is a good thing. 

Phaedra and I were amazed at seeing the trees still lying on the hillside.  Whatever way the blast came from, the trees are lying that way.  Sometimes, on the same hill, the trees are lying in different patterns.  Papa said it is just like when you play Pick-Up-Sticks and let the sticks fall down.  I don’t know what he is talking about since I don’t let sticks fall down.  I pick them up to be thrown.  These sticks were too big for me to carry, though, as you can imagine.  Mom agreed with him, though, so I guess they know what they are talking about on this.

We went over to the south side of Mount St. Helens, too.  That is the side that didn’t blow its top.  Instead, mud flowed down that side and exposed an ancient lava canyon.  All of us hiked along the canyon and Muddy River with its waterfalls.  I lead the way, of course, and had to show everyone which way to go. 

The south side doesn’t have many blown down trees, either.  That’s because the mountain blew laterally.  Remember what I learned about that?  It blew out sideways – the other side, that is.  So this side wasn’t flattened like the other one was.

One day, we decided to go swimming in the Lewis River, which is really beautiful.  There are so many parks where people put in boats and go swimming.  Phae and I were so excited that we couldn’t wait to get in the car.  Mom got up late, again, so we didn’t get away until about 10:00.  Every park that we went to was full.  There were boats lined up along the roads waiting for someone to leave.  We must have driven 40 miles along the river stopping at parks along the way.  No one would let us in.  One man said the parks were full by 8:00.  Fat chance Mom will ever get anywhere that early now that she’s retired! 

There’s nothing like going to the lake and not getting in.  Who ever heard of that, anyway?  The closest we got to the water was when we drove across a one-lane bridge and saw thousands of boats on both sides of the lake.  People were everywhere, too.  Just like a swimming pool, I guess.  Plus, it was 96* outside.  That’s hot for anywhere, but especially for Washington!  When we got back, Phae and I got to run under the hose.  That works for us!  I don’t think Mom and Papa liked it when we shook water all over them, though.  I don’t know why – it was cool!  They’re just spoilsports!

The last morning Mama finally got up early and Papa and she hiked into a lava cave for a ways.  This is a wild cave so there were no lights anywhere.  They were the first people to arrive at the cave and were kind of nervous going down alone with no one knowing they were there.  They dressed warmly – I wondered why since it was going to be 95* again, but it is always 42* in the cave, day and night.  We couldn’t go with them.  I would have liked to find salamanders or other things that live down there, but they said it was too dangerous for us.  They weren’t gone too long.  I don’t think they like wild caves too much.  I guess that’s another story that has something to do with them going on a 2 hour cave hike which lasted 4 hours because their guide couldn’t find the way out.  Maybe that’s why they didn’t go to far into the cave.  When they were almost out, they met up with a couple of families and one of the kids said to papa, “Hi Cave Man!”  Papa laughed out loud.  I don’t think he looks that old, do you?  Sometimes he acts like a cave man, though, when he growls at me and chases me around the camper.

I liked Mount St. Helen’s.   It was sad to hear about all the people and animals and trees that died in the eruption.  I’m glad I wasn’t there, but it is good to remember.

It is great to see how the area has come back, too.  Still, I don’t know if I could live near Mount St. Helens now because it is still active!  I can run fast, but not fast enough to get away from a volcano going off!

So long from Zoe, the Beautiful!

Tripping in the Most Northwesterly Peninsula in the Lower Forty-eight.

It’s Phaedra here to fill you in about the past week where we journeyed to an area, which seems otherworldly. Sounds interesting, right?

Well, the forests here are not like the ones in North Carolina, that’s for sure. When we went out for walks, I thought some of the trees were going to uproot themselves and chase me. It was so creepy. All Papa and Mama said was, “Oh isn’t this so beautiful! Have you ever seen anything like this before?” Well, no, I haven’t, and I don’t want to again! Neither does Zoe! Sometimes it looked like you couldn’t even get through the branches to continue on the trail. And, let me tell you, size does count! These trees are the biggest in the world. I hear California has bigger ones, but I don’t think I’m going to see anything bigger than these.

Camping on the peninsula was fun and different. Usually, we stay in bigger campgrounds with lots of people. These campgrounds were small. In Sol Duc, there were 8 other campers. It was right in the forest but close to a lodge where there were hot spring swimming pools. The water was so hot I am sure I wouldn’t like it. The air was cold, though, so none of us went swimming.

We did enjoy traveling around, though. We went almost everywhere the folks went this time. Hurricane Ridge was way up a mountain road and was very curvy. We kept on going and going – glad I don’t get carsick! When we got to the top, WOW! Even I appreciated the sights! When we were having lunch out of the back of the truck bed, we had visitors. A mama Black-tail Deer and her fawn lunched on the spring flowers just a few feet from where we were in the truck. We didn’t even bark!

The next day, we went to a place called Cape Flattery, which is the farthest point north and west in the US. The Lower 48 States, that is. We drove and drove and drove. Finally, we arrived on the Makah Reservation and kept on driving and driving. When we reached the end of the road, all of us hiked a half-mile straight down. Guess why we took this trail? If you figured out that there were birds at the end of the trail, you are right. You know Mama is crazy for birds. Her favorites are Blue-Footed Boobies and Puffins. Well, this one was the Tufted Puffin. It was actually really cool! There was a lighthouse on an island just off the coast. Plus, there was a little island that had – wait for it, wait for it – Stellar Sea Lions. Papa had said he heard barking dogs when we first started down the “mountain” and a tribal representative told us it was the sea lions. The walk back up wasn’t so much fun and Zoe and I kept having our feet fall in between the boards on the walkway. We made it somehow, though.

We, also, went to the Hoh Rain Forest. You know, when you are hiking in a rain forest, all the trees look just the same. No wonder this is Big Foot Country. I think I saw a Big Foot, too. It was spooky with all the lichen on the trees that looks just like Spanish moss. The good thing about this lichen is that there aren’t those little red bugs living in it like there are in Spanish moss. Zoe tried to eat some, but Papa pulled her away. One never knows about that Zoe Girl.

Do you know about Twilight? Well, we went through Forks, WA. Yup, that Forks. Of course, we had to stop at A Shot In The Dark for coffee for Mama. She hasn’t turned into a vampire, yet, so I guess it was all right!

The second campground we stayed at was right on the shore of Lake Quinault. There were some nice cabins along with the campground, and it was really pretty there. But, that campground had only 4 campers the last night we were there. That was a bit creepy, too. Every day, Zoe and I got to chase sticks on the beach. Both of us dipped our feet in the COLD water but didn’t get to go in for a swim.

Just down the road was the Lake Quinault Lodge, which was built in 1926. This lodge was styled after the Old Faithful Inn where our Parker and her family stayed. It was built in 53 days by working around the clock using big bonfires so the workers could see. Papa and Mama went there for breakfast one morning. They, also, sat on the deck overlooking the lake everyday and had coffee. The excuse was to use the WiFi or the phone because there wasn’t any connection anywhere else. I heard them talking one day about how Franklin stayed there and during his lunch the topic of making a national park in the area came up. Nine months later, Olympic National Park was created. I was so proud of my cousin, Franklin Rosenberg for doing that. Then I found out it was Franklin Roosevelt. You can understand how I made that mistake, right?

Quinault is a temperate rain forest just like Hoh. Imagine this, it gets 12 to 14 FEET of rain each year. Lucky for us, though, it was sunny every day. We saw every mountaintop and every treetop every day. If it was foggy in the morning, the fog was gone by the time Zoe wanted to eat lunch. Sometimes that’s 15 minutes after breakfast, but usually it is around noon.

All of us really liked the Olympic Peninsula. There was one bad thing, though. It doesn’t get dark until around 10pm. It was difficult to get Mama to go to bed before midnight because of that. Then she was really a grump when she had to get up early. Early to her is usually around 9 or 10. We always jump all over her when we get back from our morning walks with Papa. That wakes her up and she’s nicer to us than she is to Papa if he wakes her up!

Well, I guess Zoe will write you next from Mount St. Helen’s. I wonder what that will be like…

Phaedra

Seattle and Beyond!!!

Seattle…All I can say is TRAFFIC!!!

We found a small campground in Issaquah about 20 miles east of Seattle. Though it was hot in Seattle, we were cooler at our campground and you should have seen the wildflowers! Great sniffs all around.

It sounds like this visit can be called a visit with friends from afar! Jessee and Patrick, some of our favorite people live in Seattle. Plus, we get to meet their special people, too. Then, there is Mom’s best friend from junior high and high school, Rosy. They haven’t seen each other in 40 years!

Our friends from California, Linda and David, whom we met 2 years ago in Taos when I was only 15 weeks old, pulled into the same campground later that first day. Phae and I really liked them. We all had a nice visit and later the folks and they went out to dinner together. I had kibble, again!

Two of our NC friends have sons, Jessee and Patrick, who live in Seattle. We had the best time seeing them and their girlfriends. The folks went to Kim and Patrick’s house the second day and Anita and Jessee were already there. They drove Mom and Papa all over the city during the next 2 days. The even took them to the Troll, the sculpture garden, Queen Anne’s 5 Spot Restaurant for breakfast, the locks, and so many other places! They treated Mom and Papa like kings, but we had to stay home!!! Finally, the four friends came to visit us in the camper and let me tell you, Kim sure can play ball. Patrick tried to practice ball throwing in moderation, but I know I would have won if he had stayed any longer. Anita and Jessee wanted to play with us, too, but there just wasn’t enough time!

We saw beautiful views of the city and also Mt. Rainier. The folks got to see the locks, which let boats go between Lake Union and Lake Washington. There were salmon ladders at the locks. Papa saw fish swimming upstream to spawn. I like eating fish. I wish I had been there!

They also visited the sculpture park along with the harbor. They watched cruise ships sailing out and visited The Wooden Boat Center. Breakfast in Queen Anne sounded really good! I was at home eating kibble when I could have had biscuits and gravy. So sad!

One day, Mom and Papa went to the city by themselves and had a great time at Pike Place Market. Papa liked the fish market a lot more than Mom. They even found a place to park on a city street! That big truck of ours is not fun in a city. Right across the street from the market is the Original Starbucks. Guess who had to go there?

The last day in the area, Mom and Dad took us for a ride up towards Mt. Rainier. We went with them and even though you couldn’t see the mountain from Seattle that day, when they got to the top the sun came out and we had a picnic. It was freezing and Phaedra and I got to play in the snow. It is really, really beautiful, just like me…

The last night in Seattle, Mom and Papa went to Bellevue to meet Rosy and Chuck. It sounds like they really had a wonderful time getting back together after all those years. Papa and Chuck were so patient with Mom and Rosy going on and on about days gone by. Mom says Rosy is exactly the same as she was when she was 18.

I think I really like Rosy if she was my Mom’s best friend. They couldn’t believe that all this time had passed and they were never in the same place at the same time. Phaedra is my best friend and sister, and I would sure miss her if I didn’t see her for 40 years, too.

Our next stop is Olympic National Park and Phae will write you from there.

Ta Ta… from Zoe, the Beautiful!

Moving on to Coeur D'Alene

Phaedra connecting with you from Coeur D'Alene...

Mom and Papa took us one last time into Yellowstone to try for animals. What a night!!!!!!! We saw a grizzly and 2 cubs, a black bear, hundreds of buffalo, a golden eagle, a badger plus 3 rocky mountain goats and a wolf. What a trip into the Lamar Valley! Unfortunately, it was raining so hard we didn't get any pictures! Really, it is all true - not a fish story about the one who got away!

We stopped off in Missoula, MT after a long, long trip. We really needed

to stop. Montana must be the rainbow capital of the lower states. Shortly after we stopped, Mom let out a yelp, grabbed her camera, and leapt out the door. Soon, she returned to awaken Papa from his well-deserved nap and dragged him out to see the double rainbow and the sky that looked like it was on fire. She's the one who spots pretty scenes and drags all of far and wide for a picture!

Then, we were off to Seattle via Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Coeur D’Alene is a very large resort area. It has coffee shops. Those of you, who know Mom, know how important that is!!!!

Our campground was on a river leading into the large Lake Coeur d’Alene. There was a swimming place for dogs, Dad played with us even though the water was cold!!!!!!!

Mom’s birthday was celebrated at (as she puts it…) on a charming, floating restaurant near the campground. She will use any excuse to go aboard anything that floats, I've learned.

We were only in Coeur D'Alene 3 days and on the last one we traveled to a nature refuge near the Canadian border. We spent only a short time outside, up there because the mosquitoes were all over the WHOLE place. We went for a short walk and Mom and Dad made us run the whole way! We did take a 5-mile ride around the park and were able to see a couple of birds that we had not seen before. Plus, even though the rangers and everyone told us there wouldn’t be any large animals, we saw a mother moose with a baby. They were in a pond keeping cool, and we saw them leave the pond after seeing us. Dad is charmed with good fortune when it comes to seeing wondrous animals, I guess.

So, it’s on to Seattle, next.

Phaedra