Mount St. Helen's

We have been waiting for about a year for the perfect timing to visit Mount St. Helens; by perfect timing I mean a clear day so we could have a wonderful view of the mountain. Their are many visitor centers but the two we visited were The Learning Center and Johnston Ridge Observatory.

The Learning Center was really great visitor center with a lot of hands on things for the kids to do. The view of the mountain was also very beautiful and you could see the remains of the mud slide in the valley below even after 31 years. Their was also beautiful wild flowers everywhere.

We enjoyed all of the different videos on what happened on the day of the eruption; it was really fascinating. At Johnston Ridge you are in the monument of Mount St. Helens and so everything is untouched and left as it was the day of the eruption. It is fascinating to see stumps where trees were blown off and all the logs on the ground just dotting the ground. We attended a great lecture about what happened on the day of the eruption and then the kids were able to attend a Jr. Ranger program where they learned a lot about volcanoes. We had a really great day!

Well, this was the end of our visit with Layne and Sarah and their family. We were really sad to see them go but we loved the time we had being with them.

The whole crew.

Talmage at the helicopter; a favorite spot of all the kids.

Talmage and the eagle talon.

Audrey all dress up.

The view of Mount St. Helens from The Learning Center.

Jensen Family

Thomas family

Cute Talmage

Adalyn hiding

Waiting for instructions on having a lava race during the Jr. Ranger class.

Emily, Jessica, Jake, Talmage, Audrey, and Josh.

Jr. Rangers