So many stories attached to this area, especially relating to the 1980 eruption. The lahar moved at 500mph; this massive mud debris flow picked up 300ft douglas firs like we would a matchstick. Spirit Lake was lifted 500ft, doubled in area but made much more shallow (mud filled) with a changed shape afterwards. Ex president Truman lived here and refused to leave despite the warnings; he was never seen again. Some people just survived, others died days later from horrific burns, many ‘disappeared’. The build up to this included 100s of earthquakes and a massive bulge growing daily. The mountain erupted with th e force of 1500 atomic bombs and a 5.1 earthquake. It took 2 weeks for the cloud of ash to circle the world with 230 sq miles of forest being buried under millions of tons of rock and ash. Now, 39 years later, the land looks new and so pretty; the colours of everything are amazing. The film in the observatory is a stunning mixture of live footage and re-enactment of the lahar. A really worthwhile place to visit. We walked the lava trail, if only the suspension bridge had been open this would have been a favourite short walk.
The following day we were walking up near Ape Cave and realised we were above the snow line. We were then hailed and snowed upon. We have to leave the State of Washington after more than 4 weeks of fun, winter is now from September to May and definitely has caught up with us. Well, winter can extend into June, but normally by then the snow has gone. Every day for 5 days we have travelled south, but it is not enough.