Washington

August 28, 2008

Hopping on I-90 through Spokane we take the quick route through eastern Washington to Ellensburg before picking up 821 through the Yakima River Valley recommended by a painter friend Gene Costanza in Oregon. It is a good tip on a beautiful drive and I snap pictures all along the route. Coming out in Yakima on Rt 12 we begin to look for a stopping place near Mt Rainier. Along the road, I find a late afternoon lit view of an old red apple truck – JACKPOT! The light is quickly fading so I work as quickly as possible on a little 6 x 8. With little light left we find a national forest campsite and do our best to level the RV. The next morning under clouds closing in, we head to Mt Rainier. On the road we catch a partial glimpse of the peak, which as it turns out will be our last view. The park is stunning even without the mountain view and we take the scenic drive anyway. While at the park we get some information on Mt. St Helens which is just to the south. We were going to head down the east side but armed with better information we decide to head to I-5 and take 504 to the Visitor Center closest to the crater. It is well worth the trip. No pictures can capture the size of the volcano. Just seeing the number of dead trees, stumps and massive lava fields attests to the scope and power of the eruption. The visitor center is filled with testimonies of survivors who were on the mountain either by necessity, accident or ignorance. A ranger thane gave an amusing account of an eruption warning that resulted in the largest influx of visitors in the park’s history.
Traveling through the northwest among all the still active volcanoes dwarfs any idea that we tiny humans have much say in "saving the planet." When the planet wants, it simply can shake us off like so many pesky fleas.
The mountain clouds in and we decide to wind our way back down and head south to Oregon.