Mt. Saint Helens Monument

Sue and I went to see the Mt. Saint Helens Monument on Saturday. It's been 33 years since the eruption. At one time, this mountain was heavily wooded upto five though foot level. It was something like 9,600 feet high, before it lost it's top and was reduced to 8,200 feet. Looking into the crater, it looks like a water hose and sand project in my mothers back yard when I was a kid.



Paintbrush in the foreground



Terry & Sue



Sue



The day Mt Saint Helens blew, I was doing a water service replacement on Hill Top in Bellevue. I was listening to the news, but had no idea that if I had driven just to the other side of the hill I would have seen the mushroom cloud from the eruption. I was doing the main line replacement for my dentist, who just retired this year, in his late 70's. Dr Kenneth McLean. He is a skier too.

Those of us who were around this part of the world when the mountain blew will never forget what they were doing at the time. I was able to go to the mountain not too long after the eruption and several times since. It was sad to see the destruction, but as time has passed, it is amazing how much nature has restored. Certainly the original beauty of this mountain will never be seen again, as the photos show, there are still many scars showing.