Pacific Northwest II; Day 7

The plan for today was to drive up north and take a look at Mt. St. Helens. We did our best. We left our motel in Gresham, drove west on I-84 to I-205 northbound to I-5 northbound. At exit 49 we took off towards Mt. St. Helens on Hwy 504. As we exited I-5 it was partly sunny and we were optimistic for a view of the mountain. It became progressively more cloudy as we drove east and gained elevation. We found Mt. St. Helens encased in clouds. This was our view from the Science and Learning Center at Coldwater (the Johnston Ridge Observatory was closed for the winter).
We were there about an hour and the view did not get better. Staff at the center were not optimistic about the weather improving . . . . . . so we left.

On the way down we stopped to check out the sediment retention structure (dam) on Toutle Creek, which comes down from Mt. St. Helens. According to Wikipedia the dam, "is meant to prevent sediment from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helems from increasing flood risks along the Toutle and Cowlitz rivers." This is a view of Toutle creek flowing in behind the dam. I was standing on the dam when the photo was taken.

The walk from the parking lot to the dam took us through a wet and beautiful forest with many ferns and moss covered trees.



On our way back to the hotel we stopped for lunch at the Red Lobster in Kelso, WA. We enjoyed a swim in the indoor pool and a soak in the hot tub before calling it a day.

We drove 233 miles today. Temperatures ranged from 43 to 59.

Click on the following link to see more photos taken today: Day7Pics

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