🚀 go-pugleaf

1980.  It is hard to believe just how long it has been since Mt. St. Helens
erupted.  I still have several vials of volcanic ash collected by my
grandparents all over the state of Washington after the eruption.  One vial is
very powdery....collected hundreds of miles away....another is very
gritty....as if pumous stones were ground up and placed in the vial.  Long ago
I put them away in a safe place, but every May 18th I drag them out and look at
them again.  I still have that feeling of awe I had 23 years ago when I first
looked upon those strange dark clouds heading my way.  The radio was reporting
that people should get indoors because they were afraid people would get burned
when the ash fell on them.  Don't drive your cars!  It will clog up the engine!
 All these years later, I recall how dark it was while the ash cloud went over.
 Spooky.  I missed a party that day.....my friend had to cancel because no one
could drive to her house.  I remember wishing I still lived in California where
all we had was some crazy earthquakes once in a while.....no wild mountains
blowing their tops!!  I remember going outside after the clouds had passed and
looking at all that "gray dust" on everything!  Looked like it had snowed
"dirt".  No one got burned by the ash where we lived.  People did die on the
mountain that day.  The eccentric old man (Harry Truman) who refused to
leave...sticks out in my mind.  I also remember the floods that came after the
eruption.  My first trip to St. Helens after the eruption was about 7 years
later.  We were traveling a winding road.....with a couple of turnouts.  I had
seen pictures, videos, tv shows, etc.  Nothing prepared me for the sight as we
rounded that corner.  Trees......a whole forest....leveled and gray.  Total
devastation.  It was *poof* gone!  We pulled over and just sat in the car
staring at that scar in front of us.  WOW!  We made our way up as high as
visitors were allowed to go at that time.  We stood just looking out over the
land.  A few years later, my husband and I went there as part of our
honeymoon.....he had always wanted to see the mountain, because he was trying
to travel 200 miles home from his grandparent's house in an old car with his
family.  He has some funny tales about that trip!  Interesting though....the
car was fine, even after sucking in all that ash...the old car kept on running
for another 10 years!  Even in the few years since I had been there the
"re-foresting" was really making a difference.  Yet, you could still see the
devastation.  He dragged me all up and down a half dozen trails....we took
pictures.  We plan on re-tracing that trip this summer with the 3 kids since
the mountain has changed so much since our last visit, it's like witnessing the
birth of a forest that my great-great grandchildren will someday look at and
say "where was the devastation?".  Where were you on May 18th, 1980?