Day 3 Requires Two Highlights - Here is Part I

Day 3 of the Seattle trip was an excellent day and in no way involved Seattle.

Liz and I woke early, packed our bags and loaded the car. I hesitated in the parking lot of Paradise, wishing that I could stay, breathing in the perfect mountain air. A utopia of sorts, it certainly is up at Rainier.

But, we had much on our agenda. Next stop - Mt. St. Helens. I've always flirted with a fascination of geology, particularly geology of the natural disaster sort. I mean, look at this picture. The cone growing at the center of Mt. St. Helens grows by 5 feet every day. 5 feet! That's just amazing.


The devastation wrought by the lava flows, the pyroclastic spews, the mudslides of the 1980 erruption stretchs for miles and miles. It can't really be explained in words. You just have to see it for yourself. Mt. Rainier is beautiful in it's perfect postcard way, but Mt. St. Helens possesses a beauty all of its own. She is barren and imposing at first glance. But, if you look more closely, the wild flowers growing up from mud and lava testify to the cycle of life that can't be controlled by man's intention.