On Saturday, Andrew and I planned to go on a hike. Then he suggested we go to Mt. St. Helens, and I reminded him it was a three hour drive away. We quickly decided, "What the heck?" and got sandwiches, snacks, and water ready. I think our mantra for living in Washington is "We don't have kids so we can do random things." For example, moving on about a week's notice, or hiking 12 miles when you meant to do only four. Our Mt. St. Helens trip is another of those examples.
These volcanoes out here are big, and you can see them from far away. Above is one of our first views of Mt. St. Helens. People in Washington keep telling us that Utah doesn't have mountains like they do, which is somewhat true. Andrew keeps saying that their mountains just look bigger than ours cuz their bases are near sea level, while our are way up high already.
Maybe we have a defensive pride in mountains, I don't know.
Mt. St. Helens is surrounded by lovely replanted forests, except for near the blast zone where everything is desolate.
The magical rainbow cloud. It was very cool, and I have never seen a rainbow cloud.
My head and Mt. St. Helens at the halfway point of our hike. Unfortunately, you cannot hike on the active volcano.
This is the sort of landscape that surrounded Mt. St. Helens. There were ravines and canyons in the ash. It was really eerie.
A lovely algae-filled blue lake in the piles of ash.
It was steaming! Exciting! But we didn't get exploded, obviously, as I am here to blog about it.
There were a lot of waterfalls in the mountains around us. Even these mountains nearby were extremely desolate and had almost no regrowth since the 30 years since the explosive eruption.
All the tree logs were flat against the ground, all going in the same direction.
The end of the trail.
Spirit Lake, right next to Mt. St. Helens, is half full of logs that just float. It added to the eeriness of the landscape.
Andrew and I and Mt. St. Helens.
It was a fun trip and we had a great hike. It wasn't the most beautiful area to hike in, but it was unusual and interesting. I'm glad we drove for a grand total of six hours to hike for five. I think it was worth it.
Our misadventure hike on Antelope Island. I count one, two, three of my jackets to keep my unprepared friends warm. From left to right: Kayleigh, me, Nicole, Monica, and Erika.
Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa Pitt!
Melissa (my mom's cousin) from Wisconsin, who came down for the 50th Anniversary. I was the first baby she ever held.
Fun times at HappiJac (aka Crappy Jack) with our goggles that we were supposed to always wear. None of us ever wore them except on the inspection day. From left to right: Jenny, Taryn, me, Aubrey, and Melody.
Grandpa Bredthauer and me. I don't remember why I took this picture, but I think it is the last picture I have of the two of us, as he passed away about a year after this picture.
Roommate love on the Nature Walk! Woot for Freshman fun. Left to Right: Tasha, Leah, and me.
Sexy. Sorry it is sideways. I was getting ready for a dance but I thought I could pass for a secret agent. You know how James Bond always goes to fancy functions in his tux? Lady agents go in their evening wear. And they wear sunglasses.
"Falling" off my bunk bed. :)
Scandalous times at Dillards.
Tasha and I being studly at Dillards.
Switzerland or Washington?
Washington or Switzerland?
Switzerland or Washington?
Washington or Switzerland?
Paulsbo, Washington - Fassmann family trip 2005 (I wasn't there. Cuz I wasn't married to Andrew. Cuz I was still in high school).
A Swiss Village taken by Aunt Karen, on a trip that Andrew went on.
This one is taken at the Columbia River Gorge. We are facing Washington! Andrew told me it looked just like Interlaken in Switzerland. The roads wind around the lakes. Apparently they are similar.
And then things got worse, when we found a park in Seattle called Interlaken park. Here I am by the sign that says Interlaken Drive. We didn't take any pictures of the park, but it was very lush and green. There were trails all over the hillside. It seemed rather Swiss.
This is a winding road in Austria, but it's close enough to Switzerland. All of those puny sized countries could fit inside Washington, anyway.
This picture was take at Golden Gardens Park, Seattle, WA.
The same small make of car in the same color in Paris, France.
Mt. Ranier looms in the distance...
The Moench mountain. It is in the Alps. Not the Cascades.
Middle Falls, Wallace State Park, Washington (I've already blogged about this so you should be familiar with it already.)
Waterfall in Grindelwald, Switzerland.
Seattle, Washington Temple.
Bern, Switzerland Temple - oh I found a difference! The sun is shining in Switzerland!
The hills are alive with the sound of music. (Aaaaaa) The songs they have sung, for a thousand yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrsssssssssssss!!!
These volcanoes out here are big, and you can see them from far away. Above is one of our first views of Mt. St. Helens. People in Washington keep telling us that Utah doesn't have mountains like they do, which is somewhat true. Andrew keeps saying that their mountains just look bigger than ours cuz their bases are near sea level, while our are way up high already.
Mt. St. Helens is surrounded by lovely replanted forests, except for near the blast zone where everything is desolate.
The magical rainbow cloud. It was very cool, and I have never seen a rainbow cloud.
My head and Mt. St. Helens at the halfway point of our hike. Unfortunately, you cannot hike on the active volcano.
This is the sort of landscape that surrounded Mt. St. Helens. There were ravines and canyons in the ash. It was really eerie.
A lovely algae-filled blue lake in the piles of ash.
It was steaming! Exciting! But we didn't get exploded, obviously, as I am here to blog about it.
There were a lot of waterfalls in the mountains around us. Even these mountains nearby were extremely desolate and had almost no regrowth since the 30 years since the explosive eruption.
All the tree logs were flat against the ground, all going in the same direction.
The end of the trail.
Spirit Lake, right next to Mt. St. Helens, is half full of logs that just float. It added to the eeriness of the landscape.
Andrew and I and Mt. St. Helens.
