Seattle - Final 2 Days

Today was Mount St. Helens day and the beginning of our journey home. We started out by heading up the the Johnston Ridge Observatory which is the closest visitor's center to Mount St. Helens. When we first arrived, they were showing a video on the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. It started out by hearing the vocals of a man with the last name Johnston who was up by Mount St. Helens taking readings. He said "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!" and then it went out and he was gone. It was very chilling and amazing to see the destruction that happened in just a matter of seconds. The eruption, blew 1500 feet off the top and sent enormous amounts of rock, snow, and ice down the mountain's north side at speeds greater than 200 miles an hour. Then after the movie, the screen raised and they opened the curtains and we were looking right at Mount St. Helens. Nature can be such a destructive force. Parker was very excited to see a volcano, but I think he may have been a little disappointed because it wasn't like the volcanoes he had pictured in his head with all the flowing red lava. The kids still seemed to have a lot of fun. The sky was very hazy due to the ash that is constantly getting blown around the area. The picture above is of an old tree that was plowed over in the blast. It was interesting to see all the trees uprooted and laying in the same direction. The picture below was to the North East of the volcano, nearly all vegetation and wildlife up to 6 miles north of the volcano were destroyed and are still relatively barren today. There were trails all around the observatory. We went a little ways on one of the trails and let the kids get some energy out. Typical view of the kids in the back seat. They were such troopers and great kids on the road. This night we ended up in a small town in Eastern Oregon called Pendleton. We got a hotel and then went searching for a fun restaurant. We ended up asking a couple at the park what they would suggest and they referred us to a place called Virgil's at Cimmyotti's. After talking to our waitress, it was an institution where locals have been going for 80 years and they had just restored it. It had red velvet wallpaper, a soda fountain bar, and a great atmosphere. The food was delicious and the kids each drank Shirley Temple's and loved it. The next morning we ate breakfast, went swimming at the hotel and then hit the road for the final journey home. We traveled for about 7 or 8 hours and we were all glad to be home. Even the baby seemed glad. The last 2 days of our trip he/she was sitting right in my ribs and I thought I would never be pain free again. Parker said he "loved everything about the trip, especially camping, playing with cousins and swimming." Madi said she "loved staying at the mall (hotels) and swimming." However, they both said they want to go on a trip again, just not as long next time. There's nothing better than going on a vacation with my family!