For The Record

It is true that I recently - less than two weeks ago - made my first trip to Mt. St. Helens. It was on a whim, actually... the kids and I went with our friend Sandy and her kids to the Columbia River Gorge to see some waterfalls, leaving the husbands at home to do their thing, however they defined it (for Stephen, it was working to remove stuff from the backyard in preparation for some landscaping work we're doing). We decided that on our way home we'd stop off at Mt. St. Helens for a brief visit; Sandy had been before but I hadn't yet made the trip.

The drive itself was really amazing both for the incredible vertigo-inducing vistas and for being able to see signs of both the devastation that occurred when the mountain erupted in 1980 and of the recovery that the mountain has made since. The kids were pretty geeked that they were on a real live volcano, keeping their eyes out for "hot lava" when they weren't whining about being in the car or asking for candy.

It was partly-sunny at the base, but by the time we got further up it became clear that we weren't going to be able to see much (read: anything) of the crater. We stopped at Silver Lake, the first visitor's center (there are three), and then continued on to Coldwater Ridge where we had some lunch (Volcano Dogs all 'round), peered out through the clouds and mist (Sandy pointed me in the direction and I took her word for it that the mountain was there), and then left for home after deciding that continuing to the Johnston Ridge Observatory would be pretty pointless.

Imagine my surprise last week when St. Helens started rumbling again, beginning with frequent small earthakes just a few days after our visit. As of yesterday, the alert level for possible eruption moved to a level 2 (I think that equals taupe when cross-referenced with the terrorism alert color chart... though it might be eggshell, I always get those confused). Scientists are predicting an eruption, possibly as early as this week, though right now it looks like it will small-to-moderate, not like the killer blast of 25 years ago. Hiking trails have been closed but, as yet, the mountain is still open.

So yes. I was on Mt. St. Helens a mere 4 days before it reawakened, I'll admit it (though due to the weather, no photographic evidence of this exists). I may have wondered - aloud even, and with some gleeful anticipation (because, really, it is pretty cool to live so close to an active volcano) - when it would erupt again. However, I'd like to take this opportunity to quash any rumours that I had anything at all to do with the current seismic unrest. I'd also like to state that my kids were in view at all times, and consequently I can vouch for their innocence in this matter.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.