Drive To Mt. St. Helens

Spending so much time in and around the house, no matter how much we love it, isn’t healthy and we’re all getting a little cabin-fever at this point. Gerick and I decided to explore some areas around western Washington state and learn a little more about our new home. This weekend we decided a drive and picnic lunch up to Mt. St. Helens– the local active volcano and national monument– would be a good adventure.

Things have been more mellow lately, with only a few tense moments in the last 2 weeks– even though Gerick is trying to quit smoking again. He’s on the patch, and though to begin with he was cheating (because the Step 1 patch is only the equivalent of about 15 cigarettes, and he’s used to smoking about 25 a day…) he did eventually get down to less and less. Today he only cheated by 2 cigarettes. Tomorrow and the rest of the time, he intends to smoke none. We shall see. I can’t help but be skeptical, but this time he seems more serious about it. I’m staying out of it other than telling him how proud I am that he’s doing so well.

He IS drinking again, granted, for the last month or so– but he’s kept it to very small amounts thus far. Believe me, I can’t help but be very aware of where he’s at on that score. I think he genuinely wants to have a new life to go with the new home. He wants to take up hiking and already has some gear lined up and ready to go. He’s also lost 17 pounds– mainly his beer belly and from eating more fruits and vegetables. I’m a bit astonished, but pleased.

SO–! As you may imagine, him being fairly mild-mannered company on a long drive winding up mountain roads and stopping at viewpoints to take pics and going to parks to take short hikes is pretty impressive!

But so it was. We found a couple of spots that were great hiking and picnicking spots that weren’t overrun by tourists– which we always look out for whenever we travel around. They are often spots locals know about but aren’t advertised widely to outsiders. We find them by exploring back roads around various areas and paying attention to anyplace that may be accessible to the public. This time we found a whole area by a debris dam that was gorgeous as well as a local county park that doesn’t seem much used.

Mt. St. Helens herself continues to be impressive. I realized I hadn’t been up to see the area since I was a teenager and it was still a devastated wasteland covered in ash and blown over dead trees. New forests are covering most of the area now, all except right by the volcano’s mouth– which clearly shows the crater of a blown out volcano! We also checked out 3 of the new lakes there that formed when the old lake was washed out. Very pretty and they’re making an effort to keep these places pristine. Only kayaks and rowboats, no outboard motors allowed. The water is clear and so blue! Very worth the trip and it isn’t even that far now.

The only down side was that I got a sun headache despite wearing sunglasses all day as well as a mild sunburn (I forgot the sunscreen! Derp!) I took a shower and a nap and slowly over the evening of me staying indoors where it was dim the pain dissipated. Ug. I often hate being such a delicate creature! I want to be vigorous and bask in the sunlight rather than wilting from it!

I’m not sure what our next travel adventure will be. Next weekend we DO have to finish some outdoor projects. That housewarming party is looming at the end of the month and I want to have things appear as if we have most of our shit together by then!