My final stop on my three-and-a-half-week road trip around the State of Washington, was at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. I didn’t have any intention of visiting the monument when I first arrived in Washington, but when I realized it was sort of on the way to Mendocino, my next destination to see friends, I jumped on the chance to see it.
Mount St. Helens erupted in May of 1980. I was seven years old. My mom’s hairdresser, Bill Cotton, went to see it and collected ashes. I don’t know if he went right after the eruption or much later. All I can say is I envisioned him walking on the mountain collecting them and thought it was so cool! For all I know, he bought the ashes, but at the time, it made a big impression on me when he gave me a tiny vile of them.
EXPLORE!