Disappointment

Fog rolling in

A disappointing day on the weather front.  We left Seattle this morning and decided to swing by Mount Rainier on our way to Mount St. Helens.  The clouds did not want us to enjoy ourselves too much today.  As we approached Mt. Rainier via Stevens Canyon Road and Paradise Valley Road all we could see really was heavy fog.  The views would have been stunning had there been clear skies.  We'd been pleased had it been even partly cloudy.  Unfortunately it wasn't ideal weather conditions for photography.  You could certainly tell that if one could see through the fog the views would have been beautiful.  We'll have to make a return trip at some point and hope for clear weather.

Cooper wakes up to noise

Male Sooty Grouse

We were able to see something new because as soon as we entered the 'official' Park Entrance off in the middle of the first pull over was a group...or flock...of grouse.  The male was in full display mode.  He was making vocalizations like crazy which caught Cooper's attention. Now if the Bend's Resident Game Bird Man would confirm our identification of a Sooty Grouse (our 1st choice)...or maybe it's a Dusky Grouse we'd be appreciative of his expertise.

Female Sooty

Mt St Helens

We did have a bit of sunshine as we neared the exit from the Park so we could have one last picnic in the area.  Cooper enjoyed his chip and slice of ham.  On we headed on a forest service road which eventually led us to Mount St. Helens.  Got to say the road was fun to drive...the motorcycles zooming past really seemed to like the rolls and pitches.  The official name for the area is Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument...had always figured it was a National Park.  We really felt the need to go see the volcano for a couple of reasons- the event occurred during our lifetime and on Bill's birthday.

Trees blown down by blast

Spirit Lake- trees 'floating'

It is astonishing the amount of destruction that occurred in the area and is still visible.  Few if any trees have rotted...they are still laying where the blast blew through and flattened them.  Spirit Lake has a massive amount of dead trees at one end...floating? It's hard to tell what the trees are doing.  They could be floating or laying in layers of mud. The area really does have an eerie beauty to it.

Mt St Helens- blown out side

The most disappointing part of our day was the amount of cloud cover on Mt St. Helens.  It was windy, cloudy with a few drops of rain and a COLD 49 degrees.  Weird that Medicine Bow Mountain at 10,000 feet was warmer that the measly 4200 feet overlook on NF-99 (National Forest road 99).  No great view of the blown out side...still it was an amazing site to see.  It seems that we will have another area we'll need to revisit in the future.  Now if only we can get a guarantee of a clear, warm day.


*as always click pictures to enlarge