Momma, ON A VOLCANO

When I was wee--eight years old, to be precise--I did a book report on Mt St Helens.  I was just beginning my life-long obsession with all things eruptive, and learning about a volcano that had blown its top, just five years previously, utterly fascinated me.  Mt St Helens, along with Mauna Loa and Kileaua, are my original favorite volcanoes.  I visited Mauna Loa and Kileaua in 1998, and again in 2000, but I never made it up to the Pacific Northwest.

Until now.

Our Ross Family Reunion was held in Seattle this year, and we decided to make a real road trip of it.  We rented a motorhome off an ad on KSL classifieds, and took a volcanic detour to see the Snake River Plain, the Columbia River Gorge, and...best of all...the Cascades volcanoes, including my beloved Mt St Helens.

Happy sigh.

We got there on Wednesday morning, and it was everything I could have hoped for.  I was so excited, hopping out at every turnout to look and snap pictures and sigh and wipe tears away.  And then Bradley--my patient, wonderful, loving husband--did something for me that was just AMAZING.

He bought me a helicopter tour of the crater.

I KNOW!!!!!  Most husbands buy flowers or chocolates or jewelry, but my husband knows me very well indeed.  Despite the price, despite the fact that, since we have little kids, he couldn't come with me, despite the fact that we had to buy two tickets anyway (they don't take the helicopter up with just one person, and there weren't any other takers), despite the fact that we had to schedule it for Sunday which meant we had to come back to the volcano after the family reunion...he really wanted me to have this experience.

I have the best husband EVER!!

And what an experience it was!  My best geology friend from undergrad days lives outside of Portland.  Stephanie and I were practically inseparable in our undergrad classes--people thought we must be roommates, we hung out so much--and we've kept in touch through the years.  So, on Bradley's suggestion, I called and asked if she wanted to take a helicopter tour of the volcano with me.

Of course she did!  We--with our families--met up on Sunday evening.

The kids were terribly disappointed that the moms were going on this adventure without them.  Tough luck, kiddos!  (I explained to Zee that I had been 21 when I went on my first (and only other) helicopter ride (in Hawaii), and that he might have to wait that long for his.  He was not impressed.)  We waved goodbye to our husbands and children and...away we went!

I love this picture of Zee.  Does that make me a bad mom?

Our pilot thought it was funny that we were leaving the kids with the dads, that we were geologists--he joked that I would have to give the tour--and that we were so excited.  He was a great guide, flying the helicopter around to give us the best views and angles.  It was a pretty short tour--only about 25-30 minutes long--but we got to see SO MUCH.  Just looking at the landscape and thinking about the devastation and destruction 32 years ago, and how much it has changed--amazing.  Our pilot pointed out trees still floating on the lakes, decades later, and the way the rivers were carving the landslide and ash.

(I am going to write a whole geology post, with pictures, about the trip, so I won't bore you with all the volcanology stuff right now.)

Pre-flight picture--getting so excited!

 Bonus for me:  Steph is a really good photographer.  So, of the pictures below, the ones that are awesome are hers, and the ones that are...um...less awesome are mine.  Heh.

I got to be in the co-pilot's seat.  It was amazing and a little freaky--there were windows in the foot wells! 

The windows bubbled out, so you could get an amazing view without feeling (much) like you were going to fall out. 

Steph with the lava dome in the background.

Fumeroles (steam vents) in the crater, on the 2006 lava dome.  Awesome picture, Steph!

 As we were approaching, Steph got this great picture of the whole mountain--at least, what is left of it.

 It's amazing that less than 33 years later, the mountain is already starting to fill herself back in.

After we returned to earth--in more ways than one--we drove to an area with a playground for the kids.  As they ran, climbed, slid, and hollered, Jacob and Steph and Bradley and I sat and talked and talked and talked.  The Morgans are building a house, same as us--they are ahead of us, having already dug the basement and poured the concrete footings--and so we spent hours talking about that.  It was so enjoyable, I'm so sad that we don't live closer.  Fortunately for us, most of Steph's family lives here in Utah, so they come visit fairly frequently.

Cheese!  Just think, just 17 years ago (um, 17???), we were two scrawny freshman geology majors, so excited to be at college and studying the earth.  Where has the time gone?

Thanks for coming out for an awesome adventure, Steph, Jacob, and kiddos.  We loved spending time with you!