Pacific Coast Adventure Day 3

A Mountain, a Gorge and the Falls

After another delicious breakfast at the hotel we packed up to leave Seattle with many fond memories and continue our journey; today it’s Mount St. Helens and beyond. We traveled south through Tacoma and Olympia until we reached the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake. This is the original Visitor Center which was built in 1993 and is operated by the Washington State Parks Department. As you can see, a few of the group are getting a Mount St. Helens education at the Visitor Center.

At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted and blew down or scorched 230 square miles of forest...30 years later, recovery at Mount St. Helens continues.  Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. In a few moments this slab of rock and ice slammed into Spirit Lake, crossed a ridge 1,300 feet high, and roared 14 miles down the Toutle River. We all have seen the story and its aftermath in the news but to see it up close (relatively) from the comfort of the Visitor Center, brought into sharp focus the power of Mother Nature.  We enjoyed watching a 13-minute video on the history of Mount St. Helens and the eruption that changed the face of the mountain forever.

Leaving Mount St. Helens we traveled along the Mount Hood route to the spectacular Columbia River Gorge. We took in the scenic views along the route of Mt. Hood and the Cascade mountain range. The Gorge is a spectacular geological wonder. The Columbia River is the second largest river in North America, starting in northern Idaho and southeastern British Columbia, and traveling over 1,200 miles to the ocean.  

Through millenniums of geologic events, waterfalls have found their home in the Columbia River Gorge. What we saw today was no exception. One of the most scenic of the waterfalls, Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States.

Multnomah Falls drops in two major steps, split into an upper falls of 542 feet and a lower falls of 69 feet, with a gradual 9 foot drop in elevation between the two, so the total height of the waterfall is a convenient 620 feet.  A few of the group made the trek out to Benson Footbridge, a 45-foot long bridge 102 feet above the lower cascade of the falls. Great for taking photos which many did and will no doubt be reflected in the complimentary DVD we’ll give to each member of the group after the trip. A brief stop at the gift shop for the souvenir hunters among us and we were off to hotel for the night near Portland, Oregon. The Red Lion on the River – Jantzen Beach is our home for tonight. One thing about the tours with Premier World Discovery, the hotels are always first rate! What a wonderful location, right on the Columbia River on Hayden Island with a view across the Oregon/Washington border. It doesn’t get any better (..or does it? We still have six more days of this).  Dinner was on our own this evening so a few of us went to the hotel and enjoyed an appetizer along with a tasty beverage while seeing great views of Mt. Hood and Mount St. Helens all while sitting right on the Columbia River. We all called it an early evening, to prepare for our big day going on our Dune Buggy tours!


P.S. Hey Bob! I published these without the photos.... Just so you could read... Photos will be added soon.