Even thought Mount Saint Helens is only a few hours away from where we used to live in Washington, we never actually bothered going to see it.  Since it might be a while before we make it back up north we figured we have the time now so we might as well stop by and check it out!  There were only about 5 cars in the massive parking lot and the drive up through the mountains was spectacular.  The signs on the way up the little hiking path give the entire history behind the mountain and the explosion, which was cool to learn about.  I knew that half the mountain blew up, but didn’t really understand what that entailed.  I was also struck by how the landscape looked a little bit like iceland with the volcano, little rivers, and grassy plains.  Someday I’d like to come back and hike more of the trail!