It was a long but really fun day. We awoke to a cold, cloudy day, got packed up, filled the propane tank, and were on the road at 9:30. It was a typical Interstate 5 travel day, and we arrived here in Castle Rock WA at the Mt St Helens RV Park.
We got set up and settled in, had some lunch and relaxed for a bit. Then we decided to drive the 5 miles to the Mt St Helens Visitors Center. That is a pretty visitors center with a good 15 minute movie and lots of exhibits. We decided to go ahead and drive the 49 miles to Johnston Ridge Observatory. It was an amazingly beautiful drive. Within the first few miles we saw a pair of coyotes trot across the road. There were awesome bridges, and we drove up on ridges and down in valleys.
From the Visitors Center, Mt St Helens was 35 miles away. The closest we got to it was 5 miles at the Observatory. With every turn, we got a new view of it. It was a good choice to drive late this afternoon since the sun was behind us most of the way which made for easier driving and better photos.
We finally got to the Johnston Ridge Observatory at 5:45, just 15 minutes before it closed. It was a great view. Then it was time to go back the 50 miles the way we had come. We made a few stops along the way including a restaurant Bill had read about online. It was still open, so we stopped for dinner at 7:30. It is called the 19 Mile House and is a cute little house high on a ridge overlooking the Toutle River. We sat out back on the porch. The place is known for burgers and cobbler, but we had burgers for lunch. I got a Southwestern Chicken Salad which was really quite good with a variety of greens and a spicy ranch dressing. Bill had halibut. We did share the mountain berry cobbler a la mode. It was really good.
Now we are back in the RV relaxing. This is a fairly pretty park, and we have everything except sewer, so we are happy. Tomorrow we will do a long drive on the other side of Mt St Helens and then maybe on Saturday have a down day.
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