2012 Trip - Day 82

Monday, July 23, Mount St Helens National Monument, WA - 154.3 Miles Today,10,315.9 For the Trip

Well I lied about the flight path at the near by airport - around 9:00PM either the wind changed or they started landing bigger airplanes. Still everything settled down by midnight.

I drove I 84 to Cascade Locks in Oregon, then crossed over to Washington on a $1.50 toll bridge. I wanted to see Mt St Helens & Spirit Lake, so I drove up the East side of the mountain (well, not actually the mountain although the forest roads gained & dropped 3000 feet a couple of times. By the way, a good alternative name for Forest Service Roads 25 & 99 should be trailer hitch test track. I've never seen so many frost heaves anywhere else. While it didn't fully open any trailer cabinets, stuff managed to slip out of a couple of them & my laptop ended up on the floor. Still, everything is still attached. The drive was well worth it. Mt St Helens was mostly covered with clouds, but you can still see the destruction caused by the eruption.


Along Forest Road 25	Along Forest Road 25	First View of Mt St Helens	First View of Mt St Helens

A Little Closer	Along the Way to the Top	Wildflowers	The Clouds Moved a Bit

Spirit Lake Viewpoint	Spirit Lake	Spirit Lake	Logs Still in Spirit Lake

At the Top	The Trailer Made it!	Heading Back Down	Miner's Car

Miner's Car	Miner's Car	Downed Trees	A Slide Along FR 25

A Slide Along FR 25	Another Slide & Falls	Site 92, Maple Grove RV Resort & Golf Course

After beating the trailer & RAV3 to death driving up the rest of FR 25, I stopped for the night at Randal, WA at the Maple Grove RV Resort & Golf Course. Resort it isn't! I guess if you are a member you get the good sites, but for us peons it is "The Woods". I do have water & electric, but no picnic table, lawn, etc. Just a dirt road in the woods. Still it was only $20.00 (well, actually $21.95 - back in the land of Sales Tax.)

I did get to pick my site & it is a level pull through that isn't too far from the bathrooms, but it sure is in the woods. Dinner will be simple since there isn't a table to set the stove on.

Sorry I didn't post today, but for one of the few times on the trip, I don't have and connection to the outside world, no WiFi, Verizon, AT&T, FM Radio, or even, under the trees, no XM Radio. Pretty silent this evening. I'll try to find a place to post tomorrow.

It is tomorrow, and, believe it or not, I have cell phone coverage in Mt Rainier park in the middle of mountains! Unfortunately, it is too slow to post yesterday's photos, so I'll keep looking.

Till Tomorrow -

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Last Update: April 20, 2013