Mt St Helens - Road Trip, Spring 2008, 3/23/08
Of all the times I have gone to Mt St Helens, stopping to walk along the lake trail at Silver Lake along the Mt St Helens highway seemed to be put off for another day. Since I had 9 days and a free schedule, why not make today the day to walk along the nature trail at the Silver Lake Visitor Center.
The sun filtered through the clouds as Olympia started out along the boardwalk leading out into the lake. Purple leaves of waterlilies were just beginning to spread out on the lake's surface, they will turn a yellow-green by the end of spring when the blooms speckle the lake. A few ducks drifted along beyond the rushes. Fishermen, too, drifted in their boat. Ever present was Mt St Helens on the horizon.
I was informed by the staff that the road was now open all the way to Coldwater. We drove back through the seasons our way up - from early spring and sprouting foliage around Silver Lake to winter and several feet of snow around Coldwater Lake. Olympia was thrilled to see the snow. She rooted and rolled in the snow, a smile stretching from ear to ear. Anyone who believes that dogs can't smile has never seen Olympia playing in the snow.
On the way back down the mountain, we stopped by the the Forest Learning Center to look down into the Toutle River Valley and the resident elk herd. I could see the elk, small tan ovals the size of grains of rice against the chartreuse lichen, far below. Olympia did her own type of seeing - with her nose. She pressed her nose firmly against the fence, nostrils wiggling, sniffing the breezes for a hint of just where these fantastic beasts were hiding.
Our day was far from over, but our adventure up Mt St Helens was over for today.
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