A Volcano and Memories

Mount St. Helens in Washington State on Oct. 24, 2017 from viewpoint.

On the 24th of October (a lovely and warm, sunny, Wednesday), my traveling companion, Wayne, and I drove up to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Established in 1982, after the explosive eruption on May 18, 1980, the 110,300 acre site provides an opportunity for exploration, research, education and recreation.

Remaining trees from the blow-down after the eruption.

Little trees and other plants continue to
take hold and gradually change the
landscape of the starkness of 35 years.

I recalled that day as we were driving up toward the viewpoints. I was living in Boise, ID, with two daughters who were 9 and 11.  I wouldn't meet up with my son's father until July or August of that year. And my son would arrive the following year. (Here is a link to Wikipedia's information page: Mount_St._Helens) And shortly after the eruption, the ash from the volcano began to fall in Boise. It was only a couple of weeks later that we ended up adopting a grey cat we called "Cinder."

Wayne looks out for elk and deer in the foothills.

I don't recall all the details of that particular day, but we began seeing ash fall in the afternoon. The girls were intrigued, but I was worried. What did it mean? How much would fall? And I vaguely remember news reports being broadcast of the actual eruption which was fascinating. It was exciting and scary at the same time.

A Noble Fir grows along a path that is
at the Loowit Viewpoint allowing folks
to walk a trail along the fallen trees.

Wayne walks further out on the Loowit Viewpoint trail.

The Toutle River cuts through the mud and ash.

Color returns to the landscape.

Wayne walks the Loowit viewpoint trail.

Movie viewing room has a magnificent view of the volcano.

Johnston Ridge Observatory; named after David A. Johnston,
a volcanologist who died moments after the eruption started.
He was standing on nearby Coldwater ridge.

The center lava dome that built up after the eruption. Taken
using my telephoto lens on a Canon EOS Rebel.

Right side of the crater. 

Inside the lower left side of the northern ridge (blown out)
and the newest lava dome is to the right. No significant
volcanic activity has occurred since 2008.

Seeing this huge mountain from a closer view brought all those images back and up at the Johnston Ridge Observatory the pictures were there once again. It was as if history was doing a forward and back in my head all day.

Wayne, as a former Department of Natural Resources employee, was a great source of information about all the Noble Firs that were seeded the following couple of years into the ash fall and other aspects of re-foresting a huge area that was blasted by the explosive event.

It was amazing to see these 34-year old trees and other landscape changes giving new life to everything in the area. And it was impressive to be able to look up at the open side of the mountain and see the new growth inside it as well.

Later we took a walk around the new Coldwater Lake, formed after the eruption, and came upon two bucks who were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. New life and new directions are part of living in general and I took this day as an affirmation of that occurring for me now.

A Trip to a Wind Farm

Have you ever wondered anything about the enormous windmills that turn on the crests of mountains across the United States? These are all part of a trend to further develop wind power as a clean source of electricity. 

Sign at entrance off Vantage Highway in Kittitas, WA.

In Kittitas County there is a PUD wind farm called Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility on the western side of the Columbia River. On the other side of the river there is mesa which features metal statues of wild mustangs.

These metal sculptures on a mesa above the Columbia River
remind folks that once the land belonged to wild horses and
native peoples. The walk up to the sculptures is worth it.

The facility began construction in 2005 and opened to the public in 2008.

If you look carefully you can see the wind turbines on the ridge.

The area where the wind farm has been established is an archeological treasure for the several tribes who, over the centuries, roamed and lived on the foothills of the Cascades.  Carefully researched and evaluated by PUD, the facility has made a huge effort to preserve lands and protect wildlife that still inhabit the area.

Driving up the road to the visitor center, one
gets a closer view with each mile.

Eons ago there was an enormous lake which is called today
"Lake Missoula" by archeologists. This lake burst its dam,
causing enormous changes in Montana, Idaho and Wash-
ington creating much of the landscape of the Basin. When
Wayne was in school he wrote a paper on this event.

I took the one-hour tour of the facility which included a view up inside the tower and standing just outside and underneath the 351-ft. tower was impressive as you looked up at three blades, each 120 ft. in length, turning quietly to capture the 40-plus gusts of wind that day. 

It is truly a a global effort to manufacture and install these Vesta V80 wind turbines as parts are manufactured all over the world.

There are limiters on the system to keep the blades from running wild so they don’t overwork the mechanics and overwhelm the carefully managed delivery of electricity to the grid. 

These 149 wind ‘mills’ are generating electricity that is sent to the Bonneville distribution center and so I was watching power gathering that will be eventually delivered to folks in Clallam County and other parts of western Washington. The total potential at the farm is power for 70,000 homes.

One of the turbines driving the Vesta windmills.

Looking down the inside of one of the blades; made of fiber
glass this particular one was damaged beyond use.

This informational panel tells a lot about the facility and a little bit about
the construction process. The tour guides are very well informed and can
answer a lot of questions in a variety of areas relating to the facility.

There are also solar array fields which are being used for research and to power the visitor center.

Several years ago on one of my road trips, I remember seeing a couple of trucks hauling these blades. How interesting that I should finally come to where they were installed (or some very like them).

Parking lot at the visitor center of the wind farm. 

It is not too surprising that the facility is visited by folks from distant states and countries. On our tour there were some Japanese folks. I overheard the answer to the question, "How many visitors come here each year?" The answer was "Anywhere from 14 to 20 thousand a year." Wow!

I highly recommend finding time to take the trip and the tour, making it all part of a visit to the beautiful Columbia River basin.

Standing in proximity to the turbine.

I persuaded the tour guide to take my photo on the way to see
the interior of the turbine tower. The wind was blowing hard
and cold. I had two layers and that still was lacking... like
the hard hat? Required with safety glasses for the tour.

SnowBirding 101

A beautiful maple tree in Solmar, near
Wayne's home in Sequim, WA.

The first thing about being a SnowBird (my choice of caps) is that you have to have a very sensitive ear, eye and nose for the weather.

At the first hint of frost, or the real thing, you must be ready to hoist your pack, or pump up the bicycle tires, or fill up the fuel tank for your transport (small van, large RV or boat of any size) and begin deciding what will go with you and what will stay.

Of course the size of the transporting device will determine a lot of the choices... and yet, even with a 40-ft. RV, weight is a constant concern. My Christmas tree is small, white and very light. Wayne's Christmas things are heavier, but it's his RV so he can have more latitude about what he wants to sacrifice.

There could be a reality TV show (there are so many already) about the Freezer Wars. I don't want to give up all the raspberries I harvested from my bushes this year. He doesn't want to sacrifice the cold space to fruit. I think there is merit to having plenty of butter (KerryGold) as he prefers something else to put on his toast. I was harsh about cleaning out the house food storage, noting that anything dating back to '01 really could not be put on board. He was resistant to giving up packages of things he could recall buying on sale back then. But then he was more than ready to give up a couple of pork roasts so I could have a couple of packages of bison meat. It was an interesting process. Finally the inventories complete, the freezer stuffed and assorted materials required for my cooking loaded, we can close out that exercise.

Not likely that the Seahawks 'man cave' will
be discarded, unless they disappoint greatly.

He just came in and announced, "We are going to weigh that motor home on Monday." And I said, "And then bring it back here and empty things out?"

Square dance shirt
under construction

He has all his tools, I have my art supplies. He has all his books and research materials for his ancestry project, I have a sewing machine to make square dance outfits (and some fabric, but for me - very little).

He has a camera, so do I. He has a computer, so do I. And it all adds up... every single ounce. If we were loading a boat I could just look at the waterline. In fact, I remember doing just that several decades ago as I was preparing for the journey that would take us to the Bahamas.

Snowbirds, as a rule, tend to leave their northern abodes and go south, often for months at a time. But their lives, hobbies, interests continue. For some there are groups in each location to facilitate those objectives, other folks simply find the other locations allow more time to follow those projects. But often some things must be brought along to continue, like building a quilt or working on ancestry.

And all those guilty pleasures we are storing and taking along will have a cost in fuel. I know that. Wayne knows that. And in time we may decide to lighten up by leaving more things behind... but probably not this trip.

We laughed at each other last night as we sat and watched a movie, ate some popcorn, because it really is 'home' we are settling into, taking with us. And Snowbirds do have to make a nest, along the way and at the destination(s).

Becoming a SnowBirder

After three trips (shakedown cruises on the land yacht would be a better description) Wayne and I are ready to launch into the SnowBird migration.

Our home-away-from-home is an Itasca RV.

Our dating life really began with the first trip to the Cranberry Square Dance festival in Greyland, WA, and continued with a second trip to the north eastern part of the state and most recently we visited Chehalis/Centralia to go to the state's square dance officer's meeting and dance.

The Wild Horses monument on a mesa above the Columbia
River was a great place to hike together for the first time.

Each adventure has given us a chance to test our ability to get along, work together, plan together and laugh a lot. He's a born-again Seahawks fan and has a progressive outlook about life that agrees with my own. I like how we traverse life's path together and particularly that he always reaches to hold my hand, even when hiking. He's a solid, man-of-the-earth kind of guy... very special.

So, for those of you who are not yet (or may never be) travelers by season, (or at all) this blog will continue to be what I intended it to be from the beginning, a short travelogue of places seen, impressions gained, and experiences of life for a new perspective, if you want it. For family and friends, it may be a way to keep up with "The Traveling Grandpa" and "Granny A" /aka Sandy Banks.

Accidentally we all chose purple for the color that night...
Les Kilwein, me, Ann Eilwein and Wayne in Centralia.

Wikipedia defines Snowbirds as: "A snowbird is a North American term for a person who moves from the higher latitudes and colder climates of the northern United States and Canada and migrates southward in winter to warmer locales such as Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt of the southern United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean." 

Snowbirds use a variety of travel devices and I did once live aboard a sailboat for 8 years, mostly in southern climates. So the transition to an RV (big one at 40 feet!) is easy. But the challenge of maintaining my home in Washington (he has one as well), arranging for mail delivery, and various other tasks associated with an extended trip has kept both of us really busy for the past couple of weeks and now it intensifies as we plan to leave about a week earlier than originally intended.

Wayne, Carol and Joe looking at my art show at the bank.
I have made arrangements for these pictures to be collected
while I am away.

But flexibility is the key to survival. And packing to be flexible is an element of that... clothes for cooler weather, clothes for dancing, clothes for warmer weather, hiking, etc. Plus having my camera equipment, my sewing machine (making dance clothes) and my art supplies has me a little stressed. Weight on the RV, just like the boat, affects performance. And while I'm not willing to saw my toothbrush in half like a racing competitor I once knew, I am a lot more conscientious about this issue than Wayne might realize. My nighttime dreams are filled with designing an RV that incorporates some of these devices so that I'm not adding weight by bringing them.

Trying to hide anything on an RV of any size can be challenging, and my sneakiness is only because I want to surprise Wayne down the road with some special snack since he is the driver of the RV. I have to leave off this blog report for now because he wants to inventory the food supply... kinda silly on one hand since we have lots of shopping opportunities along the way, but he likes being able to choose off-grid experiences and having supplies to meet that need. Stay tuned... this is going to be an interesting ride!!