Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument


I woke up again (a good thing) with some rain, and and an absolutely peaceful night in the middle of nowhere. I headed towards Mount Saint Helens National Monument. I am on paved fire road #25. I think it is actually the longest road I have ever driven, with nothing but woods, and forest for miles, and miles, and miles. Good thing I have a full tank of gas. I decided to head towards the very end of the road, towards the mountain, which is Windy Ridge Viewpoint. It was several miles of turns, dodging rain clouds, fog, and even patches of sun, and I assended. At the end of the line there was a view of Spirit Lake, and the edge of Mt. St. Helen's, the most active volcano in the Cascade range. The clouds were low and I only saw glimpses of the peak, including a waterfall.  

I parked right next to the stone fence and as the clouds moved, I hoped to capture a photograph, as I prepared lunch. As I moved around to the other viewpoints, I noticed more patches of snow until I got a very clear view of this mountain. 
There are so many miles of this road, and I couldn't help but notice bushes, and grasses encrouching into the travel lanes, as well as large parts of the pavement missing, cracking, sagging and actually breaking off near the edge of the cliff. It seriously didn't look like a well traveled road as this is the eastern portion of the mountain. It was even more remote and rural then I anticipated.

I continued south for several miles and feel like I've been stuck in the RV for most of the day. I am not that far from Carson, which is actually on the border of Washington and Oregon. This puts me ahead of schedule for entering Oregon, so I decided to stop early, keeping my eyes open for dispersed (free) camping within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. In a perfect world my cell service would be working to assist me in finding camping, as per my several apps. But at this point I had to wing it, with no service (thanks, Verizon), looking for dirt roads that led off of the main paved route. As I approached a dirt road ahead, something told me to make a left, and go down, maybe a mile, until I saw some open space. The road was very well kept, so I continued until I got to the very end, which led me to a flowing stream, established fire pit, and a perfect spot to park where I can read some of my magazines, and relax from the seemingly long days drive. 

Have I crossed over the cascade region? Because the sun is out, with puffy white clouds, and I am really, really enjoying that!








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