Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (7/18)

-
     On the eighteenth of July, we went to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.  It erupted in 1980. The lava column shot up 15 miles into the air and rushed down the sides of the mountain. All the plants and animals around the volcano were wiped out.  After the eruption, life returned quickly.  Now, the area is filled with even more animals and plants than before the eruption. However, we didn't get to hike on the mountain itself, because it was closed for research.

Mount St. Helens

     Since we weren't able to go to Mount St. Helens, we went to Johnston Ridge Observatory.  There, we could see the mountain and also learn about it from movies, exhibits, or rangers.

Johnston Ridge Observatory

     At the visitor center, we watched two movies about the mountain.  They were each about 15-20 minutes long. After the movie, the curtain lifted up and through the window we saw the mountain: Mount St. Helens.

The end of the movie

     One of the first plants to return was the purple flower below.  It doesn't need much nutrition to survive, so it easily lived on the in-nutritious pumas rock.

The first flower to come to Mt. St. Helens

     In the areas nearest the volcano, all the trees were uprooted and wiped out, and nothing was left in the path of the lava.  A little farther from the volcano the power of the flowing lava was weaker, so the trees were cut off, but the stump remained.  If you go even farther, the trees remained standing, but all the leaves and most branches were seared off.
     We are about 11 miles from Mt. St. Helens at the Johnston Ridge Observatory.  It took the volcano only 40 seconds (if I remember correctly) to get here.  The trees were cut off, buthe stumps remained.

A hill near Mount St. Helens

Everywhere, signs were posted that read, "Stay on Trails and Paved Areas." Then, in small type on the bottom it said, "Plants grow by the inch and die by the foot!"


     We also did the Junior Ranger Program. It was fun, and we learned a lot fromt he exhibit, movies, and ranger talks.

Comments

  1. Ting and Linda ChenJuly 26, 2017 at 2:04 PM

    Thank you for the blog! The eruption of Mt. St. Helen and the return back of trees, plants, and animals showed us that perhaps, the earth is younger than what many people thought... So, the Biblical account of time is more accurate... the earth is about 6,000 years old... not millions of years...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Feel free to write a comment! Thank you for commenting!

Popular posts from this blog

OC Fair 2023!

-
Image
When my siblings and I were younger, our family would go to OC Fair every summer. We have great memories from the Centennial Farm and the Read & Ride program. The last time I went to OC Fair was before the COVID-19 pandemic.  This August 2023, my sisters and I and some friends went to the OC Fair together (the rest of the family wanted to come but weren't able to make it this time). The Lord was SO good to us. We got good parking, the weather was cool, the sky was cloudy, and we had an amazing and memorable time. Selfie at the OC Fair with my sisters! Heroes Hall In the morning, we visited Heroes Hall and the museum at the site. When we entered the museum, we were greeted by a very sweet young lady who introduced us to the exhibit.  The first floor of the museum featured Stanley Troutman, a war correspondent during WWII. He is known for being the first to capture photos after the atomic bombs and for many other photos he took during the war.  War correspondents like T...
Read more

Crater Lake National Park

-
Image
We were blessed to visit Crater Lake on 6/28 Wednesday! This lake is the deepest volcanic lake in the world and the deepest lake in the United States. And, it's so cool and beautiful! (photo taken by Dad) Even in the middle of the summer, with daytime temperatures warm enough to wear T-shirts, there is snow!
Read more

New Blog!

-
Image
 As some of you may know already, I am currently in Jerusalem for a one year study abroad program! I will be posting on another blog, which you can visit here: https://myisraeljourney.home.blog/ Enjoy! Blessings, Grace
Read more

Highlights from Lava Beds National Monument - part 2

-
Image
On Thursday 6/29/2023, we visited Lava Beds National Monument again! We got to explore Hopkin's chocolate cave, Golden Dome cave, and Hercules' leg cave.  Enjoy these photos! Outside the caves, there was a sweet butterfly that kept flying around us. Then, it landed on Catherine's helmet and didn't want to leave. I was able to get some beautiful close-up pictures. Here we are outside Golden Dome cave!  Dad outside a cave (I think it's a different one from the one above. It's our car in the background, too!) I think this entrance is called the "headache" entrance or something like that. That is because the entrance is so narrow that people sometimes accidentally bump their head on the ledge! Thankfully we are all on the smaller side and we were careful and didn't bump our heads. Caves have three different zones - the entrance zone (lots of sunlight), the twilight zone (a little bit natural light) and the dark zone (no natural light - if you turn the ...
Read more

Highlights from Lava Beds National Monument - part 1 (6/27/2023 Tuesday)

-
Image
It's been a while since I last posted on this blog (last post in 2020)! Time has flown by so quickly. For 2020, 2021, and 2022, our family has been blessed to do a fun summer road trip from CA to the east coast. We've been blessed to visit the OH Scriptorium, dear friends, and fun places along the way. This year, we weren't able to make it to the east coast again, but we are doing a short 1-week trip up to northern CA and Oregon.  My family and I were blessed to visit Lava Beds National Monument again! When we visited in 2017, I posted about our visit: http://insummerautumnwinterspring.blogspot.com/2017/07/lava-beds-national-monument.html On Tuesday 6/27/2023, we visited Mushpot cave again and Valentine's cave. Mushpot is a beginner cave with paved paths and lighting inside. Valentine's cave was named for the day it was discovered and has bumpy lava paths, pillars, and sections with low ceilings where you need to duck walk or crawl. Anabel has been so brave and pers...
Read more

Grand Canyon (6/16)

-
Image
Tuesday, June 16th 2020 We are in Arizona! We were so blessed to be able to visit the Grand Canyon! "O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions—" -Psalm 104:26 My family at the Grand Canyon! Theodore, Anabel, and I (we took off masks just for the photo) The Raven/hawk at the beginning of the 5-minute trail to see the Grand Canyon. Rock formations. The Grand Canyon!!! photo by T.C. by T.C. On the trail: by T.C. by T.C. Trees in the desert: Between rocks: by T.C. Squirrel (all squirrel photos by T.C.) Tree growing on rocks: And finally... Freckles the bunny! Surely, these wonders of nature points to God! Something as majestic as the Grand Canyon could not have come about by chance, which proves that God is real. He is the Creator, from whom and through whom all things exist. May His name be praised and glorified!
Read more

Lava Beds National Monument

-
Image
     Lava Beds National Monument is one of my favorite places that our family visited.  At Lava Beds, many years ago, some volcanoes exploded and formed lava tubes.  These lava tubes are the caves that we visited at the National Monument.      Before exploring a cave, there were some essential things we needed: flashlights (at least one per person), helmets (also one per person), and at least one more person to go with you (we had six in total). This year, we visited a cave called Labyrinth. Going down the ladder to the cave (Labyrinth). This is the rest of my family (I am taking the picture) in the cave. These are my siblings. Although Labyrinth was marked "most challenging", most of the cave was spacious.  There was plenty of room, and we could stand straight.  Once in a while though, the ceiling would get a little low.  The lowest part of the cave was roughly about 18 inches tall. Going down some steep s...
Read more

The OC fair

-
Image
On 8/8, we took a trip to the OC fair! That day there was a special program where you could donate 5 clothing items and get a free ticket to the OC fair. That's just what we did to get our tickets! Explorium - Rainforest Experience At the Explorium, we visited the Rainforest Experience. Posing for a photo before going in to the exhibit: We got to see lots of exotic animals in the Rainforest Experience . Inside, we got to see lots of creepy snakes. There were also tarantulas! They were 8 inches in diameter. On display: Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches! You may pet one if you wish. I did! Here are all the rest of the cockroaches: Camels Did you know that Camels can drink up to 30 gallons  at a time? I just learned that at the Camel Show  at the OC fair! In the Camel Show , we learned about how to take care of camels. We also learned about how to milk a camel. It is different from milking a cow and it takes a lot of work and coope...
Read more

From Beijing to Taiwan!!!

-
Image
Today we flew from Beijing to Taiwan! While we were waiting at the airport, we visited a small exhibit about the forbidden city. Inside the exhibit, we watched a video about the Palace Museum and the Forbidden City. At the exhibit, there were interactive screens that displayed ancient artifacts of the Forbidden City. You could enlarge the artifacts and twist them around on the screens. We learned a lot about the artifacts and their origins. There was also a wall in the exhibit with beautiful Chinese characters. The best part of the exhibit was "Ancient Chinese Drawing Screen". There were 4 chinese paintings to choose from. You could fill in the painting with your own colors.  After that, you put in your own inscription. You can choose to put in your own inscription, o r use their inscription. You can also do both. Finally, you created your own seal. Below is Anabel's seal. ...
Read more

3 Special Fruits of Taiwan

-
Image
More about Taiwan... 3 Special fruits of Taiwan & their Taiwanese names! This fruit looks like banana, but it is not a regular type of banana. It is known as Ban Jiao . It has a stronger fragrance than regular bananas, and it is also sweeter. Eat these when they are ripe! The Ban Jiao  in first picture below are not ripe and will not  taste good. The ones in the second picture are ripe and tasted very good! This fruit below is called Mi Zhao . It tastes like jujubees, but it is larger and juicier.  Be careful when you buy these, because if they are overripe, they have a milky taste and don't taste very good. Taiwanese people call this fruit below  Lien Bu. It is juicy and sweet. This fruit is also very expensive if you buy it in stores, so go to the market to get these.  At the market, you can get about 12 for 100 Taiwanese yuan! We got to eat lots of these during our last few days in Taiwan. Thank you for reading! 
Read more