A Geologist and a Hiker

We went on another family camping excursion this weekend to southern Washington area with our friends Ryan and Raelene Weeks and their family. While the weather was marginal, the company was excellent and the fun was diverse!
We went to a camping club/resort in the Mayfield Lake area with our trailer. They seemed extremely well-suited for weekenders like us, with pull-through sites, multiple swimming pools, basketball, tennis, mini-golf and a plethora of other things to keep us and our little ones occupied.

No campfire sites were provided and only elevated fires were allowed. On our first night, we couldn't rent one of the fireplace-on-wheels they offered, so we improvised by putting my dutch oven pan up on rocks to cook our hobo dinners (which are a real hit with my girls) and we then started a small fire on the coals. In subsequent days, we were able to secure one of the aforementioned fireplaces and enjoyed flames galore (which normally meant Enoch nodding off in front of the fire while everyone else enjoyed meaningful conversation). Love of fire is something I share with my son. We put Liam near the fire in his stroller and he was absolutely mesmerized by the hypnotic flickering and sputtering that slowly reduced itself to ashes. He kept reaching for the flame as if it were some new toy to be played with. Fortunately, he was well out of reach of any flames.

On Sunday, we decided it would be fun to go see Mt. St. Helens as we were in the area. It took some convincing to the women that packing the kids for a long road trip (more than hour) up the mountain would be fun. We finally did and off we went! I'm convinced that half the adventure in these type of trips is seeing the countryside and small towns as you pass through. There is an idyllic peace about these tiny communities in the shadow of the volcano.

At one point, on the way up, I turned to Seraya and asked what a volcano is. She explained that it is a "mountain that blows up and lava comes out." I was dang proud of her, because I swear we've never talked about volcanoes before (which means she probably picked it up from some cartoon)!

When we finally reached the Johnston Ridge Observation area, the clouds had descended and began dribbling rain all over us. We had lunch in the back of our vans and headed up to see the mountain. The weather prevented us from seeing much beyond the foot of the volcano and the volcanic plains below it. We did get to see a neat documentary about the eruption in 1980 (which scared the living daylights out of my daughter, Kaija).

We walked outside and I decided to take my girls on a little hike up the Johnston Ridge (Ryan had taken his two older boys and headed up already). As we climbed the paved trail out of the ravine wear the visitor's center was, the wind and weather came on us full force. My girls were motivated and Seraya in particular was soldiering on well in front of us. Shortly, I could see that Kaija was in distress and we needed to turn back. I had another proud daddy moment when it took some serious persuasion to get Seraya to turn back from the hike. She wanted to keep going to the end! I can't wait to get this girl on a real hike!

Kaija, ever our little geologist, loved looking at the volcanic rocks exhibit at the observation center. She kept turning them over and over to examine them. She was particularly smitten with the pumice and was even able to correctly identify it at camp later when she found a little piece at the mini-golf course. She held it up and wanted us to see the"bolcano rock". She, of course, also retrieved various other "specimens" for us to examine!

I am always amazed at the progress and learning that my babies make. I can't believe I'm sending Seraya to school this year. Pretty soon, she'll be telling me things that even I don't know!