As the Lava Churns and Sizzling Seattle – The first time I gazed up at Mount St Helens it was in 1988. While attending summer courses at University of Seattle, some fellow students invited me along for a drive around the mount to see if ash and chunks of volcanic rock were still in the…
Plumes of steam billowed slowly upward from her gaping mouth, brilliant against the azure sky; a blanket of snow softly draped her neck; her lower body encased in a placid grey obsidian exterior – since September 23, 2004, Mount St. Helens epitomizes a gentle, snoozing giantess, expelling an even stream of exhalation, with an occasional burst of “throat clearing”. “Be prepared with masks and goggles” is the message to the torrent of volcano-watchers flocking to the vantage point off Washington State Highway 504; geologists watch closely pondering not “IF” but “WHEN” and “HOW ABRUPTLY” this behemoth will again awaken.
