We stayed in Chehalis, WA, about 60 miles away from the Mt. St. Helens  observation center, so we drove up there one day to see how the mountain and surrounding areas have changed since we last saw it in 2013.

In 2013 when we came it was really foggy all the way up to the observation center.  Thank goodness it was clear when he hit 4,000 ft so we could get to see the mountain. This time it was high clouds with good views all around. 

The dome is definitely still growing and steam is coming out of it in the same place.  Also, we saw steam coming out of the side of the mountain where there wasn’t any in 2013. 

The visitors center was closed and there were no rangers this visit which is too bad since they had so much information and were so helpful and friendly.  But, Washington State is taking the continuing pandemic seriously, with mask mandates etc. so we knew it would not be the same.

It is still an eerie place to be.  There still so much devastation in the nearby areas even after 41 years you can see some of the downed trees pointing in the same direction.  The vegetation is slowly creeping up the sides of the mountain but most of the mountain is raw and dead.

As we were leaving the observation center we noticed a notch high on a hillside across the valley.  We pulled over and looked through the camera and noticed an arch in the lavarocks along the ridge.  We took a photo which I included.  Very interesting!

Here are some pictures we took: