Mt. Saint Helens eruption(1980)

[601halfdozen0theother]

I was a student living in the dorms at The Evergreen State College in Olympia when Mt. St. Helens erupted.

Administration asked us to stay in our dorms during the eruption and for a day or two afterwards (I forget exactly how long.)

Of course, we didn't. We went out and played in it.

Ash was in the air for days, and everything was coated with it. It got in your ears and nose and mouth, and you could taste the grit. However, the ash from the eruption mostly went east rather than northwest, as I remember.

I took a greyhound bus east to Spokane about month afterwards, and ash was piled high on the highway medians. I remember stopping someplace (George?) and scooping up ash from the ground in front of the bus station into 35 mm film canisters. I wish I know what happened to those! And I know I took pictures but have no idea if any survived anywhere. (I also kept some Cooper Point Journals with "Life in Hell" cartoons by Mike Gruening, but those have disappeared too!)

Really, life went on. As silly late teens/20 somethings we thought we were invincible, and just thought it was exciting.

[Hemlock140]

I just remembered that we have a little statue of a moose that is made of the ash from the eruption. For a couple of years after the eruption, some artists were making things out of the ash and selling them at the Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift sale and other festivals.

[StealthRabbit]

Pick up some nice vintage Mt St Helens ash products!

Will go well with your vintage clothes (I still wear my outdoor gear from Frostline (circa 1980))
https://www.etsy.com/market/mt_st_helens_ash

I also have several jars of ash collected from our farm in Vancouver, WA.

Mt St Helens made for rich geology classes for our homeschoolers. We hired retired profs and spent a week there every yr, and watched it regrow. (It's only 40 miles from home).

Quite a site when they first opened Windy Ridge up for traffic. (crispy cars and toothpick (200') trees were a grim reminder, dont mess with Mother Nature)
Mt. St. Helens: Eastside to Windy Ridge — Our Mother The Mountain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windy_...unt_St._Helens)