On our way back home, we decided to make a short detour to see Mt. Saint Helens. We had heard during our time in Vancouver that the road was closed to the top, but that we could drive up to the science center and still have a good view of the volcano. It was about an hour and half drive up there from our hotel and we left early enough to get there when the science center opened for the day (at 10 am). We arrived about ten minutes early so we drove down to the nearby lake to wait. This was the only day of our whole trip that we had bad weather. And we were all underdressed for the bad weather, too, so we were pretty cold. It was also a bit drizzly, so we didn't stay out by the lake very long. We also thought we would be able to see Mt. St. Helens from the lake, but we couldn't.
By the time we got back up to the science center, the gate was open, so we went into the lot and parked. We couldn't take Lula inside the science center, so Danny and the boys went in to check it out and the girls hung out in the parking lot a bit. Danny came out a few minutes later to tell us that there was a big school group arriving soon and the people that worked there suggested we get a head start on them inside. I walked through the building to the back where there was a view of the mountain and Ashley walked around the outside with Lula. We braved the cold and took this picture on the back patio.
I took Lula back to the car after that because Ashley was cold and we didn't have enough time to take shifts inside. I met everyone inside as they were watching an informational video about the eruption in the 80's. After the movie, we walked around the science center a bit and read the information they had about the volcano. I thought this visual was cool, showing what the volcano looked like before, during, and after the most recent eruption.
We stayed for maybe an hour, and then we were on our way. The workers told us that we were lucky we got there as early as we did because they had cloud cover moving in and by 11 that morning, the top of Mount Saint Helens was going to be covered for the rest of the day. Even from the time that we first saw it to the time we left, the visibility had dropped quite a bit. We were glad that we were able to see it.
Our drive home was pretty uneventful. After a terrible night's sleep in the hotel room on our second to last night on the trip, we decided to book a vacation rental for our last night again. The home we stayed in was in La Grande, OR, and it was the sketchiest place we have ever stayed in. We never would have chosen this place if we had been looking for a place to stay months in advance. But it did have 3 separate rooms, so that we were all able to sleep better. We did not plan on having to take care of our own breakfast the next morning, so we went to the grocery store to get some milk for cereal. We also picked up Chinese food in the grocery store for dinner that night. We watched a movie that night while sitting on the couches from the 1970's. We woke up early and finished the drive home the next day.
Overall, it was a successful trip. Ashley had 10 days of nonstop time with Lula and got to see a city that she has always wanted to visit. She also got to watch Lula enjoy many beaches. We were all so happy to sleep in our own beds after getting home.
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