They updated one of my favorite web sites!

New high definition camera gives a great look at Mount St Helens.

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

The cone has grown alot over the year, and today it is smokin more than usual.

Hey Allen,
I have alot of history with that volcano. Been up there many times since I was 12 years old. I watched it blow on May 18th in the morning from my front yard. Deb and I chartered a plane that afternoon and flew on the west side of the Volcano at about 8,000 ft right up I-5. The air traffic was not controlled because of all the confusion. At Sunset we were making one last pass when Seattle control told us to vacate the airspace. I was a student pilot and was glad I was not doing the flying. Lots of unauthorized traffic up there. I have pictures you would not believe. We have been to the visitors center and climbed to the top of the lookout. Very steep and kinda scary. We are going up there for a picnic as soon as the weather permits. We have lots of stories.
Stephen

Flying around it on blast day is AWESOME! I was in Oregon when it went boom! I was living just outside Medford, and we were getting a little bit of ash fall. We were glued to the TV LOL.

I managed to pick up a couple of bottles of ash, and had kept them in my sock drawer. One day as I was walking past my kids playing in the dirt I noticed they had the ash bottles!!!! They had dumped out all of the ash from one of the bottles and the other only had about a fourth of what was in it left.

I still have that little bit of ash, and now keep locked up LOL.

This website is one of my favorites, it has alot of memories attached to it for me also, but nothing like what you experienced. I am envious!!

Ohhh I wish i had seen this yesterday LOL
probably had clear skies - we are socked in with overcast today.

From west of Portland we had a great view of the blow up and got quite a bit of the ash fallout- it made a nasty cement like sludge that would stick to your car after the rains started.

I think for the second big blow we were heading to the coast to camp and the ash was falling like snow.

It's been about 10 years since we went up to the observatory.

Thanks Allen, I appreciate the link.

When Mt. St. Helens blew, I was living in Idaho Falls Id. (That is 500 miles SE of Spokane). We got ash even THAT far away!

Now that we live so much closer, the subject is of even more interest.

This a pretty neat site, and there is links to loads of information on earthquake activity around the mountain, and everywhere else. Also you can look up information on the other volcanos in the area, and anything relating to them.

Back in 2004 St Helens had a small eruption, and I just happened to have the website up to see it. Sometimes when im not actively on the computer I will just have this site up kinda like a screen saver LOL. It was a trip to watch the whole thing unfold, and then like an hour later to hear the news start reporting it hahahaha!.

So you never know when it is gonna burp, or go Kaboom! But it is fun to watch for it. And watching that cone grow in the crater has been real interesting too.

I dont think any of that could compare to Condors flight around an erupting st helens, man what I wouldnt have given to be on that plane!!!!