26 May Rimrock to Mt St Helens

Thankfully the sun was shining! We saw the cutest squirrel on a stump nearby. Awwww.

Heading off from Rimrock Lake we travelled over White Pass. There is a ski resort there and people were still skiing although the lifts weren’t operating. It looked like a fair hike to the top of the hill for a 20 second whizz down again…

We spotted Mt Ranier in the distance, it disappeared into the clouds, then poked out above them. It was truly massive! 

We drove through a non descript country place called Packwood where there was some sort of county fair. The roadside stalls went on for at least a mile and a half along the main drag. Grannies were outside with signs selling parking spaces in their gardens for $4.00. It was insanely busy. We crawled along the main road trying not to run down the locals. They were eating Corn Dawgs and Elephant Ears. From what we could see, Elephant Ears are pizza bases, deep fried and sprinkled with what looked like a sugar / cinnamon mix.

The area had lots of Xmas Tree farms. Miles and miles of trees in all heights. 

We diverted to see Jackson House for lunch. Jackson House is a pioneer cottage on the Oregon Trail. It was locked up, but we could see well enough through the windows.

As we drove up the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway towards Mt St Helens, we could see the river flats still covered with grey ash and fallen trees. Even after 32 years. We stopped at the visitor centre and watched a documentary about the massive eruption, then looked through all the exhibits. It was really interesting.

We camped at Eco Park Campsite – no electricity, hook-ups, and no generators allowed. But very beautiful surrounds – trees, grass and animals. We set up the camp chairs and cracked a bottle of Sweet Adelaide White Blend, and sat in the sun contemplating. Dinner was a steak and a good merlot / cab sauv / syrah blend, and we read books in the sun. This is the life!

At around 7, we walked to the communal fire pit and got chatting to our neighbours. We met some really interesting people, and shared travel stories. Finally off to bed. It didn’t get fully dark until around 11pm.