Harmony Lakeside RV Resort, Mt. St. Helens Eastside...

Thirty nine miles up the road....! That is the distance we traveled from Toutle River RV Resort to Harmony Lakeside RV Resort, up I-5, then about 21 miles on US 12 towards Mt. Rainier and access to the Eastside part of Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Harmony Lakeside RV, this time of year, was very nice! It made you feel like you were in the National Forest, with all the trees and gardens

that they have built up around the park. It would be tight if all, or most of the sites were occupied. But we believe it would still be manageable. We had to back in, and turn slightly, to get the coach off the road. We succeeded nicely! There was no one on our passenger side but the lake, and shoreline next to it. The roads were well graveled, so in rain we experienced little mud.

We walked every morning, around the campsite, and it was not boring, for the weather changes made for interesting sights and "feels."

Here are a couple of pictures from those walks:

Harmony Lakeside--lakeside

Harmony Lakeside -- lakeside

Harmony Lakeside -- a garden....

We came here to see Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier! "See" we did! We took a day trip with the dogs to Windy Ridge, the eastside access to Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. We drove to Randall on US 12, then south on 131 which became Forest Road 25, then turned right on Forest Road 99. It was about 73 miles one way--on a twisting and winding road which was "paved"--but showed road damage here and there....Still worth the trip!

Windy Ridge is a viewpoint, there are no visitor centers or services here, so come prepared. There are pit toilets, but no water. Forest Road 99 is accessible only during the months of July to October; it is buried in deep snow the rest of the year (might explain the road conditions!). During the busy season there are Ranger talks. There were no Ranger talks, there were no Rangers! But it was worth it!

There are 368 steps to the hilltop view of Spirit Lake and the crater. Lindy climbed only part way up! There were too many steps for the Corgis--and loose pumice made it a little interesting! You can see the crater in the picture to the left. Note the few cars in the parking lot. This was about 11 AM.

We could tell as soon as we rounded a corner that we had entered the "Blast Zone"...destruction was everywhere! We saw evidence of recovery certainly, but also the destruction was clear after 30 plus years.

Spirit Lake

Spirit Lake--still clogged with trees.....

Note the trees all in the same direction....

Another view of Spirit Lake--This is the BLAST ZONE!

Mt. St. Helens and the crater

The crater sits immediately behind the shorter hill, whose peak is pointing right at the crater. It was hard to get "above" it--climbing those steps would have done it, but that was NOT for Lindy this time!

We saw Mt. Hood to the south, Mt. Adams to the east, and Mt. Rainier to the north. The weather THIS day MUCH different than the fog we encountered on our earlier trip! Chilly, windy (living up to its name), but sunny and clear!