Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. I was in high school at the time. I visited the site ten years later, when I attended my first NACAA meeting in Seattle. I visited Mount St. Helens again, almost 20 years later (in 2009). Another NACAA meeting. This one in Portland. In both cases, my travel companions were fellow county agents. The experiences were very different.  A lot of changes in 20 years. 

-- 1990 --

Made a national monument in 1982

Devastation

Eerie

Rebirth

-- 2009 --

(L-R) John, Stan, me, Jeff and Willie

Eruption Trail

Almost 30 years later

Stumps

Cascade range

Life returned

In 1980, I attended National 4-H Congress in Chicago. Delegates to the Congress shared little mementos of their states. The kids from Washington State handed out little baggies of volcanic ash from Mount St. Helens.  I kept my little bag of ash all these years.

Written 16 Jan 2026