Mt St Helens Trip // USA

Definitely one of the best weekends I've had here over the long Victoria Day weekend. We went to Washington State, USA. The trip was organized by the science department of our school. Originally it was intended for 12th graders, but since there were enough free spots, we internationals were able to join. There were 3 teachers and about 40 students in total. All in all, it was a really cool group.

We started on Thursday, first by bus, then by ferry, then again by bus. The border check was a bit time-consuming, but it went smoothly and we were already in the States. We arrived in Seattle around 4 pm. There, we went to the Museum of Pop Culture, where we could see a Marvel exhibition, learn more about Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and more, or even try to make music ourselves. The latter got a bit out of hand for us. We were kicked out at 5 pm because the museum closed. From there, we continued driving south and along the way, we were able to see more of Seattle, such as the Space Needle, the world's first Starbucks, the harbor, and the football stadium. We arrived at the hotel at 8 pm and then went to eat at Taco Bell.

On Friday, the program included the south side of the volcano. Mount Saint Helens is an active volcano that had a major eruption in 1980, blowing out the entire north face. 57 (?) people died in the eruption and from the burns caused by the ash. The south side, on the other hand, was mostly spared except for a few flying rocks and some ash. 1000 years ago, the volcano erupted and the lava formed caves on the south side. So, on Friday, we went into those caves. There was no lighting down there, and a flashlight was all we had. In some places, you had to literally crawl on your stomach, but it was a lot of fun. Once back on the surface, we drove a bit further to a forest trail, where we could see the effects of the cooled lava on the forest. Also very impressive. From there, it was another bus ride to the next hotel. In the evening, we went to the hot tub, had milkshakes delivered, and just relaxed.

On Saturday, we went to the highlight of the trip: the Johnston Ridge Observatory on the north side of the volcano. We took the bus up the winding road. The view that awaited us was incredible. The crater itself and the entire landscape were impressive. You can find pictures, of course. We walked around up there for a while and also hiked to areas that weren't as crowded. The clouds were hanging a bit too much in the crater, and they didn't completely clear up either, but it was still an awesome sight.

On Sunday, we only took the bus back, and luckily they let us back into Canada.

In summary, a trip with a lot of bus rides, but it was definitely worth it for the views we got. It was a great time, which was probably also due to the awesome group.