Mt. St. Helens

Monday we headed up to Mt. St. Helens.  We had arranged to have a tour with Mr. Lloyd Anderson from the 7Wonders Creation Museum.  At the museum, he gave us a lecture on the eruption and some of the things it teaches us.  Then he rode up with us to Johnston Ridge, explaining to us along the way the things we were seeing.  It was good to have someone there to explain everything to us from a Biblical perspective. 

Our first stop was this cabin not far from Toutle, where the museum is.  The cabin looks like it's in a hole, because the mud flow from Mt. St. Helens came around it and raised the ground level.

This viewpoint below was another one of our stops.  This area marks the beginning of the blast zone.

The viewpoint for an elk preserve near the mountain.

Elk grazing far, far below in the preserve.

The mountain!     

It's interesting how the south face of the mountain can become so commonplace to us, because we see it so often (when it isn't raining). In contrast, the north face looks a lot more menacing. I find trips up to Mt. St. Helens rather sobering. It makes one realize just how finite we and all the created world around us are. Not even mountains can be called unchanging--only God. This week for our devotions we read Psalm 46 and found ourselves struck by the way Mt. St. Helens illustrates verses 1-3:

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling."