Reflections of 30 Years Ago!
Yes, it was all over the news today, but I just wanted to share my recollection of that day,with you.
I was preparing breakfast at 8:30 Sunday morning, in my Silverdale home. Yes, you could hear the concussion from 200 plus miles away. This is a glimpse, of what it looked like.
The eruption continued for nine hours, turning the landscape into something that looked like it came form the Twilight Zone.
For Memorial Day weekend, we decided to visit my husband’s family, in Hubbard, Oregon, about 30 miles South of Portland. That Saturday, at the end of May, St. Helen’s blew again, releasing even more ash.
I was five months pregnant, and my daughter was 17 months old. We made the trip with a friend, all piled in our pick-up. I don’t think I have ever been as scared, as I was that Sunday, when we decided to head back home.
From Kelso to Chehalis, was a gray ash cloud. There was at least, a foot of ash on the freeway. You could not see the road, to even know if you were on it. Yet, people would pass, kicking up even more ash. My husband, had put his t-shirt, over the air filter on the truck, to prevent the ash from clogging up the engine. It was like driving through talcum powder.
For at least eighty miles, we went, on a wing and a prayer. After reaching Chehalis, the conditions were much better, as we headed West toward home. I was never so glad, to get home again. That is one event in History, I will never forget!
