Last Thursday, we celebrated the 20 year anniversary of when Mt Saint Helens decided to send us all into a tailspin. I'm sure you've all see the pictures, but there was nothing like that destruction viewed in person.

The volcanic activity that spawned this entire region eons ago also formed some delightful caves, old lava tubes, that I never seem to tire of exploring. Every visit I can see a little bit more of the re-birth. New seedlings, the return of the wildlife, flowers growing where there were none before. Where the trails get cut away, you can see the line, about 3 inches thick, of ash that refuses to incorporate into the soil. Every year, the line gets a little lower, turning into 'geologic history' instead of just an event that left a young girl in her window watching the world change.

Maybe my grandchildren will be able to hike that mountain, fighting their way through the brush to find that perfect huckleberry bush? It would make every spring from here to then worth it.

~Elle