There really weren’t any clouds – the sky was blue as far as the eye could see; but … at elevations of 2,600 ft. & 3,000 ft. clouds could move in very quickly – and snow falling was a real possibility despite the clear skies and warm Spring atmosphere.
Mountains have a way of creating their own weather environment; and Mt. St. Helens is very temperamental. When she’s in a good mood, she can be friendly – but when her temper is up, she can be very bad.
Since her famous temper tantrum in 1980 (when she literally ‘blew her top’), she’s always fussing and steaming: we diligently watch her to see which way she will lean on any given day.
Native American names for Mt. St. Helens are “Loowit” & “Louwala-Clough”, which means “smoking mountain.
Today, thankfully, she was in a good mood 😉
But before I got there to enjoy her good mood … my day started out in a foul mood. The outsourced PeaceHealth calimexarabia CA Doctors, Inc. is still claiming they have not received payment.
So, when I got off the phone with the outsourced talking head on the other end of the outsourced airwaves, I drove into town to the P.O. and asked them to track the payment I mailed off on April 6th: it had been picked up and signed for on the 10th!
When I got back home, I called the talking head back, and read to her what the receipt said – and she parroted back that payment has not been received.
I was furious.
What she was saying was unbelievable.
I hung up on her while she was still yapping.
I was missing the comforting wisdom Bob always had that could flip a bad day situation.
I stopped glaring at the phone.
I stopped wishing for husbandly wisdom I would never receive again.
I decided to go for a drive to escape the heat of the moment … and the escalating heat of the day (it would be in the upper 80’s by noon). I thought I’d drive to Coldwater Lake – up the Toutle, where the temperature would be cooler because of the mountainous Mt. St. Helens region.
Normally, I would balk at trying that drive on my own (it’s long and snaky; and it crosses several very deep gorges) – but this morning, I was mad enough to bite the bullet and/or wrestle the hordes of Hell.
I hate being lied to.
I needed to be active.
I was justifiably irritated.
I needed to be a winner in some way.
I needed to stretch my comfort zone.
First, I watered all my plants; I actually soaked them pretty deep, so they wouldn’t get plant sunstroke when the temperature drastically rose for this time of year.
Then I called my BIL, Kerry, to ask him if it was even possible to get to Coldwater Lake; I remembered that sometimes there is a surprise late-season snowfall in the higher elevations. Kerry lives in the higher elevation of Toutle, close to the Mt. St. Helens area – he would know if the road to the Lake was open or not.
He said it was; he told me there may be some snow in areas, but that the road should be clear because it’s been pretty busy with trucks hauling boats behind them to the Coldwater Boat Launch; so, I grabbed purse and keys, and booked 😉
It took me about an hour to get out of Longview: traffic was back-to-back until I turned off onto Westside Highway.
The drive to Toutle went well – the road was busy, but traffic flowed.
The air cooled significantly the higher in elevation the Highlander climbed.
I drove a little trepidatiously.
I was a lot excited.
Bob had always driven this stretch of highway – always – for 44 years of our life together … and several years before that.
I had only driven as far as the Mt. St. Helens Forest Learning Center; and that fairly recently. So, this stretch of road way was virgin territory to me.
And I was a road virgin, again. But this time, the stress level was not as high as last time I was driving unfamiliar territory.
The road climbed steeply at times.
Coldwater Lake lays at a cool 2,600 ft. elevation.
I had thought to walk some of the Coldwater Trail, but right off the bat, it was straight UP; so, I scrapped that thought. My legs are short, and my long-armed husband (who used to lend a hand to pull me up) rides the clouds, now.
I walked back to the car, and gave considerable thought to hiking the Hummock Trail – a little further up the road.
The Johnston Ridge Observatory was gated off; but the trail was open. And there were plenty of cars in the trail parking lot, so I would have company on the trail at some point.
The Hummocks Trail is 3,000 ft. in elevation, so the air was thinning out. Evergreen trees were stunted; and leafy trees, shrubs, and flowers were showering pollen dust into the breeze, budding out, and starting to blossom.
I had to use my inhaler, so I could breathe easy.
But, even using the inhaler … I was wheezing at times because the air was thin, and my lungs were stressed; not dangerously stressed, but working a little harder than they are used to – with all the unfamiliar scents, and oxygen discrepancy.
By the end of the walk, my lungs had adjusted to the higher altitude.
I’m going to revisit the Hummock Trail, at some point this year 😊
Mt. St. Helens was always Bob’s mountain; he preferred her over Mt. Rainier, which is the mountain I prefer.
But I actually enjoyed Mt. St. Helens this afternoon – I am adjusting to the changes that have occurred, and are occurring in my unfolding widow life.
Perhaps Yeshua is moving Mt. Rainier aside; or maybe Mt. St. Helen’s … like so many other things that were a part of Bob’s life (like the early morning hours, and the Columbia River) are becoming part of my new life, like they were in Bob’s life.
All I know is that I am surprisingly comfortable doing things I didn’t do before: I was always a night-owl & slept late in the mornings – water terrifies me; I avoided the Columbia River – and even though I always enjoyed Mt. St. Helens before she blew her top, I avoided visiting her because there wasn’t anything about her that appealed to me anymore.
ALL that is changing!
I find I am enjoying the early morning hours, now.
I find I enjoy the Columbia River, now. Water still unnerves me – but I engage in things that center around the River, now.
And I found this afternoon, that there is a draw that will have me going back to visit Mt. St. Helens again.
And if there are clouds in the sky on that particular day, I won’t mind.
Bob rides the clouds with Yeshua 😊
I won’t be alone.
My 2 Husbands will be with me.
Just like they were, today.
Showing me beauty all around me.
And sharing the moment with me.
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