BOU AVENUE
Mount St. Helens
On 7 April 2001, Lynette Bou drove her two sons, James and Daniel, Kelly Wood, and me out to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in southern Washington.  We first stopped at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Centre (the one nearest to Interstate 5) to purchase some visitor passes.  The interpretive displays here were excellent, and I could have spent the bulk of the day here learning everything about Mt. St. Helens without even setting eyes on the volcano itself.  Nevertheless, we cut our visit short and continued on to the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Centre.  Winter conditions up at the higher elevations prevented us from continuing further (to the Johnston Ridge Observatory) or doing any serious hiking.  Still, we managed to tramp around a nearby interpretive trail; James and Daniel, having grown up mostly in California, were undoubtedly more delighted by the snow than the views of the volcano.
It's still winter in the mountains!
James, Kelly, Lynette, and Daniel stop at one of the observation balconies on the interpretive trail.
Typical Tourist Weather
The clouds part briefly to reveal a glimpse of the famous volcano.  Soon after this photo was snapped, a blizzard blew in creating white-out conditions at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Centre.
Bloody Kids!
Daniel and James take a break from their snowball fight to check out a creepy interpretive display (a talking face is being projected onto the mannequin in behind) inside the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Centre.