By Bob Van Leer

  (LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2005) - We docked in Longview about noon today and were bused to the Coldwater Ridge Visitors Center at Mt. St. Helens. Weather was cooperating reasonably well and only the very top of the volcano was obscured by clouds. We were able to look up to the hole where the north face of the mountain blew off. The volcano was cooperating wonderfully well, putting on a minor eruption for our benefit. The U. S. Forest Ranger said the mountain was pushing out about a dump truck load of material every five seconds. White smoke and dirty brown smoke plumes were visible and he said the white was steam and the brown was dust from small slides as material was pushed up.

  It has been 25 years since the major eruption that jolted the Northwest on March 27, 1980. The prevailing winds were blowing from the west and airline the mountain must be more than 300 miles from Gold Beach. In spite of that, volcanic ash was plainly visible on car windshields in Gold Beach. A total of 57 persons died in the explosion that blew 1313 feet off the top of the volcano. Land ownership is mixed at Mt. St. Helens, U. S. Forest Service and Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. The Forest Service decided to leave its lands as a laboratory to see how forest land naturally regenerates after a catastrophe. Weyerhaeuser went in shortly after the eruption, salvage logged its lands and replanted trees. The contrast is striking. Weyerhaeuser lands are now a young forest whereas much of the Forest Service land is still blown down timber, otherwise bare except for brush. We returned to our ship, the Queen of the West, in time for me to attend by telephone conference call the regular meeting of the Port of Gold Beach at 7:00 p.m. We left Longview and are headed down the Columbia River to Astoria.