On Mon, 05 Aug 2002 23:44:57 GMT, "Mike" wrote:

>Only part of that beautiful cone is left. The biggest challenge is getting
>fair weather to shoot in.

By a quirk, I was hiking with a group not far from Mt.
St. Helens when it blew - and we saw/heard nothing (the
weather was not very clear, and we were on the opposite
side from the blow-out). Returning to Seattle, we wondered
why the main route was almost empty except for us - and
we didn't hear about the eruption until dinner time, when
a waitress mentioned it (and that it was felt in Seattle,
at a FAR greater distance from it than we were...;-).
After visiting Crater Lake a couple of times many years
ago, I often wondered what it would have been like to have
seen the great event that blew off the mountain top and
created the bowl for that large lake - and I found out,
in a small way, that it would not have been good to have
been close enough for a good view...;-) I now worry about
the future of that giant cone near Seattle...