Today, Monday, May 18, 2026, on Facebook, I have seen multiple posts making note of the fact that it was on this date, 46 years ago, that Mount St. Helens blew her top.
One of the Facebook posts, from a Washingtonian, asked people to say where they were and what they were doing when the mountain exploded.
Well, it was early in the morning, a Sunday. I was having a peaceful soak in the bathtub. Suddenly my peaceful soak was interrupted by what sounded like three loud, concussive explosions. I had just returned from a trip to Southern California where at one point I found myself camped near a military base which was doing practice stuff which involved explosions. That is what the sound I heard whilst tub soaking, sounded like.
I heard one of my roommates in the kitchen. I hollered at her, asking what those booms were. She came into the tub zone to tell me she had no idea what it was.
About 15 minutes later the next-door neighbor showed up to ask if we'd heard that the mountain had blown.
From that point on the TV was on all day, with nonstop coverage. We were advised to prepare for possible incoming ash dust. We got masks and some other stuff I am not remembering. Maybe some special added filter on the vehicles.
Not much ash ever made it to the Skagit Valley, but other parts of Washington had to deal with a lot of falling volcanic ash.
It was to be a couple years later I first ventured into the eruption zone and looked close up at the remains of Mount St. Helens.
Then, a short time before the move to Texas, I drove a group to the newly opened Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, stopping at each of the Visitor's Centers, ending with the final one, gazing right into Mount St. Helens gaping crater.
If you ever find yourself driving Interstate 5 into Washington, it is well worth it to take the exit that takes you to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
It is hard for me to believe it is almost a half century ago, 46 years, that this event happened. It had a long lead-up, with little eruptions, a large zone had been evacuated. Mount St. Helens dominated the news in Washington, before, during and after the final eruption.
