30 years ago today, East of Mount Saint Helens
Outside Pullman, Washington. 13 miles from the Idaho border...
I woke up from a nap. It was dark, a stifling pitch black outside. Dad, like any good scientist was all happy and excited "It's five O'clock!" he says, which meant nothing to a 1st grader. He went outside to put the horse in the barn and came back in monochromatic gray, completely dusted with ash and grinning like an idiot, I've rarely seen him happier. I don't know if he had information from WSU that it wasn't poisonous, or if he just didn't care, as everyone else was sitting tight until the stuff was analyzed.
Joel & I went outside the next day, there was a foot or so of ash on everything. It felt really good on my feet, like walking in flour. My folks has us wear those cone masks, the smell of the masks sticks with me (if you want to know what I'm talking about, they still smell like that).
School was closed for two weeks, and it wouldn't settle on the roads once it was kicked up, so going anywhere meant near zero visibility. What was a nightmare for people with cars, roofs, and well, people that OWN things; For two kids it was like the best snow day ever. Mom would hose us down before we came in the house-Brr!
I remember making ash castles in the yard with the hose. Dad collected 20 monstrous jars of the stuff, though I'm not sure what became of them. I think he wishes he'd have kept them-especially after seeing the Washington stores selling tiny vials of it for five bucks.
Mom and Dad have clearer memories of the ash fall, Mom & Grandmother had to drive in the stuff, and they helped shovel off the roofs to keep them from collapsing. Grandmother had dropped Mom off after a concert grandmother had been playing viola in, heading home from our house says there was zero visibility and she couldn't see the edge of the road. Someone had preceded her and she told me the only way she found her way the eight miles safely back to her place was by following the tire tracks.
I woke up from a nap. It was dark, a stifling pitch black outside. Dad, like any good scientist was all happy and excited "It's five O'clock!" he says, which meant nothing to a 1st grader. He went outside to put the horse in the barn and came back in monochromatic gray, completely dusted with ash and grinning like an idiot, I've rarely seen him happier. I don't know if he had information from WSU that it wasn't poisonous, or if he just didn't care, as everyone else was sitting tight until the stuff was analyzed.
Joel & I went outside the next day, there was a foot or so of ash on everything. It felt really good on my feet, like walking in flour. My folks has us wear those cone masks, the smell of the masks sticks with me (if you want to know what I'm talking about, they still smell like that).
School was closed for two weeks, and it wouldn't settle on the roads once it was kicked up, so going anywhere meant near zero visibility. What was a nightmare for people with cars, roofs, and well, people that OWN things; For two kids it was like the best snow day ever. Mom would hose us down before we came in the house-Brr!
I remember making ash castles in the yard with the hose. Dad collected 20 monstrous jars of the stuff, though I'm not sure what became of them. I think he wishes he'd have kept them-especially after seeing the Washington stores selling tiny vials of it for five bucks.
Mom and Dad have clearer memories of the ash fall, Mom & Grandmother had to drive in the stuff, and they helped shovel off the roofs to keep them from collapsing. Grandmother had dropped Mom off after a concert grandmother had been playing viola in, heading home from our house says there was zero visibility and she couldn't see the edge of the road. Someone had preceded her and she told me the only way she found her way the eight miles safely back to her place was by following the tire tracks.