Places to visit in Washington State - Mt St Helens

Location : Johnston Ridge Observatory, At the end of Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, WA

Directions : Google Maps, About 3 hrs from Bellevue, WA

For GPS : 46.276258,-122.216721

Link : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_St._Helens

This was one of the interesting trips I went, with my family. The road to Mt St Helens was full of fascinating scenaries.
After we exit from I-5, the road goes through a small town and after that the road will be full of sharp turns. At one time there was a sign saying, it was the last place to get gas. It was 37 files from that point, but I didn't realize we will be gaining elevation and my car will have to do extra work. (Thanks to Corolla's fuel efficiency I didn't run out of gas :) )
There are couple of view points on the way and most of them were gorgeous. There was one place where you can see the path of mud and lava flow.
When we got to Johnston Ridge Visitor Center, the view was great. Since it was a sunny day we could see the whole mountain without any trouble. There are couple of trails lead by some rangers and one of them was going towards spirit lake. Visitor center also had some movies being played inside a theater.

This is a combination of three photos, showing the mighty Mt St Helens and the living crater.

Mt St Helens and the lava and mud flow path

360' view around the Mt St Helens area. If you look at the surrounding mountains, you can still see some burnt trees