28 Years After the Eruption - Mount St. Helens, Washington

1980, Mount Saint Helens erupted, blowing the side off the mountain. Today, it's still steaming, and a great tourist attraction!


Here's what's left of the mountain. There's a magma dome building in the middle still.


That "stuff" in the lake below is actually trees--thousands of trees that were literally blown off the mountain and into the lake!



While I was there, I met a bear named Ted that travels the world too. We just had to get a picture together.


Oh, and I got to see the Seattle Space Needle too :-)

Rocky Mountain High - Colorado

The ski lifts in Aspen aren't much good at this time of year.


But the spring melt makes for some exciting white water rapids!


The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. You wouldn't want to fall down this canyon. Climbing back up is pretty much impossible.


The ghost town of Ashcroft.

Viva Mexico!

Here I am at Chichen Itza (accent on the "za"...it doesn't sound like "chicken pizza," or so the tour guide told us). Of course, chicken pizza would be offensive to me for other reasons...Anyway, this is the unrestored side of the famous pyramid. It was really, really, really hot there.

This is a Mayan observatory and some more ruins nearby. The area is very big. Did you know there aren't any above-ground water sources in the entire area? No lakes, streams or rivers at all! They had to go underground to get all their water.

The Wilds of Oregon

Oregon is a very pretty state. It has picturesque waterfalls and forests. This is at Multnomah Falls.



Nearby is Mt. Hood, part of the Cascades. It's over 11,000 feet high--the tallest mountain in Oregon.


There is an amazing view from the top of the mountain. You can see three other mountains from there - Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and and Mt. Ranier (if you squint).