Having arisen from the disturbed nights sleep we had a quick shower and breakfast, paid our fee and did not annoy the angry American. The drive up to Mt St Helens was a great drive. As you ascended toward the mountain you gained a better appreciation of the missing side of the mountain and the effect on the landscape. Each of the lookout points offered a different perspective on the eruption.

So at about 9:00AM we were in the carpark, too early for the park rangers but there were plenty of other visitors. So after getting our pack ready we headed up to the visitor centre in time for it to open.

Interesting Aside: Officials in American Parks do not like to start work early most do not open before 10:00AM which is fine if you know what you are doing and/or what there is to do. Otherwise good preplanning and or prepared for a late start are your options.

The Annual Pass saved us again! Included in the entry was a short film on the eruption and its immediate after effects along with a brief description of the later years. The graphics and the movie were worth the time spent viewing the production and the ending was awesome, you will need to go to see what I mean.

After this we did a quick tour of the remainder of the visitors Centre and headed out for our walk. This turned out to be a tough walk. The temperatures had risen dramatically and we had only packed water. About 2 mile into the walk it went onto a narrow ledge for about ½ a mile, this proved a little more than we were prepared to take so a few more photos and then proceeded back along the path. A little disappointed on not completing the walk but feeling wiser for the experience, we did not that a number of others voted with their feet and did not proceed along the ledge.

Back in the carpark we were quite taken back by the heat, so had a quick snack and then proceeded down the hill. Now on the way up we had noticed - Patty's Place, at 19 Mile House - home of the 'Fresh Homemade Cobbler' which some of Shoeleh's TripAdvisor friends had recommended.

So we stopped in, the place was packed and after trying the food you could tell why. This place is worth the stop off. The place has a wrap round veranda which offered great views of the river and the surrounds, the lawns were well kept and customer service was good. We shared a cobbler, wedges and coffee while taking it all in. Fully sated we left for Olympic National park or somewhere like that.

We got to the Burger King at Castle Rock and again the pull of free Wi-Fi dragged us in to do planning. We noted that there were some shopping centres off the I5 on the way to Olympia and we wanted to update our supplies based on our travel learning so far. So internet sated we jumped back onto the I5 and headed north.

Along the journey and courtesy of the great weather we got a beautiful unimpeded view of Mt Rainier and you can see why people love the look of the mountain on a clear day.

Then it was into the Walmart, at Chehalis, WA our travel experiences suggested there was a need for a gas burner, gas, pillows, plates, utensils and cigarette lighter charger to get us improved efficiency. So we supplied up. Coffee making is a big issue, the coffee bags we bought with us were depleted and previous experience with US coffee bags meant we needed a solution. We wanted either a car lighter coffee maker or a French Press. Neither of which were locatable anywhere we looked. So we decided to wait and keep buying until we could solve the dilemma.

Back to the car we looked again at the map and decided that we would head to Aberdeen on the south side of the Olympic park and find some accommodation there for the night before progressing onwards on our adventure.

The drive to Aberdeen was again interesting in the number of houses in disrepair and general lack of good housekeeping. Of course one needs to be careful because interspersed were some very well maintained and beautiful homes. I think it probably demonstrates the difference in wealth amongst American people.

We made it to Aberdeen later that afternoon. Clancy was thirsty and there was a Safeway with its free Wi-Fi to help us determine where to stay and to top up on supplies for us too. We selected the Hoquiam RV Park and then proceeded to get a little lost on the way but found it about 8:00pm. Again the RV people had gone to bed??? But the lady came out and offered us a site amongst the big RV's.

Now it gives you some perspective when Clancy a Toyota Rav-4 is smaller than the vehicles towed by the RV's.

All said and done hot, smokeless, dinner; shower; pillows and bedtime.

Animals Spotted: Eagles and other birds, deer or moose, insects.

Day seven no bears L