“The trip of a lifetime”

The trip of a lifetime occurred during a trip from Seattle to Spokane for a Knights of Columbus state convention.

Our family then included a pair of sons, one aged two and the other son only two weeks old. Mount St. Helens had been huffing and puffing for some time, but we put aside our worries and headed east for an enjoyable weekend with old and new friends.

Saturday night’s banquet was an enjoyable affair, even to the point of jesting with some delegates about the puny size of the pencil-thin asparagus served as part of our dinner — I claimed that the asparagus had been grown in Walla Walla, where the delegates were from. Panic set in when we returned to our hotel room, only to find the children and the babysitter missing! Frantic inquiries revealed that the babysitter had simply moved the children to another room where her friend was also babysitting.

I arose early on Sunday, May 18, and chose to pay our hotel bill to avoid the expected long line at the checkout counter. At about 9:10 on Sunday morning, it was announced that Mount St. Helens had blown its stack — and you never heard a gavel slam down so quickly, proclaiming the convention to be adjourned! We had already packed the car for the return trip, so it was a simple matter to head out of town back to Seattle – or so we thought.

Shortly, we heard on the radio that I-90 had been closed due to ash fallout. Quickly, we diverted to Highway 2 to come back over Stevens Pass. As we drove west, an amazing sight unfolded in front of us — to the south, a dark line of ash-bearing clouds, to the north absolutely clear skies. During the trek westward, ash fell and almost totally obscured the roadway as if cotton fibers were filling the air. By the time we reached Republic, it was simply impossible to proceed further.

With local motels filled with stranded travelers, the fire department opened an emergency shelter at the local high school and residents in Republic opened their doors to strangers such as us. We were fortunate to find shelter with a local family.

Telephone lines were understandably jammed, and it was hours before we were able to get word back to Seattle that the family was indeed safe.

Anxiously, we listened to the radio stations hoping for news about the day’s events. Finally the next day, we were advised that the highway westbound was open and set about our journey home.

As a result of this most memorable experience, I took classes to earn my amateur radio operator’s license, and spent the next 15 years actively involved in King County Search and Rescue.