We visited Mount St. Helens a few years after it's eruption in 1980. The area around the mountain was depressing, grey and scarred. Today it is green and full of wildflowers, quite a contrast. Much of the mountain itself, that which is not covered in snow, is still still covered in ash and lava. I am still trying to comprehend an explosion that layered 300 feet of ash and rocks, raising the level of the nearby land, lakes and rivers.