We celebrated July 4th with our second annual
Ride the Volcano Followed by Chicken-on-a-Stick. The ride begins 25 miles from the Johnston Observatory, which is the uppermost viewpoint for viewing the volcano and blast zone. After a scorching week of heat in the 90's combined with horrible midwestern-like humidity, the temperature and humidity finally dropped to levels that made being outdoors enjoyable once again.
Mount St. Helens in the background, with (I think) Mt. Adams just visible in the far left corner (looks like a low cloud). If I looked pained, it's because I was. I'd forgotten how tough those first 6-7 miles were.
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| Whose idea was this bike ride, anyway? |
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Wildflowers were out in force
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This next picture is actually an error but we thought it was kind of cool. I was trying to take a panorama using Chris's iphone, but I didn't do it right, so instead of seeing just him once in the photo like you're supposed to, he appears about a dozen times:
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| Team Chris |
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| View from Johnston Observatory |
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| Good-bye, Mount St. Helens |
Afterward, we stopped at a gas station for Chris's favorite post-ride meal, chicken-on-a-stick. The chicken is fried and then they dip it in your choice of sauce. For comparative purposes I've posted the 2013 Chick-Stick pic, and the 2012 pic. We agreed that the 2012 version was tastier.
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| Chicken-on-a-Stick, 2013 |
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| Chicken-on-a-Stick, 2012 |
