Mt. St. Helens

As a native Washingtonian, I am quite attached to the cultural memory we have of the Mt. St. Helens eruption on May 18, 1980. In SL, in the Steamlands no less, there is a group of sims called Steelhead that recreate a steampunk version of 19th century Pacific Northwest.

One of the most recent sims is called St. Helens, where they have build a replica of Mt. St. Helens. In keeping with the backward-looking theme of the sim, the shape of the mountain is that before the blast. During the 19th century, it would have been a pristine, amazingly beautiful mountain, much like it was prior to 1980. Then, during the eruption anniversary week, the owners of Steelhead hold an event to blow the mountain, and then let it spew smoke and ash for the remainder of the week.

Emerson and I have a cabin at the base of the mountain. I'd forgotten about this event until tonight, when I found myself wondering why the cabin was filled with smoke. One look outside answered that question. Naturally, I took a great many photos. My favorite though is a before/after set I made with the same angle as a shot I took some time ago after our cabin was first complete.


Before:

After: