>A few years ago, we camped in a campground just outside of the Mt. St. Helens park boundary and spent the following day hiking and exploring. I always questioned the wisdom of sleeping in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens after that <g>.

I know what you mean ... we didn't camp in the park (we stayed in a hotel in Castle Rock), but all the time we were actually hiking near the mountain, where the actual devastation had been, the thought was always somewhere in the back of my mind about "what if it blows again while I'm here". Not likely, there was plenty of warning about it back in 1980, so I think you'd know if it an eruption was imminent, but still ....

~~Bonnie