Hi All,

Well day two for Melanie on the road was fantastic. Upon arrival at the station the forest service employee told her that if an eruption occurs where the ash fall comes in their direction they were to enter the visitor station and stay there until notified they could go outside. If one were in their automobile they were to roll up the windows and not start the engine.

She arrived at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center just in time to catch the largest eruption of the day and was absolutely in awe of the event. During the eruption she said the most impressive thing she saw was the reflection of the eruption in Coldwater Lake which is just below the visitor center. She also noticed little gas bubbles rising to the surface during the day.

From her personal observations she said she noticed the south side of the western flank of the volcano looks very unstable. There is an area in the shape of a horseshoe with an uplifted area in the middle and it looks like it wouldn't take much for it to collapse.

When she arrived this morning, they were reporting only one vent in the volcano, by late afternoon there were three and by end of day at 6PM four. The local news reported the dome had grown 50 feet overnight. The geologists are located two miles away from the visitor center, 9 miles from the volcano and she spent some time there today, just listening in. Geologists are now saying the magma inside the volcano is no longer meeting the resistance from the rocks it had previously and thus they expect a magmatic volcanic eruption in the near future.

The visitor center apparently is a very comfortable location with plenty of table seating indoors and out. Inside they have a live seismograph so everyone can see what's going on underground while they watched steam and ash coming and going during the day. There is a café and a Starbucks coffee inside.

She was interviewed by a reporter, John Ritter of San Rafael who works for USA today. Melanie was one of the very few who visited today who was not a local. Most came from the Portland area or close in from WA state. She only met one couple from a long distance and they were from Philadelphia and made the trip especially to see the eruption.

The area is so beautiful and full of so many things to look at that she was never bored during the ten hours she was there. From realizing she was sitting in the blast zone from the 1980 eruption and viewing the devastation to taking in all that had recovered it was breath-taking.

Needless to say she was bushed tonight after the 40-mile drive from the visitor center to her room in pouring rain accompanied by dense fog. But she realized her dream today to be there and see an eruption and is looking forward to whatever may come in the days ahead.

Petra