A total lack of stuff we had on our schedule allowed us to feel free about taking a leisurely drive on the back roads around Silver Creek. This is a gorgeous area and we figured some random wandering without the benefit of the GPS was in order.

Before we had even left the Thousand Trails Paradise Campground property, we arrived on a ridge with a spectacular view of the Cowlitz River Valley. No matter where one goes in this valley, anyplace with a view to the east includes the now much shorter Mount St. Helens, a stratovolcano that provided everyone with a noisy surprise back in 1980 when it erupted. About 1300 feet of the top of the mountain abruptly vanished and pyroclastic flows filled lakes and re-routed rivers 50 miles from the big formerly pointy mountain. A few dozen diehards that remained in the vicinity of the mountain after being warned to leave were also vaporized or buried under hundreds of feet of ash. St. Helens looks peaceful today although it still periodically spits and sputters, the last time in 2008.

After checking out the wonderful view to the east, we moseyed down into the valley with our first stop being the Mayfield Dam, which holds back Mayfield Lake. It is one of many dams of the Cowlitz River Project, which provides electrical energy to Tacoma. These dams also provide drinking water to cities to the north and irrigation water to Cowlitz River Valley agricultural interests. The agricultural interests mostly seem to be cows and Xmas trees although we did pass a pasture where the rancher has a flock of llamas. I don’t know what interest a rancher could have with these spitting malcontents. Maybe they are alpacas. Then I suppose the agricultural product would be sweaters.

This would be a nice place to have a house because the scenery from the front yard would be great. There is no looking at the neighbor’s car parked across the street nor any junk piles decorating his yard. You can’t even see anybody else’s yard here. The houses folks have built for themselves here are very nice without being obnoxious, like Bill Gates’s indoor acre over in Seattle. We passed by a great place called the Long-Bell Mill Pond which is home to a household clothing business called Bodacious. We are not bodacious types so we didn’t go in. We continued up past a lagoon called Swofford Pond which is above Riffe Lake, the next Tacoma Power reservoir to the east. Swofford is located maybe 50 feet above Riffe Lake and a short creek connects the two.

We returned to Paradise Campground through Mossyrock where we found a former drive-in called the Viking Inn is now closed. No milkshakes for us today. We did find a stand run by a little Mexican guy that sold strawberries and cherries. Peggy was unable to resist and that is fortunate because she alleges the strawberries she bought were the best she has ever eaten. The jury is still out on the cherries.

There’s a few pix. Click the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/hQdwZK4xvvCcP4mG7