Back Index Next On impulse, we headed towards Mount St Helens and Windy Ridge, not having heard that there had been an "event" that morning and that some of the observation points had been closed. The road to Windy Ridge wound along for 36 miles. Here's the observation point at Bear Meadow, just before we drove into the blast zone of the previous eruption. That's the north eastern flanks of Mount St Helens in the distance.