Some people just love to drive. They view the world through a window, finding beauty and adventure behind the wheel. For these people, and the multitudes who visit the Northwest with limited time, there is nothing more compelling than learning about the areas they pass. CarTours production, Mount St. Helens: Valley of the Volcano, is designed to bring the listener to the landscape.

The award-winning 60-minute tour allows visitors driving State Route 504 to hear gripping first-person accounts of the cataclysmic event; clear, expert descriptions of the events before, during and after the explosion; and, an interpretive guided tour of the scarred scenery outside the car window. Music and sound effects, including the thrilling whistle of Roosevelt elk recorded within the Monument, enhance the visitors’ experience and understanding of the area and how it is recovering from the 1980 eruption. The audio cassette and CD, which enables families to enjoy a guided tour from the privacy of their own vehicle, now includes the road from Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. By simply popping the tape in the vehicle’s audio system, drivers and passengers alike hear the heart-pounding stories of area residents who lived through the blast. They also learn more about how plants and animals survived the eruption, the crews that replanted more than 18 million trees, and the “Secret of the Deadly Bulge”.

The tour begins at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake, just five miles off Interstate 5 at exit 49. It follows the path of the largest mud flow in recorded history, triggered by the eruption, which coursed down the Toutle River Valley.