This is shot was taken from the Windy Ridge Observatory. You are looking west, down the North Fork Toutle River valley. The water is the very southern end of Spirit Lake . The naked eye can just barely see Johnson Ridge Observatory from here (this photo doesn't seem to have enough resolution to see it ). Even though the distance to JRO is only 4.28 miles "as the crow flies", it would take more than 2 hours to drive there !