UPDATE III: Ash fall alert from the weather geeks.

UPDATE II: I had tossed around the idea of luring a virgin to the rim of the crater, but decided against it. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'm really not worried about survival or anything. It's merely the hassle of prepping the car for a 6,000-mile road trip. I'm hoping the ash fall is minimal.

UPDATE: Ash cloud at 50,000 feet.

I'm eight days away from the road trip of a lifetime, and now the angry fire god down the street blows up.

AK Volcano Observatory.

Let's hope the ash is headed elsewhere.