When we left Bend, OR we were in a quandary as to going home or continue sightseeing. After a hot night in Caldwell, ID (with no A/C) and after looking at the (cooler) forecast for Arco, ID we decided to head for Craters of the Moon National Monument. Boy am I glad we did!
Craters of the Moon NM covers 750,000 acres of lava flows, cinder cones, craters and lava tube caves. There's a 7 mile loop road leading to all the sights that is suitable for cycling and running although you'll have to do those things at 6000'.
Our campground is in the middle of this pic surrounded by cinders, lava rocks and craters.
Our front porch with a cinder floor and lava rock gardens.
Our "wheel estate"
While there we each decided to navigate the park loop road via our favorite conveyance.
Lynda ran...
...and I rode. It was tough going considering the altitude.
Yep, 750,000 acres of ah ah and pahoihoi lava. What? ah ah and pahoihoi? Volcanologists studied active volcanos in Hawaii and brought back the Hawaiian words for certain types of lava.
Cinder and spatter cones dotted the landscape.
On the edges of the spatter cones the rock looked like liquid plastic.
We climbed to the top of one of the craters which was several hundred yards wide and several hundred feet deep.
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| Don't Back Up! |
We did a ranger hike into Indian tunnel which is a lava tube cave. In several spots the roof had caved in letting in plenty of light.
We walked through the cave and had to come up out of a small hole on the other end. Hi Lynda!
And then find our way back to the entrance!
At Boy Scout Cave I decided to venture in. On the surface it was in the high 80s, just a few feet into the cave the temp dropped into the 50s and there was ice on the floor of the cave.
Also, there hadn't been any roof collapses here so it was pitch black inside.
I'm not crazy about small spaces and was pleasantly surprised by the room inside the cave. Even so, I was glad to be out!
All good things must eventually come to an end so we bid farewell to Craters of the Moon with a pretty sunset and subsequent full moon.
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