Craters of the Moon

 

Irv came up for a visit a week or so ago and we decided to get out of town for a couple days.  I told my supervisor that I wouldn't work overtime while he was here so I got my usual three days off.  We've been working 50 hours weeks so a break was definitely needed.

We made the three hour journey from West Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon National Monument.

We drove through some of the most desolate country to get there.  It's located near Arco, Idaho and you pass through the Idaho National Laboratory on the way which is where nuclear research and development happens.  Irv found a geocache out in the middle of nowhere.  Kept the eyes open for snakes.

We arrived at the park, stopped at the visitor center to get a pass to enter the caves.  The first thing we passed was a large cinder garden.

It's amazing to me that any flora lives in this place.

Even the hot dry desert is beautiful.

First stop was a couple of lava tubes.

It was 92 degrees outside when we arrived which felt doubly hot among all the black lava.  We bypassed several of the hiking paths, but still manages to stop and see multiple features of the park including these lava tubes.

There were walkways to the top of the tubes so you could look down into them.  This one still had snow (and several hats) at the bottom.

There's hill that visitors are allowed to climb.  It was about a 200 foot elevation gain.  Irv and I looked at each other and said "we'll pass".  Too hot on that black sand.

The highlight of our visit was the lava cave..  It was about a 1.5 mile hike out and back to reach the big cave.

Some of the caves were just big holes in the ground.  They allow you to go down into them, but it looked like a bad idea.

Then we reached Indian Cave which is quite large.  Thankfully this one had steps to get down into it.

The cave is open at both ends so the lighting was pretty good except for the center of the cave which required getting the iPhone flashlight out.

The Shoshone and other tribes used the caves for shelter and water.

Required selfie in a cool place.  And I mean literally cool...it felt good to get out of the sun for awhile.

Irv never hesitates to go exploring especially if he thinks he can find another way out of the cave.  As for me, the footing in the cave gave me the feeling that a broken ankle wasn't out of the question.  I could envision search and rescue having to come down there to rescue me.

Beautiful sky shot from the cave.

We made it out and continued enjoying the beauty of the lava fiels.

It is so prehistoric.

More greenery in a most unexpected place.

We had plenty of water with us thank goodness.

Beautiful Sawtooth Mountains in the background.  I thought the park was unique and beautiful in its own way.  A definite must see if you're ever in the area.

After a few hours it was time to jump in the car and head to our cabin in Island Park.