CRATERS OF THE MOON

One place I have wanted to visit for some time is the Craters Of The Moon.  Why?  Well I guess just because it sounded cool and because we have passed close by several times.  We have planned to come in the past but have had to cancel for one reason or another.  In fact we came close to that happening again.  But this time we actually made it and we were glad we did.  There are many places where you can go to see volcanic activity and geology and Craters is similar to many of them.  It is located on the Snake River Plain in south central Idaho.  It is the result of a geological "hotspot" under the surface plate.  The hotspot that the Snake River Plain passed over many, many years ago started near what is now the Idaho/Oregon border and it currently sits under Yellowstone - which  is expected to erupt again sometime in the next 300,000 years so if you have not been there you might have plenty of time to visit.....or you might not.

Because this area is not as well known there were no crowds.  Other visitors for sure, but no overflowing parking lots, no tour buses and no hassles.   The ranger at the entrance booth even gave us suggestions about places to visit and hikes we could take.  (There was no one in line behind us.) Hiking was high on our agenda and we were not disappointed.  We hiked up a steep volcanic cinder cone for a sweeping 360 degree view of the area.  Later we hiked 2.5 miles (out and back) to see some "tree molds" which are the result of lava overtaking a living tree.  In the case of the next to last photo here, the tree fell into the lava and the moisture in the tree caused it to leave its impression in the lava.  It looks like a tire track but that would have to be some kind of tough tire to leave its track in flowing lava!

So here are some sample photos of our trip today.  As is often the case the photos do not to justice to the scale of what we are showing.  I tried to give a little impression of the scale in the second and third photo.  One without any people and on with Arlyene standing close to the tree.   As always, you should be able to click on any photo to enlarge.

Still snow on the peaks to the north.

Looking back into the valley from the high point of our hiking day.

Same tree on the left with Arlyene close by.
That tree is on top of a 600' cinder cone which gives you some idea how long the cone has been there.

Beauty in both the foreground and the background.

No comment except glad you can not hear my huffing and puffing.
  (600 foot climb in about 1 city block to about 6000')

Much of the magma in this region has Titanium in it which accounts for the blue coloring.

Tiny, tough flowers were everywhere.  These looked like Arlyene's favorites - daisies. 

Note bug in flight(center).  I am proud of that one.

Tree Mold in lava - Not to be confused with bread mold.

One Last Look