Road Trip 2012: Wednesday 9/26

50 miles, and still camped in Arco, Idaho, but this time at Mountain View Campground.

Campsite at Mountain View Campground.

Checking out Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve was today's project.  The monument is only 20 miles from Arco, so it was a short drive.

Zoey is thinking, "I have to pose again.  Is this ever going to end?"

We arrived there about 9:00, and the parking lots were mostly empty.  The scenery is surreal!!  I can see why it was though to resemble the moon.  The difference is that most of the moon's surface has been created by meteor impacts, while this area was created by volcanic activity.  The term "Craters of the Moon" was coined by a geologist in 1923, and the name stuck.  The vast volumes of lava issued from a series of volcanos along the Snake River Plain collectively known as the "Great Rift."  The volcanic activity began about 15,000 years ago, with the most recent activity ending 2,000 years ago.  Vegetation has started to populate areas of the landscape, while other areas are too dry and windswept to show any plant life, even after 2,000 years.

Dwarf Buckwheat on a cinder slope.

Dwarf Buckwheat

Vast lava field as far as you can see.

There is a seven mile drivable loop road with several parking lots for viewpoints and trails.  There are very strict regulations about only hiking on established trails because of the fragility of some of the rock.  I ended up hiking about five miles on various trails.

Hiking up a cinder cone.

Looking down into the vent of a cinder cone.

Collapsed lava tube.

Trail in a lava field.

By 2:00 I was tired, so I headed back to Arco and camped at Mountain View Campground.  I met a retired High School Principal from California who was camping near me.  We spent some time commiserating about the "teach to the test" state of education now.   We are both hoping the pendulum will swing back at some point.

I plan to finish exploring Craters National Monument on Thursday.  I'm not sure where I'm going to spend Thursday night yet, but I need to be in Boise, Idaho on Friday afternoon..........