Day 1 - Moon landing:
We decided for Memorial Day Weekend we would go to Craters of the Moon National Monument (
http://www.nps.gov/crmo/index.htm ). It is about a 5 hour drive and because I was anxious about the campground filling up on this popular camping weekend, I checked the kids out of school at 1:00 on Thursday. We packed up the trailer and we were off by about 4:00. We arrived at Craters around 9:30 pm. We easily found a spot in the campground, we set up camp, rolled out the beds, and went to sleep.
Day 2 - Moon Walking:
We woke up to an overcast sky and ominous clouds lurking in the distance. We also discovered that we had gas leaking out of the stove and had run out of propane. Luckily breakfast was cinnamon rolls that I had picked up the day before. My husband had to make 2 business conference calls and had to drive out of the park to get cell service so while we waited for him to get back, I made breakfast and put the bedding away. When he got back we went into the town of Arco, Idaho to refill our propane bottles.
Once we returned to the campground and got the propane situation fixed, we went into the visitor's center. We signed the kids up for the Junior Ranger program and learned of a ranger led walk to a giant lava tube called Indian Tunnel. We went back to camp, added a double layer of clothing as it was freezing cold, and drove into the park to meet up with the ranger.
We walked on a paved walkway to Indian tunnel learning about the lava fields and its features along the way. When we arrived at Indian Tunnel, I was taken aback as to how large of a cave it really was!
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 Our group walk into Indian Tunnel |
Once we climbed out of Indian Tunnel we learned there were 2 other lava tubes we could go into. We walked over to Boy Scout Cave and then to Beauty Cave to check them out.
Both Boy Scout and Beauty cave stay at 32 degrees, the pictures above show ice found in those caves.
It was about dinner time when we had finished exploring the caves so we went back up to camp to eat and then went over to the visitor's center at 9:00 pm for a ranger talk on how Craters of the Moon is like food. It was pretty interesting how they were able to compare the workings of the earth and lava to different kinds of food. It was great for the kids as they could really understand what they were trying to explain.
Day 3 - Severe conditions:
We woke up to rain and more rain. We went into Arco to find ponchos and knit gloves so that we might be able to get out and explore. We decided to take a look at the Spatter cones.
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| deep inside a spatter cone |
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| spatter cones |
Even with our extra layers we were all freezing, so we headed back to the trailer to wait out the rain and cold. We made individual pizzas for lunch and then played games. We went back to the visitor's center to watch the movies that were being played on the hour and half hour. We discovered most of the campground had the same idea, so the rangers had set up little displays and talks that we could look at and listen to. Around 5:00 that evening the rain stopped, so we headed out to look at the big crater. The clouds hung low to the mountains so we couldn't see as clearly but the fog did give the features a pretty cool look.
As the fog was lifting, we decided to go on the Broken Top trail which would take us to Buffalo Cave. On our way there we happened to glance over at a small cave entrance and got a little spooked by what we saw.
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| can you see a ghostly face? |
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| Buffalo Cave |
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| ceiling of buffalo cave |
On the way back to camp the kids wanted to stop and climb Inferno cone which is a huge mountain of cinder.
Day 4 - Visitors and Exploration:
I woke up early Sunday morning and it was snowing. I was sure we were just going to pack it in and go home at this point, but when I woke up the second time it had cleared off, but was still overcast. My parents stopped by on their way home from visiting friends and so we took them to the splatter cones and Indian Tunnel. They loved it and plan on coming back to stay a while themselves.
Once they left, my husband wanted to take a long drive through the Sawtooth Mountains, so we loaded up the car with snacks and drinks and off we went.
We drove through Hailey and then into Ketchum where we stopped to find Ernest Hemmingway's grave.
We then went up into the Sawtooths where we were met with more snow. We stopped at a fish hatchery along the way and then stopped off at Red Fish Lake where the salmon come each year to spawn.
Day 5 - "Houston, We have a problem!":
Monday morning we had cereal and then packed up camp and headed home. We were about 2 hours away from home when my husband heard a "pop" and saw smoke coming from the engine. We had blown the radiator. We limped the car to the nearest gas station and called AAA. The tow truck arrived and picked up our Expedition and trailer and towed it to my in-law's house all for free --thank heavens! $600 later our Expedition is back in order.
We all loved our trip to Craters of the Moon, even with our break down. The weather was less than hoped for but the kids did great and never complained. This excursion will go down as one of our most eventful as a family and most memorable. I can't wait for our next adventure.
