Craters of the Moon

We had a list of places we wanted to go before moving, and Craters of the Moon was one of them. We went with Michelle's family and had a lot of fun. What is Craters of the Moon? It's a huge national park made from past volcanic activity. You can explore lava flows, caves, and visit splatter cones (none of which are active). If you want to learn more, google it and/or visit here. It was a lot bigger than we thought. We saw a lot of interesting things. In addition to the expected lava rock, we enjoyed viewing the ecology of the area. This was unexpected because Nikki did not love her ecology course and Jared did not love the ecology section within his biology course during undergraduate study. But both were impressed at Craters of the Moon.

We first walked a path through the Devil's Orchard. Here are some pictures from that little walk.

Allie Riding in Style and Enjoying the Scenery

Pretty and Neat Flowers

Witch's Broom Tree

Our next little adventure within the park was hiking up the Inferno Cone. The trail is rather steep in a few areas. Once on top, there are great panoramic views of the surrounding area. It really was beautiful. We were even able to see a storm off in the distance.

View from Atop the Inferno Cone



Nikki being led by Allie, Ethan and Eddie all atop the Inferno Cone

Looking up at the Inferno Cone from the Parking Lot (see small dots of people at top)

Next we visited some splatter cones. They have gradually gotten smaller/shorter over time due to visitors trampling them. Now there are paved paths and fencing to help protect them.

Snow Cone (Splatter Cone) - view into the mouth

Allie happy and running

Allie helping Daddy push the stroller. She really enjoys this. You know she is really into it when her head is down; she's focused.

Cool Lava Rock on side of Splatter Cone

Family Picture by mouth of Splatter Cone

Our last stop in the park was at some lava tubes. We went in one cave, and then into one long tube. It was really neat. Allie really loves rocks. We joke that she'll become a geologist someday. But given her love of rocks, she was in heaven at Craters of the Moon. Especially at this part, because she actually got to walk on, touch, examine, lick, and play with rocks. We discouraged the licking part, but toddlers are sneaky and fast sometimes. Allie is no exception.

Allie happy on the rocky ground

Wanting to play with and pick up the rocks

Playing with rocks inside a lava tube (cave)

Examining Rocks

Soon after exiting the far side of the long lava tube, the storm that we had seen in the distance arrived in our location. It was just raining at first, so we started to quickly head back to the van. But we were really far from the van, and the storm moved much more quickly than us. It soon began to rain much harder, and then it started to hail. It really hurt to be pelted by the hail. Nikki was running with Allie and Michelle was running with her baby Lily. Both were running so that their backs were toward the hail, trying to protect the babies from the cold, harsh weather. The storm had blown through before we even made it to the van. We were all soaked. But we all survived. We were very grateful for warm blankets and a change of clothes for the little ones. The hail left welts on some of us. Here's a picture of the welts on Nikki's calves.

Needless to say, we left after that. We didn't feel up to exploring in soaked clothing. It was probably better, too, because Allie really needed a nap. She had a nice nap on the car ride back to Michelle's house.

But before leaving Arco, the town closest to Craters of the Moon, we stopped by Pickle's Place. One of Nikki's friends and coworkers had mentioned how good the fried pickles are there. Jared is a big fan of pickles, so we had to stop. Who knew and who knows when we'll ever get the chance again. They were actually very good. We really enjoyed them. Thanks, Mimi, for the recommendation!

Outside of Pickle's Place

Some of the Fried Pickle Slices

What it looked like with a bite out of it. Yummy. =)

We really had a fun little trip. We were glad that we made the long drive. It was worth it. And we really enjoyed the time with Michelle's family, too.