Creaters of the Moon!

Friday, May 26th 2017

I had never heard of the National Monument called Craters of the Moon, but Norm had and wanted to check it out.  With a name like that it certainly sounded unique, that’s for sure!

With a name like this we just HAD to check it out! We love the snow capped mountains, which were melting rapidly.

 Craters of the Moon National Monument is located in southeast Idaho, in the small ( around 1000 people ) town of Arco.  The eerily bleak landscape was formed by eight major volcanic eruptions 15,000 and 2000 years ago. During this time lava erupted from a series of deep cracks that stretched 52 miles, creating a lava field that covered 618 square miles between mountain ranges.

It was a pretty long and boring ride from Salt Lake City to Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Norm and I drove past the smallest of towns, one of which is Atomic City, home to a mere 29 people. Now that is small!

We noticed a sign for National Engineering Laboratory, but didn’t realize then that it actually encompasses 900 square miles, and that more than 50 reactors had been built on this site!  This area was used for nuclear reactor experimentation and development; probably because of its few residents, and that the volcanic landscape already appears struck by a nuclear holocaust! Perhaps no one would even notice should there be a nuclear accident!

There is a self-guided tour at the Experimental Breeder Reactor -1 Visitor Center on US Hwy 26/20 in Arco, and might be worth the detour. Not knowing this, we drove right past.

 

We are not really antisocial, but having a lot of elbow room is really great! Mountain View RV Park is one of the nicer laid-out parks.

 Norm and I arrived at Mountain View RV Park in Arco, Idaho a little crippled from the 240 mile drive.  This campground was quite unusual in that the “office” was actually a small restaurant.  Norman immediately spotted that they had beer on tap, and I picked up the menu to see what a tiny restaurant in the middle of absolutely nowhere could offer. Shocked to see 3 pages of menu items, the liver and onions caught my eye.  Suddenly the prospect of cooking at home in the rain was not such a pleasant idea with a menu like this, and draft beer for Norm!  When the owner heard my interest in several of the entrees, he said “ Oh heavens no! We don’t have ANYTHING on the menu, it’s too early in the season!  I am, however, cooking ribs for a special birthday dinner for someone in town.  Too bad, there is not enough for you! " ( He didn’t think ).

No problem, we did have a lot of groceries we just purchased in Salt Lake City, so it was better for us anyway. 

The extra bonus for us here was that other than one other rig, we were the only ones there!  No squawking kids, no yapping dogs, no Harley Davison riders leaving for work at 5AM! 

We wondered why the lack of business ( other than the temperature still in the 30’s at night ) because this is a really lovely campground!  Impeccably kept grounds with huge, flat sites - plus a restaurant for your convenience ( in season ), It's relative closeness to the park is a huge bonus.  There was a KOA Campground nearby, but I can't imagine it nicer that this!

After setting up the rig, Norm and I yet again set out for the local Visitor’s Center.  It was about a half hour drive in a cold, dismal rain that made the otherworldly setting look even more gloomy and remote.

The newly built Visitors Center at Crators of the Moon had state of the art audio visual equipment, and a fabulous educational film by PBS about this unique area.

 We were interested in exploring the caves here a Craters of the Moon and one is required to get a permit to do it – after favorably answering all the questions regarding other caves we may have been in due to the White Nose Syndrome epidemic among cave dwelling bats that is decimating this environmentally significant species.

You can really see how the lava flowed here 15,000 to 2000 years ago during eight different eruptions.

 

This visitor’s center looked very new, and the beautifully produced movie by PBS was shown on state-of-the-art equipment.  Informational boards and a fascinating exhibit hall informed visitors of area flora and fauna, plus identified local taxidermized animals and birds.  We learned what the different formations were called and how they were formed thousands of years ago.  It makes visiting an area so much more interesting if you know more about what you are looking at! Unfortunately, Ranger led programs had not yet begun for the season.

Saturday, May 27^th 2017

The view from the top of the mound below shows the vastness of this lava flow

The hikes around the park were interesting.  I could really visualize what the molten lava must have looked like as it oozed through the valley.  Amazing!

We were able to check out some of the caves. The caves were small and the entrance and exit pretty tight!

This "hill" at Craters of the Moon actually consists of volcanic ash.










 

We headed out with lunches packed to explore the park in one day. Heading down the 7 mile scenic road we stopped at different turn outs, taking short hikes then took a longer one promising interesting cave self-exploration. 

 Norm and I were pretty surprised at the volume of people that came to visit here, and felt sorry for the large busloads of people that just drove through, never stopping to see the sights. 

 We spent most of the beautiful day absorbing this geologically fascinating area, and were glad that we came, albeit the landscape was somewhat depressing.