RV Road Trip Day 12: Craters of the Moon
Another very hot day and another unique landscape to visit! We got an early start to beat the worst of the heat and arrived at Craters of the Moon National Monument around 9:00 am. We made a quick stop in the visitors center and I listened to the informational recording about volcanism in the Snake River Valley.
Crates of the Moon is really a huge lava field. It was named before people actually went to the moon (spoiler: it turns out that the terrain on Earth’s moon is not actually like this at all). It’s very much in the middle of nowhere and must get fewer visitors than other monuments but it’s really worth the trip. Unless you want to get a back country permit and wander into the vast lava fields, you can see most of what there is to see by driving the 7 mile loop and doing a few short walks. While there was not nearly as much traffic as Yellowstone, I’d nominate Craters of the Moon for a shuttle bus, too.
The hikes were short, some were paved and at the beginning of the day before it climbed about 90 degrees, it was pleasant to walk. We hiked up to some scenic views, out to see “tree molds” and to see the entrances to caves. The dark rocks and the scrubby plants that have managed to push their way up through are more dramatic than most landscapes I’ve walked through. And while it lacks the alien quality of Yellowstone, it doesn’t feel “normal” either.
