Craters of the Moon

We left our trailer at the KOA, and drove to Craters of the Moon National Monument. We had been there before, but I got a new passport book, and a goal is to get as many stamps as possible in the book. A lofty goal would be to get all of the national parks stamped! The drive up there was nice, as there was a lot of farmland to see. The visitors center was closed due to Covid. I understand this, but it was disappointing because you couldn’t get a feel for what makes the park special.

Craters of the Moon is a park like no other. It is a gigantic lava field with different types of lava. By types I mean it was how the liquid lava dried. Some dried in smooth flows, others in a splatter pattern. There are miles and miles of black, hardened lava. In places, dirt blown in from erosion is starting. Some green plants are following the dirt. It is definitely an other-worldy feeling. The park itself has a one-way loop with several spots to pull off and hike. We took a short walk and looked at where the trees and plants are getting their start in this barren landscape.

We still had some time in the day, so we saw a pamphlet for Shashone Ice Caves. They offer tours through a lava tube that has ice in it year round. Sounds interesting! When we pulled up, we instantly knew it was a tourist trap. There were high walls up hiding whatever is behind it. There was a huge 40 – 50 foot dinosaur with a caveman riding on top. When we went in to see about tickets, the small gift shop was PACKED with people! Many were not wearing masks, none were social distancing. That was the last straw…..we went no further. It looks like the actual tour might have been interesting, but we had a hard time getting beyond the tourist trap facade.

We then drove to Sun Valley. It is well known for skiing. Since we live in Utah (greatest snow on earth) it left us a bit disappointed. Since we are not skiers, and it was still early fall…..it would be hard to judge. We were used to Park City where it FEELS like you are in the mountains. This didn’t have that feeling for us. We still had a blast driving.

I listened to an audio book and Charla read while we were driving back to HOWE (Home on Wheels). When we got there, I lit a fire, and we roasted hot dogs. You can’t beat roasted hotdogs over a campfire. We then relaxed, people watched, and walked around the campground. We went into the camp store, and they had a lot of cute things. Charla was impressed that grocery items weren’t overpriced.

The next day we packed up and started heading home. There were warnings for strong winds, and it threw us around a bit going home. You know, we “accidentally” scheduled to be hungry when we were going by Tremonton, Utah. JC’s diner has the best chicken fried steak! I am sure they have other menu items, but the chicken fried steak is so good, it will be a while before I try anything else.

This was a fun first trip. It was great to realize that we were prepared and did not forget anything. We did add a few things to our shopping list for the next trip though. Amazon is my friend.