Amazing and a surprisingly beautiful Craters of the Moon

Hi,

We ended our day today exhausted, hungry, and filthy with dark lava ash from the Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho. I will have to admit that we didn't expect to spend more than an hour or so in the park; however, we didn't exit until nearly five hours after we started our visit! This seems to be a theme for us. We saw the lava rock from the side of the road and I told Ken, "Hmmmm...not sure this will really be like the other parks - I don't think we will find anything beautiful to see."

I couldn't have been more wrong. Although this park doesn't have your traditional type of beauty...it is beautiful nonetheless. We walked up steep cinder cones and overlooked the drastic changes of the landscape - one side will be filled with black lava rock with no life while just over the hill the land is filled with green trees and plants.

We walked down into wild caves - joining many before us...climbing rocks made of cooled lava, piled high from the contracting and expanding of cool and hot weather. We walked for miles to see the various craters, cinder cones, and twisted trees. The Craters of the Moon is much like our country - it is diverse, welcoming, and ever-changing. This is definitely one of the most strange national parks or sites we have seen thus far...well worth the trip.

As I said, we came home to the RV, tired, hungry, and filthy. We ate at the Pickle Cafe (good burgers and steaks), dropped by the grocery store, and headed home to shower and do laundry. We find people in the little town of Arco, Idaho are extra milers - very kind and very friendly. An interesting fact is that this tiny town was selected as the first American town to be fully powered by atomic energy (I think in the 60s).

Tomorrow we head toward Yellowstone. Our friends, the Padgett family, just visited the Park and have provided some suggestions on what to see and what to miss.
Nite~ Carol and Ken