We were on the road early this morning, heading out to the Craters of the Moon National Monument.
And at this point, I should just say: Okay, Idaho, I stand corrected. You are not exactly like Saskatchewan. In the corner of Idaho that we drove in on, you are very much like Saskatchewan. However, that might be the one happy farming corner. The rest of the areas that we drove through seem a little more mountainous, a little more scrubby, with some of it tipping towards desert-ish. (As in, "hot like the desert", not "yum! candy mountain desert!").
So, driving on this quiet bypass road on the way to Craters: There are a lot of government research facilities in this area. Restricted access, yadda yadda, all out in the the middle of nowhere, and yes, with the fencing and the electronic frontier, etc. I'm pretty sure at least one spy drone followed our car, probably zooming in to eavesdrop, then got its circuits fried when it heard the eclectic music mix we were listening to. ~Does not process - too many conflicting genres~ KABOOM! (goes down in flames)
Anyway, Craters of the Moon. Very cool! It's basically a post-volcanic landscape (from eruptions about 2000 years ago), and it is really bizarre and unusual. I'd picked out three hikes ahead of time; unfortunately for us, they're doing work on the sites, and that kiboshed two of the three planned hikes. Oh well, c'est la vie!
We wandered through several lava flow trails, checked out the spatter cones, one of which had a deep well with snow at the bottom, in spite of the hot day. We also followed one of the longer trails up to one of the peaks. It was alternating between sunny and cloudy. Cloudy was fine; sunny could get really hot really quickly. All that black rock everywhere. :-)
After the trails, we moved onto the caves, which were very cool - literally and figuratively. You can feel it getting cooler every step you take down into the cave. The first one was Dewpoint Cave, and we happily clambered down. Almost immediately, I've got a small cut on one arm - volcanic rock is sharp. Down into the cave and the darkness, and we discover our flashlights are woefully inadequate. Also, headlamps would leave you with both hands free, either to flail around to catch your balance, or to hold onto rocks while climbing around.
The trails are all paved or marked, and there's no straying from the paths. With the caves, you're pretty much allowed to go on your own, as long as you obey the posted no-go zones.
We spent a lot of time in the lava tube trail. Big wide underground caverns, with lots of rooftop openings, so it was pretty easy to see where you were going. which was up and down and all over the place. Stephen climbs onto a rocky ledge. I'm busy falling off the peak of stones I've just scaled. Our main objective, of course, is to always protect the camera. :-)
When we emerged back on top, Stephen had the absolutely fabulous idea of building an inukshuk. But, with volcanic rock, it's so much harder than you think. The rock is light, but the ground is all hard rock, and it's a tricky, slippery balancing act. Nevertheless, we both managed to make our little inukshuks. Ta da!
The other remaining caves were much darker, and one had ice on the ground. Imagine pitch blackness, a crappy flashlight, and ice. It's fun! (Protect the camera.) And the Boy Scout Cave was a tight fit - again, headlamp would have been nice, and I could've used some knee pads. Ouch - volcanic rock is pointy. We figure all of this is our early training for Carlsbad Caverns.
By the time we're walking back out to the parking lot, I've got four scrapes. But my camera is okay!
So, we bid farewell to the Moon, and head back to Earth. Next stop, Arco - which has an awesome looking roadside bar. One of those small-town bars that you'd step into, and either there'd be a biker gang in there, or a bunch of vampires would eventually show up and kill everyone. (You know - you've seen those places in the movies.)
Anyway, we skip the bar and go to Pickle's Placer, "The Home of the Atomic Burger." Come on. Who doesn't want an atomic burger??? Both Stephen and I had one, and glowed a pleasant atomic pickle-green for a while afterward. (Arco was the first place to be lit by atomic power, way back in 1955; hence, the atomic references.)
After leaving Arco, we drove past Atomic City, which apparently has 22 people living there, 14 of whom are shambling, irradiated zombies. Mmm, atomic burgers...
Then it was keep on driving until we hit Salt Lake City. For a while, the scenery seemed nice and... well, scenic. Pretty range of hills on the right, some plains and faraway hills on the left. And the same scenery kept on unwinding, like a neverending roll of matchy matchy wallpaper. :-/ (Yes, the people from Saskatchewan are saying that the thrill of your scenery wears off. Would it kill you to put in a waterfall or something to break up the monotony?)
Goodbye Idaho, and thanks for the potatoes. Hello, Utah!
And at this point, I should just say: Okay, Idaho, I stand corrected. You are not exactly like Saskatchewan. In the corner of Idaho that we drove in on, you are very much like Saskatchewan. However, that might be the one happy farming corner. The rest of the areas that we drove through seem a little more mountainous, a little more scrubby, with some of it tipping towards desert-ish. (As in, "hot like the desert", not "yum! candy mountain desert!").
So, driving on this quiet bypass road on the way to Craters: There are a lot of government research facilities in this area. Restricted access, yadda yadda, all out in the the middle of nowhere, and yes, with the fencing and the electronic frontier, etc. I'm pretty sure at least one spy drone followed our car, probably zooming in to eavesdrop, then got its circuits fried when it heard the eclectic music mix we were listening to. ~Does not process - too many conflicting genres~ KABOOM! (goes down in flames)
Anyway, Craters of the Moon. Very cool! It's basically a post-volcanic landscape (from eruptions about 2000 years ago), and it is really bizarre and unusual. I'd picked out three hikes ahead of time; unfortunately for us, they're doing work on the sites, and that kiboshed two of the three planned hikes. Oh well, c'est la vie!
We wandered through several lava flow trails, checked out the spatter cones, one of which had a deep well with snow at the bottom, in spite of the hot day. We also followed one of the longer trails up to one of the peaks. It was alternating between sunny and cloudy. Cloudy was fine; sunny could get really hot really quickly. All that black rock everywhere. :-)
After the trails, we moved onto the caves, which were very cool - literally and figuratively. You can feel it getting cooler every step you take down into the cave. The first one was Dewpoint Cave, and we happily clambered down. Almost immediately, I've got a small cut on one arm - volcanic rock is sharp. Down into the cave and the darkness, and we discover our flashlights are woefully inadequate. Also, headlamps would leave you with both hands free, either to flail around to catch your balance, or to hold onto rocks while climbing around.
The trails are all paved or marked, and there's no straying from the paths. With the caves, you're pretty much allowed to go on your own, as long as you obey the posted no-go zones.
We spent a lot of time in the lava tube trail. Big wide underground caverns, with lots of rooftop openings, so it was pretty easy to see where you were going. which was up and down and all over the place. Stephen climbs onto a rocky ledge. I'm busy falling off the peak of stones I've just scaled. Our main objective, of course, is to always protect the camera. :-)
When we emerged back on top, Stephen had the absolutely fabulous idea of building an inukshuk. But, with volcanic rock, it's so much harder than you think. The rock is light, but the ground is all hard rock, and it's a tricky, slippery balancing act. Nevertheless, we both managed to make our little inukshuks. Ta da!
The other remaining caves were much darker, and one had ice on the ground. Imagine pitch blackness, a crappy flashlight, and ice. It's fun! (Protect the camera.) And the Boy Scout Cave was a tight fit - again, headlamp would have been nice, and I could've used some knee pads. Ouch - volcanic rock is pointy. We figure all of this is our early training for Carlsbad Caverns.
By the time we're walking back out to the parking lot, I've got four scrapes. But my camera is okay!
So, we bid farewell to the Moon, and head back to Earth. Next stop, Arco - which has an awesome looking roadside bar. One of those small-town bars that you'd step into, and either there'd be a biker gang in there, or a bunch of vampires would eventually show up and kill everyone. (You know - you've seen those places in the movies.)
Anyway, we skip the bar and go to Pickle's Placer, "The Home of the Atomic Burger." Come on. Who doesn't want an atomic burger??? Both Stephen and I had one, and glowed a pleasant atomic pickle-green for a while afterward. (Arco was the first place to be lit by atomic power, way back in 1955; hence, the atomic references.)
After leaving Arco, we drove past Atomic City, which apparently has 22 people living there, 14 of whom are shambling, irradiated zombies. Mmm, atomic burgers...
Then it was keep on driving until we hit Salt Lake City. For a while, the scenery seemed nice and... well, scenic. Pretty range of hills on the right, some plains and faraway hills on the left. And the same scenery kept on unwinding, like a neverending roll of matchy matchy wallpaper. :-/ (Yes, the people from Saskatchewan are saying that the thrill of your scenery wears off. Would it kill you to put in a waterfall or something to break up the monotony?)
Goodbye Idaho, and thanks for the potatoes. Hello, Utah!
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