Craters of the Moon

After seeing some photos taken at Craters of the Moon, I have wanted to visit this National Monument. I finally made it.

Joe at Craters of the Moon

Betty at Craters of the Moon

It is hard to capture how extensive the lava fields are at Craters, but this is my attempt.

Lava fields extend for miles at Craters of the Moon

Most places in the park require you stay on a paved path and not climb on the lava. One of the exceptions is Inferno Cone, a cinder cone where you are allowed to climb to the top.

Betty part way up Inferno Cone

The other place you are allowed to go off-trail is when going through the lava tubes. We hiked out to one of them called Indian Tunnel. Once we got there Betty decided to sit this one out as it was a bit rough. Even I didn't go all the way through the lava tube. At one point you had to scramble over a hugh pile of boulders that was created when the roof of the tube collapsed, so I decided to turn back. Betty took this photo of me getting ready to enter the lava tube.

Joe entering Indian Tunnel lava tube

Betty did climb to the top of one of the spatter cones.

Betty on the trail to the top of a spatter cone

Spatter Cone trail from a distance

Not all of the lava is barren. In some places there is quite a bit of vegetation that has taken root. Here is an example of a field of dwarf buckwheat.

Field of dwarf buckwheat
Eriogonum ovalifolium

Closeup of dwarf buckwheat
Eriogonum ovalifolium

On our way out of Craters of the Moon we came across this roadside sculpture. The artist used the laser made measurements of a laval tube to create this.

Roadside artwork based on a real lava tube

It was getting late by the time we were ready to leave Craters of the Moon, and the only nearby town is Arco. There are less than 1000 people living in Arco. The town's claim to fame is being the first town in the world to get its electricity from a nuclear power plant starting back in 1955. We spent the night there before heading to our next stop, Dillon, Montana.