On our way north this May, we visited Craters of the Moon. We had been intrigued by this unusual place and had wanted to visit for years. The 750,000 acre volcanic area is nothing like any other place we have visited. The lava came from long fissures across the Snake River Plain known as the "Great Rift", not from one single volcano.
Our first hike was to the top of Inferno Cone, a large cinder cone. This is a view from the top.
Dwarf Purple Monkeyflower growing out of the cinders.
Another view from the top.
As we work our way to the bottom, a group of schoolchildren hike up.
We also hiked up to the rim of a large crater.
The trail to the cave area. The caves are lava tubes of varying sizes.
The most interesting hike we did was the Indian Tunnel. You can see Claudia in the blue jacket. This is the only cave where flashlights are not required as there are enough holes to give natural light.
Looking back towards the entrance.
It's difficult to see, but Claudia is at the left edge of the lighted area.
The tunnel ahead and the small hole to the left is where we are headed.
You can see light coming in the hole we had to crawl out of.near the top of the picture.
The small hole next to Claudia's walking stick is where we came out of the tunnel.
Lava flows as far as you can see.
Interesting shapes in the lava.
Larry inside Beauty Cave. Claudia stayed out in the warm sunshine for this one.
Inside Beauty Cave. The floor was covered in slushy ice. Very dark.
Our campsite.
